Bibliographic data
Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York Philadelphia: Econo-Clad Books, 1999. ISBN 9780785735656
Critical analysis
This story is told from a perspective of a boy that is overweight. This problem novel deals with many complex family issues as well as with how young people view and treat one another based on physical appearance. People judge others by how they look on the outside and teenagers do so more quickly and ruthlessly. Eric Calhoune, known as Moby, and Sarah Byrnes became friends to deal with the fact that they were both outcasts. Eric is overweight and Sarah’s face and hands are disfigured from a mysterious burn accident. Eric starts to lose weight when he joins the swim team, but is afraid to lose Sarah as a friend, so tries to stay fat to be an outcast with her. Sarah explains that he doesn't need to intake massive amounts of calories to be an outcast with her to stay friends.
In Contemporary American Thought (CAT) class, Eric discovers that dealing with issues is never easy, especially when the issues revolve around sex, religion, and the existence of God. The theme follows the same template as many other young adult novels, which is, do not judge someone solely based on how they look. Sarah is so disfigured that she has lost control of how her life is managed. The only things she can now control are her peers. She even makes them all call her by her first and last name.
The tone of the novel is very straightforward; nothing is ambiguous besides how Sarah became hideously disfigured, which readers finally find out the real reason why she is disfigured later in the novel. The manner in which the teenage boy, Eric, speaks to adults, including his mother is not normal. There is foul language scattered throughout the book. It is not just the foul language but also the manner in which Eric talks to his mother, using disrespectful language.
The book is a thrilling adventure of going with Eric in this quest to find out what really happened to Sarah Byrnes’ disfigured face and hands. It simply was not accidentally a spill from cooking spaghetti, is it? Her cold, daunting father must have something to do with it, right?
Practical suggestions
Crutcher, Chris. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York Philadelphia: Econo-Clad Books, 1999. ISBN 9780785735656
Critical analysis
This story is told from a perspective of a boy that is overweight. This problem novel deals with many complex family issues as well as with how young people view and treat one another based on physical appearance. People judge others by how they look on the outside and teenagers do so more quickly and ruthlessly. Eric Calhoune, known as Moby, and Sarah Byrnes became friends to deal with the fact that they were both outcasts. Eric is overweight and Sarah’s face and hands are disfigured from a mysterious burn accident. Eric starts to lose weight when he joins the swim team, but is afraid to lose Sarah as a friend, so tries to stay fat to be an outcast with her. Sarah explains that he doesn't need to intake massive amounts of calories to be an outcast with her to stay friends.
In Contemporary American Thought (CAT) class, Eric discovers that dealing with issues is never easy, especially when the issues revolve around sex, religion, and the existence of God. The theme follows the same template as many other young adult novels, which is, do not judge someone solely based on how they look. Sarah is so disfigured that she has lost control of how her life is managed. The only things she can now control are her peers. She even makes them all call her by her first and last name.
The tone of the novel is very straightforward; nothing is ambiguous besides how Sarah became hideously disfigured, which readers finally find out the real reason why she is disfigured later in the novel. The manner in which the teenage boy, Eric, speaks to adults, including his mother is not normal. There is foul language scattered throughout the book. It is not just the foul language but also the manner in which Eric talks to his mother, using disrespectful language.
The book is a thrilling adventure of going with Eric in this quest to find out what really happened to Sarah Byrnes’ disfigured face and hands. It simply was not accidentally a spill from cooking spaghetti, is it? Her cold, daunting father must have something to do with it, right?
Practical suggestions
Serve crispy pork rinds for a discussion group get together.
This website has lesson plans for this novel:
http://www.chriscrutcher.com/content/view/726/64/
External assessments
ALA Best Book for YA
This website has lesson plans for this novel:
http://www.chriscrutcher.com/content/view/726/64/
External assessments
ALA Best Book for YA
SLJ Best Book for YA
American Booksellers Pick of the List
California Young Reader Medalist
1995 Joan Fassler Memorial Book Award
ALA Best of the Best Books for YA
Publisher's Weekly Starred Review
1994 South Dakota YARP Best Books
Nominee 1995-1996 Iowa Teen Award
Nominee 1995-1996 SC YA Book Award
Nominee 1996 Young Reader's Choice Award
Nominee 1996-1997 ILF Rosie
http://www.chriscrutcher.com/content/blogcategory/65/54/
Publisher’s Weekly
A subplot centering on a self-righteous teammate drives home the point that nothing is as it appears on the surface, and leads to Eric being caught between his menacing vice-principal and the even more malevolent Mr. Byrnes--with spine-tingling results. Superb plotting, extraordinary characters and crackling narrative make this novel one to be devoured in a single unforgettable sitting.
Kirkus Reviews
http://www.chriscrutcher.com/content/blogcategory/65/54/
Publisher’s Weekly
A subplot centering on a self-righteous teammate drives home the point that nothing is as it appears on the surface, and leads to Eric being caught between his menacing vice-principal and the even more malevolent Mr. Byrnes--with spine-tingling results. Superb plotting, extraordinary characters and crackling narrative make this novel one to be devoured in a single unforgettable sitting.
Kirkus Reviews
Though Crutcher doesn't always play fair in developing his themes--all the conservative Christians here are humorless dupes or hypocrites, and one tries to commit suicide after it comes out that his girlfriend had an abortion--his language, characters, and situations are vivid and often hilarious. In the end, he deals out just deserts all around: Eric gets a stepfather he can respect; Virgil, a vicious mauling plus 20 years in stir; Sarah, a new and loving set of parents. Readers may find the storybook ending a welcome relief, though it does seem forced after the pain that precedes it. Pulse-pounding, on both visceral and intellectual levels--a wild, brutal ride.
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