Stotan!

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Overview

Stotan: A cross between a Stoic and a Spartan.

Walker, Nortie, Lion, and Jeff are the best of friends and members of their high school swim team. Together they pledge to accept the challenge of Stotan Week — a series of grueling physical and emotional tests of endurance.

This is one memorable week in their senior year; a time in which they live together and share their innermost feelings. Little do they know ...

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Overview

Stotan: A cross between a Stoic and a Spartan.

Walker, Nortie, Lion, and Jeff are the best of friends and members of their high school swim team. Together they pledge to accept the challenge of Stotan Week — a series of grueling physical and emotional tests of endurance.

This is one memorable week in their senior year; a time in which they live together and share their innermost feelings. Little do they know that the magic of Stotan Week is the start of something that will change their lives forever.

A high school coach invites members of his swimming team to a memorable week of rigorous training that tests their moral fiber as well as their physical stamina.

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Editorial Reviews

English Journal
Filled with humor and compassion.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
To be a Stotan (a cross between a Stoic and a Spartan) is to push one's physical and emotional capabilities beyond the limit, as four high school swimmers find out when they accept the challenge of a week-long endurance test devised by their coach. Though it is swim team captain Walker Dupree who narrates, this is every bit as much an ensemble novel as it is four individual stories. Each young man pursues a personal goal, but together the team pursues demons outside the group, ranging from an ``anonymous'' neo-Nazi association distributing offensive newspapers to the abusive father of one of the boys, who drives his son to suicide. But a demon bigger than any individual or group effort comes along when illness strikes one of these Stotan young men. Then the team finds out that you can't always make sense of everything, you can only go after it with your best shot. Crutcher has written an involving, realistic novel; though it deals with tough, unsolvable issues it is often leavened with humor. (12-up)
Children's Literature - Susie Wilde
Crutcher is a sports translator, transforming sports into an idiom for life, making the spirit and power of sports understandable to enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts. Sports always figure in his young adult novels. In Stotan, swimmers are "hard guys who feel no pain try it out in the real world."
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up A fine coming-of-age novel. Walker Dupree, the captain of Frost (Spokane, Wash.) High School's swim team, chronicles the senior year of the tight fraternity of young men who make up the team. Lionel, orphaned at 14, faces a sometimes hostile world alone; Nortie lives with an abusive father whom he loves but can never please; Jeff, a brash youth with everything to live for is terminally ill. Swim coach Max Il Song tests these four young men unmercifully during Stotan Week, but he gives them a reservoir of strength they more than need before their season is over. The boys are typical of many teenagers; they think a lot about sex; their language isn't always clean. They face difficult, adult situationsviolence, racial prejudice, Jeff's impending death. Crutcher's novel more than moves and entertains; it teaches. It teaches young people about responsibility, about courage and heroism, and ultimately about life itself. Stotan! is very, very, good. Jerry Flack, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780688057152
  • Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
  • Publication date: 3/17/1986
  • Edition description: 1st ed
  • Edition number: 1
  • Pages: 192
  • Age range: 12 years
  • Product dimensions: 6.00 (w) x 9.00 (h) x 0.73 (d)

Meet the Author

Chris Crutcher has written nine critically acclaimed novels, an autobiography, and two collections of short stories. Drawing on his experience as a family therapist and child protec-tion specialist, Crutcher writes honestly about real issues facing teenagers today: making it through school, competing in sports, handling rejection and failure, and dealing with parents. He has won three lifetime achievement awards for the body of his work: the Margaret A. Edwards Award, the ALAN Award, and the NCTE National Intellectual Freedom Award. Chris Crutcher lives in Spokane, Washington.

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Read an Excerpt

Stotan!

Chapter One

November 5

We saw the notice about Stotan Week on the bulletin board just off the deep end of the pool after our early-morning workout today. It was already curling at the edges from the high humidity and chlorine content of the air, a lot the way my skin feels after a good three-hour workout.

"What's a Stotan Week?" Nortie asked, glancing quickly around at the rest of us. It sounded like a riddle.

No response; we just looked at him, then back to the notice, which read:

STOTAN WEEK

Dec. 17 to Dec. 21
8 a.m. to Noon Daily
Volunteers Only

Looking for a few good men
SEE MAX

"December 17," Nortie said. "That's the start of vacation. How come it's at the start of vacation? What's a Stotan Week?"

Jeff looked at him again. "All in favor of Nortie checking out Stotan Week with Max and reporting back to us, say 'aye.'"

Lion and I said, "Aye."

"Sorry, guys, not me. I'm not asking. I don't even want to know. You do it, Walker; you're the captain."

Max makes Nortie nervous because he's quiet and it's hard to tell what he's thinking a lot of the time. Nortie's not emotionally equipped to talk to Max.

"Nortie," I said, "I'm worried about you. You're a senior in high school. You could actually graduate if the folks in the office forget how to count. You have to learn to talk to people. 9'

"I talk," he said, "but this is a job for the captain. This looks like one of Max's tricks. If I ask him, he'll just look at me like I'm in advanced Special Ed or try to get me to believe somethingreally strange."

We heard the door slam and the flapping of Max's rubber thongs as he came through the equipment room toward the pool deck where we stood. Nortie nodded toward me. Max stopped in the doorway.

I said, "Hi, Max. How's it going?" I let Nortie off the hook. "What's a Stotan Week?"

Max smiled. "Take a chance; show up on the seventeenth and find out."

"Says here it's voluntary," I said. "I like to know what I'm volunteering for."

"Sometimes it's better not to know."

Nortie flinched a little. "I'll bet it's tough, huh?"

Max shrugged. "Wouldn't be surprised."

Lion walked over and sat on the low board, rocking back and forth on his big arms, looking at Max, who's about half his size. "What happens if we decide not to volunteer?"

"You won't get the benefit of Stotan Week," Max said, and walked over to drop the thermometer in the water. He tied the long string to the ladder and let it dangle, then got the chemical testing kit out of the pump room to check the PH and chlorine levels. We had learned all we were going to learn about Stotan Week for today.

"See you guys at workout," he said.

I don't know that any of us will ever know what makes Max tick. He started coaching here at Frost my freshman year and I don't know him much better than I did the first day I walked into the pool area. Not really. He's one of those guys you only know by what they do. You have to guess how they are.

Max is Korean; his last name is Il Song. Not Korea Korean, though; Great Falls, Montana, Korean. He grew up on a ranch just outside of Great Falls-sort of a Korean cowboy, I guess-but he's also spent some time in the Orient, in Korea itself and in Japan, and his parents are from Seoul, so he has a pretty mixed background.

I'll say one thing about him straightaway: he's a tough hombre. He has a third-degree black belt in Tai Kwan Do, which is a kind of karate, and I've seen him kick an apple off the head of a guy 6'8". It doesn't matter that Lion's twice his size.

I know we'll all show for Stotan Week, whatever it is even though it'll certainly alter the extra week of Christmas vacation we're getting this year-and I know something else: it won't be easy.

We start the early-morning workout at 5:30. Max doesn't show up for it, just leaves instructions on the board. He's always been real clear that we get out of swimming just what we put into it, and if we let down because he's not around, we'll never be that good anyway. We've been together long enough that we push each other hard without him, and the morning workouts are just conditioning, not technique, so we don't miss him as long as he lets us know what we're supposed to do. Besides, he says he hates to get up that early, but doesn't mind a bit if we do. It all works out.

The four of us have spent all our high-school years at Frost, and have been pretty much the core of the swimming team. And, except for girlfriends, have been at the core of each other's lives. Back in grade school and Junior High we swam on the summer AAU team together, so we go back a long ways. There's another member of our little group of musketeers, but she's a girl and isn't on the team, though she works out with us. That's Elaine. Talent-wise, she's probably better than any of us, except maybe Nortie, but she's out of the competition business these days--burned out at seventeen-and works out only to keep in shape and be part of our group. She's into more cosmic things now...

Stotan!
. Copyright (c) by Chris Crutcher . Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 22 )
Rating Distribution

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Sort by: Showing all of 12 Customer Reviews
  • Anonymous

    Posted April 6, 2010

    Stotan review

    Stotan is a book about a four man high school swim team. This team has a week of practice called stotan week which is about five hours long each day going through the worst pain they will ever endure. During this week the kids are much closer to each other than before and learn deeply about each other's lives. At the end of the book they are going to the biggest meet of their high school careers and I haven't gotten any futher. Some messages and themes are to never give up, respect others, and to sometimes put yourself in another person's shoes and think about what they have to go through in life. A like about the book is that it's about swimming and you don't see many books about swimming. A dislike about the book is that it seemed like they talked to deeply and to long about each kids life. Someone should not read this this book because it may seem really boring to many people if you don't know much about swimming. Someone should read this book because it teaches you lessons about life that you may eventually find out the hard way. My overall rating for this book is a 7. Another recommended work is called Chinese Handcuffs.

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  • Posted August 23, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Just Fine

    I've read a few novels by Chris Crutcher, and this one is my favorite so far. Usually his novels have agendas that overshadow the plot. This one does have an agenda, but this time its placed further in the background. The story was all right, but not exactly compelling, and it really wasn't anything special. I would recommend this if you are a high school athlete.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 9, 2003

    Stotan

    This was a really great book that's easy to understand and a great read if you have to pick something to read in a short amount of time. I would recommend it to anybody who doesn't really like to read science fiction or novels like the ones by Grisham or Crichton. It is good for teens who want something that they can relate to. It has a lot of scenerios that you find yourself thinking about what you would do should you be in the same position. So if you want to read a good book then read this one.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 27, 2003

    Stotan is an amazing book!

    i read whale talk in school for english and i loved it so i decided to read crutcher's other books. so far i have read ironman and stotan. stotan is amazing! there are so many lessons that can be learned in reading this book and just about anybody could connect with its story. i really connected with this book and i laughed as well as cried when i read it. i reccommend stotan to everyone wether they like reading or not.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 8, 2003

    Empowering

    After reading this book, I felt as though I could conquer the world.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 23, 2003

    outstanding book

    takes you throught emotional ups and downs.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 2, 2002

    Stotan

    The book Stotan is a story of four high school seniors-Walker(narrator), Lion, Nortie, and Jeff. These four friends are not only the best of friends, but also members of the Frost swim team. There coach, Max, tests their physical strength in seven days of grueling workouts, called Stotan Week. During Stotan Week, the boys learn that friendship goes a long way and learn to stick close together. They learn to be such good friends because none of them really have a good home life so all they basically have is each other. A Stotan(a cross between a Stoic and a Spartan) means to push one's physical strength to achieve anything. Throughout the book, these four characters face many problems, one of which is a very serious one with their good friend Jeff. The boys need to learn to face these problems and stick together. I believed this was a very good book and I would definately recommed this book to anyone, especially if you like swimming.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted May 21, 2001

    A True Stotan

    High school buddies and members of the swim team Walker, Nortie, Lion and Jeff accept the challenge to participate in Stotan week. A week of rigorous swim training that pushes them beyond physical pain and tests their moral fiber, changing their lives forever. Through the whole Stotan week they learned a lot of things with their relationships and their swimming they become close and bonded. To be a Stotan (a cross between a Stoic and a Spartan) is to push one's physical and emotional capabilities beyond the limit, as four high school swimmers find out when they accept the challenge of a week-long endurance test devised by their coach. Though it is swim team captain Walker Dupree who narrates, this is every bit as much an ensemble novel as it is four individual stories. Well illness encounters the boys on of there swim team he is one of their dear friends and his name is Jeff. So they have to get through their problems and also the problems with Jeff's health. But this was a good book to read and real fun to read.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 28, 2001

    read this!

    stotan by chris crutcher was the best book i've ever read! I am like any normal teenager, and i hate to read, but this book was great! you will enjoy it, so take some time and read!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 14, 2001

    stotan was a great book

    anyone who knows a lot about swimming will love this book!!!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 31, 2001

    Stotan - The best book ever

    This book has made me feel like a free spirit. I enjoyed reading almost as much an I enjoyed 'Princess Pony' and 'Huck Finn'. This very hi energy, insightful novel,, and should be read by all people over the age of 110+.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 24, 2000

    why did they publish this book???

    it was alright, i got lost alot. at first it was fun then it got really boring.

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