Whalesinger

A girl with a rare gift, a loss-haunted boy with a raw grudge, a ruthless treasure-hunter and a pair of whales connect in the eye of time.

Recommended age: 14 and up.

Hurt and angry after his brother's tragic death, seventeen-year-old Nick escapes the pressures of his family in Vancouver by working as a research assistant for a conservation group on the beautiful Point Reyes coastline of California. There he meets Marty and, against his will, finds himself drawn to her quiet, intense manner. Shy and intuitive, Marty discovers that she is able to communicate with a mother gray whale forced to summer nearby with her sick baby. When Nick and Marty learn that the conservation project is a front for a scheme to plunder the treasure of a sunken frigate abandoned by Sir Francis Drake during his circumnavigation of the world, a tense confrontation occurs that brings all the strands of this remarkable story together. Love, hate, anger and forgiveness fill this many-layered, deeply felt, and vividly written novel that builds to a riveting and unforgettable ending.

Comments on publication of Whalesinger:

"...Expertly crafted story."
-- The Christian Science Monitor, May 10, 1991

"...A gripping and provocative novel."
-- Toronto Star, December 8, 1990

"...Highly recommended."
-- The Book Report, September-October, 1991

Reviews from Goodreads.Com

“Marty is the travel-along babysitter for the Niven’s, marine biologists who have been contracted to do research in Point Reyes, California for the company Conservocean. With a learning disability that causes reading problems, Marty has come to believe her life is not worth much and plans to drop out of school as soon as possible.

Nick arrives in Point Reyes as a research assistant to Dr. Anderson, but unknown to him, the job was set up by his father. Nick blames the world for him older brother’s death and vows to never let himself get close to another person. His father believes sending Nick to the place his brother died will help him heal.Then there is the mother grey whale whose song brings the two of them together.

The story is not without conflict as all events build up to a big catastrophe which no one expects. Will this summer heal Marty and Nick or will it send their lives in a downward spiral?

While some things mentioned in Whalesinger are outdated, since it was published in 1993, many of the issues Marty and Nick go through are still experienced by young adults today. Welwyn’s descriptions of people and places are emotionally evoking and easily draws the reader into the story. Whalesinger is a great young adult novel also suitable for any adult.”( Jessica S,)

“ Picked this book up on a whim in Ecuador since I just saw whales myself, I thought it would be a young adult book, kind of a quickie beach read but man, was I wrong. This book is way more amazing and beautifully written than the synopsis hinted at. I have many quotes already underlined and though I haven't finished it yet, I think this book is quickly becoming a favorite” (Elizabeth)

“This was one of my favourite juv. fic. books. I read it many times, and I remember how pleased I was when I bought my own copy.”( Leanna )

Hardcover edition, Groundwood Books, Toronto, Buffalo, 1990. ISBN 0-88899-113-4.
Softcover edition, Groundwood, 1993. ISBN 0-88899-191-6.
McElderry Books, New York, 1991. ISBN 0-689-50511-6.