Superintendent Barry Carroll had backed the recommendation of a materials review committee, whose written report states: “The message of the book is more important than the language used.” The novel, which tells the story of a group of social-outcast high-schoolers who form a swim team, uses explicit dialogue to depict the impact of child abuse and prejudice in what author and family therapist Chris Crutcher calls the “native tongue” that victims use in therapy.
In an open letter to the adult populace of Limestone County—in particular the school board—Crutcher contended, “By showing our fear of issues and language that are ’everyday’ to our children, we take ourselves off that short list of people to turn to in a real crisis.”
A frequently challenged title this year, Whale Talk was removed in January from the suggested reading list for a pilot English-literature curriculum by the superintendent of the South Carolina State Board of Education. A month later, the book came under fire at the Grand Ledge (Mich.) High School.
Posted March 11, 2005.