Sarah Byrnes and Eric have been friends for years. When they were children, his fat and her terrible scars made them both outcasts. Later, although swimming slimmed Eric, she stayed his closest friend.

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 currents pull them both under.

It's a tough one to answer, because there are so many wonderful books out there. But when all's said and done, I think I have to go with "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes," by Chris Crutcher.

Overweight Eric "Mobe" (as in "Moby") Calhoune and burn victim Sarah Byrnes united during junior high because of their shared "terminal uglies," fighting off bullies and insidious school faculty, to name a few.

Now in high school, Mobe's an athlete on the swim team, despite his efforts to remain plump and preserve his treasured friendship with Sarah Byrnes (sick of every idiot calling attention to her condition and her last name, she makes everybody call her by her full name).

When she winds up in the psych ward, the story launches into something both horrifying and heart wrenching: When Sarah Byrnes was three, her abusive father Vergil held her face to a hot stove.

Mobe's got to find a way to protect her from her father and bring her back into reality.

It's a truly gripping tale, one that will have readers on the edge of their seats. Vergil Byrnes is by no means an ordinary villain; he is a monster. But Crutcher doesn't simply stop with Sarah Byrnes' saga.

On the sidelines, but no less important, is the story of Mobe's rivalry with Mark Brittain, a fellow swimmer.

Mark is hardcore religious, while Mobe's more accepting and easygoing. It's fascinating to watch such different individuals with so different beliefs go head to head, whether in the pool or in their debate class, Contemporary American Thought.

It's heavy stuff, but Crutcher adeptly balances it by giving his characters the ever welcome gift of sarcasm. The humor is a welcome counterbalance to such controversial taboos as abortion, religion and censorship. Virtually every line is one that will make you howl with laughter, even as you are moved to tears by the characters' plights. This, my friends, is real life.

And what characters there are! Besides the aforementioned few, Eric's mother is a delight, the very picture of hip maternal instincts, and her geeky boyfriend Carver ultimately proves heroes can come in surprising packages. Ellen Lemry, Mobe's swim coach/CAT teacher/adviser is a force to be reckoned with.

But my hero is Steve Ellerby, an enigma in and of himself. Son of a preacher and a choir boy, he also possesses an obnoxious blue car and what some would consider a sacrilegious personality. He's acerbic, he's disrespectful, he's fun.

And he has the best scene in the book, but race through it and you'll miss it when Brittain kneels at the pool side to lead his teammates in prayer: "Ellerby drops to both knees, throwing his head back as he stretches his arms wide, and loudly begs Jesus to come swim the laps for him. When there's no answer, he opens one eye to a squint and asks if John the Baptist is home. `Damn,' he says in the face of no response."

In fact, "Staying Fat" is frustrating because no amount of description will be adequate in capturing its splendor in its entirety. This review is only the tip of the iceberg. There's still so much to discover: Read it and find out for yourself.


A powerful, sad, honest novel   July 31, 2002
 17 out of 18 found this review helpful

Chris Crutcher has tapped into the teenage psyche for this one. This is a most confusing time in any person's life: you are just starting to deal with certain issues (sex, fitting-in, questioning religion, et cetera), and you may be angry and don't know exactly why. I remember my teenage days quite vividly and have found that I can relate to this story on certain levels.
This is a story about Eric "Moby" Calhoune, a so-called fat kid, who bonds with Sarah Byrnes, an outcast burn victim. They form a friendship that is tested on many occasions by Sarah's inability to face her past and her relationship with her father (Mr. Byrnes is one of the most evil characters I have ever encountered in literature). Soon things get dangerous for both Sarah and Moby, but I won't divulge anymore details. You must read the book to find out what happens.
I will only say that while this book centers on abuse (in many forms), it also deals with a wider range of teenage problems. What is so profound about this story is that it could happen, it may have even happened to some of us or someone we know. It's truthful and realistic. Be careful. It may hit you hard when certain things are revealed. If you tend to cry while reading books or watching films, you might want to have a tissue handy when you sit down with this one.


A Modern Classic   August 1, 1999
 9 out of 12 found this review helpful

As a teacher, I have read hundreds of young adult and children's books. I found Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes to be among the best I have ever read. For me, it ranks with Bridge to Terabithia, The Chocolate War, Maniac Magee, The Giver, and A Wrinkle in Time as one of the must reads for young readers. Deeply affecting, richly written, yet easily accessible, this is a modern classic.


A burning agenda hinders storytelling   January 3, 2001
 8 out of 19 found this review helpful

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. I attended a book talk that Mr. Crutcher gave and was extremely interested in reading Sarah Byrnes after he described the plot. However, after reading it, I was left with not much more than disappointment. I found the premise extremely relevant -- two kids, friends from childhood, their characteristics which made them social rejects (obesity and deformity)is the glue that bonds them together. Eric starts to shed his reject status once he becomes a star swimmer in high school; Sarah Byrnes can never shed her face. Even so, Eric sticks by his friend.

This could have been a great book. Instead, the author put his personal agenda in the way and tripped over it. This book, to serious people of faith, particularly those who adhere to the Christian faith, will not be able to "turn their other cheeks" to the blatant anti-Christian bashing that permeates the book. Subtle Mr. Crutcher is not. Instead, Mr. Crutcher leaves the reader with no other perception but to think that conservative Christians who take their faith seriously are nothing but hypocrites that, if they would just examine their beliefs, do a little soul searching for lack of a better way to say it, will eventually "see the light" and mend their "radical" ways. I have to wonder if Mr. Crutcher truly knows a Christian such as he has portrayed in this book (I'm referring to Mark Brittain) --one who knows what he/she believes and isn't afraid to stand up for those beliefs (thankfully not to be confused with the depicted Christian here who is boarish, obnoxious, and who lives to wear his faith on his sleeve, and is insecure in the final analysis), or if he's merely relying on poorly drawn sterotypes. You know, the stuff movies are full of. I'd say that Mr. Crutcher needs to research that population better if he wants to use one person to signify the whole.

In addition, my respect for the author took a sharp descent as he set up straw man after straw man to tear down arguments against abortion, the separation of church and state, etc., etc. (He threw in just about every hot button issue!) He used the age old arguments against, but never put in a good argument for the conservative stand. He had plenty of opportunity to do so as he was using a classroom environment as his bully pulpit to get these views on the table. I felt that if he was going to discuss these issues in his book, he could've been more even-handed.

I agree with many of the other reviewers who wrote that the language was obscene. It's true that teens use pretty profanity-laden language, but even so, here it was gratuitous.

So, all in all, a good idea, but sadly, agenda got in the way of the story telling.


Without doubt, a must read!   June 19, 1998
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

No book has ever captivated me as much as this one. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is a fiction. yet realistic book written by Cris Crutener. The characters of this book are strong characters that contribute to the greatness of this book. Eric Calhoune, a senior, faces the task of helping close friend, Sarah Byrnes, who was burned in an accident. Sarah's dad, her problem, is not necesaraly someone you'd like to be friends with. Eric faces other small, bothersome problems. The biggest of them all, Mark Brittain, a fellow classmate who constantly lectures everyone on his strong catholic believes. The only thing Eric doesn't despise form Mark is his girlfriend, Jody Mueller Mrs. Lemry, a strong character, is Erics swimming coach and CATS teacher. Eric tries to help Sarah overcome a psycological problem, by visiting her at the psycological center. Soon, he finds out a dark secret Sarah has kept from everyone for a long time. He then becomes involved in a constant fight to keep Sarah safe. This book came to me when i wasn't sure if I still enjoyed reading. Lately, as a student i have not been able to choose the books I wanted to read, and wa not enjoying reading. Choosing this book was not easy. Mainly, I thought I was going to have to face another boring book. I was wrong. As I read the first pages, I found myself cought up in the plot. Without realizing it I finished, what was perhaps, one of the best books I ever read. It's true that this book involves the same kind of drama many books involve, but something about it is different. it has this special thing that seperates it from other books. You will not encounter a language that is boring or too elegant. The language is realistic and so real that young people will have no trouble reading and understanding it. The author has not avoided using bad words: there are plenty that give this book a realistic tough. The characters don't talk like stuffy old people, but like everyday people, making this book even better. This book is great and not a moment! boring, once started it can be diffiult to stop. This book is perhaps the best ever. The author has known how to write a funny, entertaining, realistic book. It doesn't fall in the same category as those books htat constantly repeat the same ending as they all lived happily ever after. Without doubt, this book is a 10!