Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

 

Citation

Crutcher, C. (1993). Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Description

“Sarah Byrnes and Eric Calhoune have been friends for years. When they were children, his weight and her scars made them both outcasts. Now Sarah Byrnes—the smartest, toughest person Eric has ever known—sits silent in a hospital. Eric must uncover the terrible secret she’s hiding before its dark current pulls them both under. Will appeal to fans of Marieke Nijkamp, Andrew Smith, Matt de la Peña, and John Corey Whaley.” 

Realistic Fiction.

Scholarly Review

“Once again, Crutcher assembles a crew of misfits to tackle the Big Issues. Sarah Byrnes, her face hideously scarred from what she calls a childhood accident, sits silent and withdrawn in the psychiatric ward; her friend Eric (``Moby''), who has admired her since grade school as the toughest person he knows, wonders what could have finally pushed her over the edge. Between trenchant classroom confrontations over abortion and other religious controversies, exhausting swim team workouts, and a sudden relationship with a classmate, Eric loyally finds time to visit Sarah. Enter Virgil, her psychotic father, who speaks only in threats; in a terrifying passage, he stalks and stabs Eric in order to learn where Sarah (who has escaped) is hiding. 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. (Fiction. YA)” [Kirkus Review, 2010].  

My Analysis

I enjoyed this book a lot more than I thought I would. Even though this book was published in 1993, many of the issues that were touched upon are still relevant today, such as being an outcast, domestic abuse, suicide attempts, religion in schools, and the pressure on teenagers to be perfect. While the main issues in this book centered around the main characters, I was impressed with the more subtle theme of considering another person’s point of view. The main characters were students in a class called Contemporary American Thought. The point of this class is to discuss contemporary ideas or issues in order to examine your own beliefs as well as others’. One of the issues discussed was abortion. I thought that this discussion was very well done because while some students were unyielding in their beliefs, the author showed other students considering the other side.

I don’t agree with the person who tried to get this novel banned. I don’t know where the “pornography” comes into this novel. The book does have a few curse words, but they are words you hear in everyday life or on TV. This novel does a good job of covering themes that typical high school students deal with. It also showed that even though things didn’t turn out exactly how Sarah Byrnes wanted it to, in the end, everything was ok with the support of her friends.

Tags

domestic abuse, young adult in a treatment facility, peer pressure, suicide, abortion

Usage

I would love to use this as part of Banned Books Week, especially because I think a lot of the issues and themes in this novel would be good discussion topics that can be used in the classroom as well as the library. I wouldn’t have picked this book based on the cover, so I think making it part of a display with an engaging quote (maybe from a class discussion) in order to get students interested.

Awards

ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults
American Bookseller Pick of the Lists
California Young Reader Medal
School Library Journal Best Book
ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults

Censorship

In 2011, a parent in the Belleville, Wisconsin school district wanted the book banned because it was ‘pornographic’ and contained ‘vulgar language.’ The book was part of the curriculum, and students were offered alternate novels if they were uncomfortable reading Crutcher’s novel. Despite this parent’s request to ban the book and remove it from the curriculum, the school board voted against her request. http://yaloveblog.com/2011/09/30/banned-books-week-staying-fat-for-sarah-byrnes-by-chris-crutcher/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

References

Harper Tempest. (n.d.). Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes book details. Retrieved February 15, 2018 from https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062687746/staying-fat-for-sarah-byrnes (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Kirkus Reviews (2010, May 10). [Review of the book Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Kirkus Reviews]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved February 15, 2018 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/chris-crutcher/staying-fat-for-sarah-byrnes/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.