The Whistling Toilets

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

When 15-year-old tennis champ Ginny Forrester starts losing games, it is up to her best friend, Stan Claxton, to set her back on a winning course. There are complications aplenty, however, when Stan takes over as coach. Ginny has not yet recovered from her crush on a former mentor; Stan is constantly distracted by Ginny's good looks; and Stan's two rather uncouth buddies, Guballa and Wilcutts, have also fallen for the attractive athlete. Meanwhile, one of Ginny's opponents, eccentric Antonia Wheeler, tries to lure Stan by walking off with his most prized possession, a Derbyshire XQ-2R-200S tennis racket. Readers need not be sports enthusiasts to feel the energy and catch the humor of this narrative about a falling sports star and the "boy next door," especially because the verbal matches between teens prove to be more exciting than on-the-court battles. If the plot (which culminates with Ginny and Stan listening to "whistling toilets" inside a lodge rest room) is somewhat strained, Powell's (Dean Duffy) ironies about love and gamesmanship are executed with style. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

A 15-year-old tennis champ is on a losing streak, and it is up to her best friend to help. But when he becomes the team's coach, things get a little complicated. PW said, "The ironies about love and gamesmanship are executed with style." Ages 12-up. (Apr.)n Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature - Tim Whitney

Sixteen-year-old Stan Claxton is a wonderful tennis coach, but never has pushed himself too hard as a player. He coaches tennis at a run-down rec center in Seattle to a group of disadvantaged runts. That's why he finds it hard to pass up the opportunity to coach his lifelong best friend Ginny Forrester, a nationally ranked junior tennis player who has lately been suffering a slump. But after a year's absence Ginny seems to be hiding something from Stan, and Stan is beginning to feel some feelings toward Ginny that run much deeper than friendship. Can Stan figure out what is causing Ginny's slump and get her to win the local Seattle tournament? Adolescent readers do not need to be tennis fans to enjoy the amusing narration by the humorous, likeable Stan. The "whistling toilets" are mentioned several times throughout the book, but their explanation remains a mystery until the end of the book.

The ALAN Review - William R. Mollineaux

When fifteen-year-old junior tennis star Ginny Forrester's game starts to unravel and her behavior on and off the court becomes vague and distant, she is sent hometo Seattle in an attempt to salvage her sagging career by playing in a small-time tournament. To keep Ginny calm and focused, her parents and her coach convinceStan Claxton, Ginny's best friend and neighbor, to be her "coach" for this tournament. While helping Ginny pull her life and career together, Stan learns a great dealabout himself and others, discovering things are not always as they appear. Even beauty can be found in the most unlikely places-four toilets that whistle ... like Bing Crosby. Permeated with humor and crisp dialogue, this fast-paced story is about friendship, discovering and being who really are, and what's really important-topics that young adults will find pertinent.

KLIATT

As the title suggests, this is a lighthearted story. It features an up-and-coming tennis star experiencing some tough times in tennis and life, and there is also the complication of the whistling toilets. Ginny, the nationally ranked player, is returning home to play in a tournament, and her coach asks her best friend, Stan, to coach her while she is there. Stan hopes to discover what is hurting Ginny's game, as well as find out if she feels the same way about him that he feels about her. The story is brisk and fast-moving, the characters are extremely likeable, and along with the humor come some life lessons about family, love, misconceptions, honesty, and growing up. Like another of Powell's recent novels, Tribute to Another Dead Rock Star, the setting is the hip streets of Seattle, and the quick language and humor fit the contemporary storyline. You need to read to the end to find out about the toilets, though! KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 1996, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 243p. 18cm. 96-10475., $5.95. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Sarah Applegate; Libn., River Ridge H.S., Lacey, WA , July 2001 (Vol. 35, No. 4)

School Library Journal

Gr 7-10Humorous and serious elements clog up the works in this novel. When nationally ranked, junior tennis superstar Ginny Forrester is sent home from the tournament circuit because of her loss of self-discipline and productivity, the girl's parents, team psychologist, and coach enlist the aid of her friend Stan Claxton to coach her in a small-time, local tournament and to find out the reason for the slump. Characters and plot threads are uneven. Ginny, Stan, and his two misfit buddies are amusingly drawn with dialogue that rings true. But Ginny's oddball, first-round tennis competitor, a wealthy, glamorous girl, is as hard to believe as Ginny's parents, who seem more concerned with her losing her game than why it is happening. The impact of Ginny's revelation to Stan that her tennis coach and mentor came on to her and guilt over her own involvement in the incident is lessened by Stan's guilt over an expensive tennis racquet that he acquired by dubious means. The boy's moral support helps her comeback in the tournament and in her life; a romantic interlude helps Ginny put things in perspective. In a confrontation with the coach, Stan turns down his previously offered job, cum "bribe," as a counselor at his ritzy tennis camp. In a light moment, he bares his soul to Ginny and shares a mystical, secret experiencethe whistling toilets of the title. Laced with amusing bits, the plot elements just don't go with the flow. In the end, crooning commodes overflow with happy endings that don't quite work.Alice Casey Smith, Sayreville War Memorial High School, NJ

Kirkus Reviews

At 16, Stan Claxton doesn't think very highly of himself. He's done a few things of which he's definitely not proud, and his only skill seems to be coaching his "runts," a bunch of impoverished kids who meet at a dilapidated rec center for tennis. Then he's offered another job, this time coaching Ginny, a nationally ranked junior player who's fallen into a potentially career-ending slump. Together they prepare her for a local tournament that could be her fresh start, if only Stan can restore her confidence and drive to win. Ginny helps Stan to face some hard truths about himself, too.

If this sounds like just another romance with a sports setting, it's not. It's something of a love story, in which two really likable and interesting characters share a profound friendship that transcends infatuation and leads them to a better understanding of themselves and each other. Along with a shining cast of secondary characters, the novel is crammed with laugh-out-loud humor and dialogue that fairly crackles. The book may be most reminiscent of Chris Crutcher's early, edgy work—no faint praise—but it has a unique feature that is surely all Powell's own: whistling toilets.

From the Publisher

"Stan Claxton, sixteen-year-old part-time tennis coach and all-around good guy, is trying to find out why his old friend Ginny, nationally ranked junior player, is in a serious slump...A sense of humor and a distinct voice carry the reader...toward a satisfying dénouement with quirky but determined motivation." —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Executed with style" — Publishers Weekly

"It's something of a love story, in which two really liable and interesting characters share a profound friendship that transcends infatuation and leads them to a better understanding of themselves and each other. Along with a shining cast of secondary characters, the novel is crammed with laugh-out-loud humor and dialogue that fairly crackles." — Kirkus Reviews