Deb Aronson

Chris Crutcher’s Stories Resonate with Young Readers

First appeared in NCTE Council Chronicle in September 2007 under Features

Nothing much surprises Chris Crutcher, author of numerous young adult novels, including Ironman, Whale Talk, Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, and Stotan!. Having worked extensively as a therapist for those experiencing child abuse and neglect, Crutcher has seen the dark underbelly of life.

“Working in the field of child abuse and neglect took all the surprise out of me,” he says. “I was so often surprised by our capability for inhumanity, and at the same time so surprised at where I’d see heroes come from.”

Crutcher’s books typically tell stories about both cruelty and heroism lurking beneath the surface of otherwise ordinary-looking lives. His characters face struggles with their parents and other authority figures, yet they also find caring adults, while learning about being loyal and even heroic. Sports also play a big role in most of Crutcher’s books, whether the characters swim competitively, train obsessively for triathlons, or perfect their self-defense skills.

Crutcher’s stories resonate deeply with his young readers.

“I’ve been humbled and honored by some of the responses I’ve received,” says Crutcher. “So many kids have written and said they connected with one character or another, that they read it at exactly the right time. I know many other authors who get that same message, and it has the same effect on them. ‘I read your book and I thought you knew me,’ is another one. It’s all about connection. I’ve felt that connection with books myself.”

And yet, Crutcher was not a reader in his youth, having gotten through school reading and enjoying only one book, To Kill a Mockingbird. That makes it particularly sweet for him to hear that boys who don’t read, tend to read his books.

Crutcher’s stories come from his experiences as a teacher and therapist. He spent a decade as a teacher and director of a small alternative K-12 school in Oakland, California, and then worked as a therapist with families involved in child abuse and neglect in the 1980s and 1990s.

“I didn’t draw the tough parts out of thin air; they are stories handed to me by people in pain,” Crutcher has said.

Beginning with his very first effort, Running Loose (1983), Crutcher’s books have both won awards and been the target of censoring efforts. Opponents argue that Crutcher writes about things that young adults aren’t ready to handle, like being gay, struggling with abusive parents, or racism.

But having his works perennially on the list of most frequently challenged books does not faze Crutcher in the least.

“I define myself as much by my enemies as I do my friends and I know what these people are about,” says Crutcher, of those who try to ban his books. “They pretend to care about children, but they won’t do the slightest bit of homework on child development, nor will they spend any time talking with kids to see their perspective. They have a belief and an agenda and they don’t listen to anything else.

“When we censor these stories, we censor the kids themselves,” he adds. “Imagine falling in love with a book because somehow it mirrors your life, and gives meaning to it, and may even offer solutions to your personal situation, only to have those in power over you censor it because it is offensive. All but the most hard-nosed of us might think our very lives were offensive.”

Whenever he can, Crutcher supports those fighting to keep his books available to children. He writes letters to newspapers, school officials, and politicians. He visits, both to give speeches and to meet with people trying to ban his books.

But Crutcher’s work, in addition to being attacked, has been widely praised. Crutcher has also been recognized by NCTE for his First Amendment efforts. In 1998 he won the NCTE/SLATE National Intellectual Freedom Award. He was the first individual to receive the new award, which was established in 1996 to honor individuals and groups for advancing the cause of intellectual freedom. In Crutcher’s case he was recognized for his efforts to promote anti-censorship activities for young adults.

Receiving these awards is about the only thing left that does surprise him.

“You know, every time I get a major award, I think I’ve pulled the wool over the eyes of a universe, even today,” says Crutcher. “I like the Margaret Edward Award (administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association) because it’s for my body of work and speaks to tenacity. I also like the ALAN Award (from NCTE for contributions to adolescent literature) and the [NCTE/SLATE] Intellectual Freedom awards. They speak to what I believe in, and they were given by people for whom I have so much respect.”