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Summary
Summary
When her mother dies, twelve-year-old Willa feels lost and alone except when she connects with things her mom loved about the wonders of the ocean as a marine biologist.
While on a whale-watching excursion with her dad, who is trying to cheer her up after Willa is sent to live with him and his new family, Willa is alone on one side of the boat when she sees a humpback whale. Her awe and wonderment about this massive and beautiful creature turns to shock when the whale communicates with her, introducing herself as Meg and exchanging small talk. Willa asks if they can talk again, and Meg tells her that if she goes to the edge of the shore and calls out to her, she'll reply. Whales, after all, are very social creatures and communicate by sounds that can travel for miles, underwater.
As their friendship develops, Willa views Meg as a trusted confidant who offers sound advice about dealing with a nemesis at school and trying to figure out why her best friend, Mark, is keeping secrets about his family life--all the kinds of talks her mom would normally have with her. She also learns about how similar whales are to humans in caring deeply for their babies, creating communities called "pods," and even singing.
When a blue whale washes up on shore and dies, the townspeople jump into action with opinions about what to do with it. Blue whales are the largest animals known to have ever existed, so there is no simple solution. Some are advocating blowing up the whale, some want to cut it up and drag it out to sea, others say let it rot on the obscure beach. Willa is outraged by what she views as inhumane treatment of the deceased whale and vows to do something about it, which is precisely what her mom would have wanted. She knows this is a problem she can't tackle alone, though, and enlists her friends, family, and the City Council to rescue the body of the whale and donate it to the local university where her mom taught for further study and to display the bones.
Feeling good about getting her community to band together in service of science and conservation, Willa returns to the shore to tell Meg about her amazing experience. Her joy is tempered with sadness when Meg tells Willa that it is time for her pod to migrate, but it's okay to say goodbye because they will always be connected in a special way in their hearts because they care about each other and showed it by listening and learning about each other.
Willa and the Whale is a poignant story about caring and loss and the deep connections that make us human.
Author Notes
Chad Morris grew up wanting to become a professional basketball player or a rock star. Neither of those plans quite panned out, so he wrote and performed sketch comedy while going to college. Now he's a teacher and a writer.
Shelly Brown loves to write books for children. In her spare time, she enjoys the theater and traveling. In addition to her five children, she has three chickens and sixty-four Pez dispensers.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5--8--A tale of grief, mourning, and the power of community to restore one's emotional balance after a tragedy. As Willa's parents navigate a divorce, her mother is offered a professional opportunity to move to Tokyo. Willa is forced to choose between Tupkuk Island and Japan. Sharing her mother's intense love of the ocean and all things related to her career in marine biology, Willa chooses to move and experience a new culture. When Willa's mother unexpectedly dies from a fatal heart condition, Willa finds herself alone and must return to the island. She quickly realizes everything has changed, from the distance she feels between herself and her former friend, Marc, to the intensity of her once calm home. Family life in her old house now consists of a stepmother with three noisy young stepsiblings and one half sibling. On a whale-watching trip with her father, Willa discovers she can talk to a whale named Meg. Over the course of the book, this magical encounter becomes an extended metaphor for the guidance she still needs from her mother, and a manifestation of an emotional goodbye that she is still negotiating. Each chapter opens with fascinating facts on unique marine life that create nonfiction entry points for research. Subplots surrounding Marc's family life, a competitive peer named Lizzy, a beached blue whale, and Willa's unfolding relationship with her father after a three-year absence easily move the plot forward. VERDICT Willa's character offers emotional insight into the layers of grief experienced by someone who loses a parent, and builds empathy in young readers. This must-purchase may challenge readers to keep a dry eye.--Monica Cabarcas, Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, VA
Kirkus Review
In the wake of her mother's sudden death, Willa navigates a new course with her blended family and friends on an island off Washington state, with the help of a humpback whale.After her parents divorced three years ago, Willa moved to Japan with her marine biologist mom. Now back on Tupkuk Island, Willa, 12, struggles to adapt to her dad, new stepmom, three younger stepsiblings, and new baby. When she's on a welcome-home, whale-watching cruise with her dad, a humpback breaches close by and speaks to her. Willa, an exceptionally well-informed marine enthusiast, is enchanted. When Willa calls her from the beach, Meg, a mature female who's birthed and nurtured offspring of her own, offers a sympathetic ear and valuable advice on reinstating her friendship with Marc, her former best friend, coping with an overbearing, competitive classmate, and managing the mortification of being among the slowest on the swim team. Most of all, Meg's there when Willa needs to pour out the grief that overwhelms her. Willa's journals and many marine references express her passion for the ocean while introducing fascinating, lesser-known wonders of the deep. Latinx Marc and his family excepted, the likable, rounded human characters are presumed white. Mysterious, amazing, threatened, but enduring, the ocean itself conveys the enormity of grief and possibility of healing; plausible, appealing Meg's especially engaging. As Willa says: "everyone should definitely have their own whale."Moving and buoyant, an insightful tale of grief, loss, and resilience. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Follow a 12-year-old girl as she journeys through a dark tunnel of grief after her mother's unexpected death. Leaving Japan where she and her marine biologist mother lived for three years, Willa is back on her home island off Washington State with her dad and stepmother, but life is hard with tears always near the surface. Her spirits gradually lift, however, once she meets Meg, a humpback whale with whom she can miraculously communicate. Their ""chats"" help Willa deal with her sadness and, when combined with several developments resuming her friendship with Marc (although bumpy at times), joining the swim team, and giving her father (and his new family) a chance Willa is able to move on without relinquishing the deep love she holds for her mother. Willa begins each chapter with a journal entry about marine life, keeping her connected to her mother, while describing what's happening in her new life. A moving story that presents raw grief and the hope born of healing in a sensitive, realistic manner.--J. B. Petty Copyright 2020 Booklist
