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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
This book read like a teenage didactic thriller. Can you have all those qualities in the same book? Crutcher proves you can. Eric’s voice is humorous and LOUD, and it never felt quite realistic for a teenager, but at least it was entertaining. And we are taught many, many, many social and political lessons through his eyes. In my opinion, this book tackles too many “big issues” at once, and none of them very well. There’s child abuse and abortion and religion versus state and body image and mental illness and suicide. As another reviewer said, this book has an agenda. And it seems the agenda is more important than the characters, because we get pages of debate about these issues without any real action or character development. I think it would have been a more believable book if Crutcher would have picked one, maybe two, issues to develop, because I have a hard time believing kids are confronted with this many issues within a couple weeks (and when I say confronted I mean CONFRONTED; at least one of these issues happens to a character in almost every chapter). So all in all, I wanted to like this book because the thriller part drew me in, but I couldn’t because I felt like these “big issues” were being stuffed down my throat. I prefer a great story over a great message any day. But perhaps this book will appeal to all the kids who love to argue political and social issues on Twitter.
Read this book studying Young Adult literature. I guess it wasn't so bad, I don't think I'm too much of a fan of Chris Crutcher but since I still own the book, I think I'll read it again.
There is some heavy stuff in here. I'm talking abuse and neglect of children, suicide, strong violence in some parts, and that's only a part of it. More than once I had to put the book down to give myself a break before coming back to it.
Read more here:
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/staying-fat-for-sarah-byrnes-by-chris-crutcher
Read more here:
http://www.platypire.com/j-hooligan/staying-fat-for-sarah-byrnes-by-chris-crutcher
An easy read but a great book that deals with a lot of issues. Definitley an emotional rollercoaster. Chris Crutcher is such a talented author he truly makes you feel like you know the characters inside and out.
CATEGORY SATISFIED: REQUIRED READING
I loved this book! the author had a very unique voice, and unique characters, that made the book impactful and interesting.
The novel follows Eric "Moby" Calhoune a fat kid whose best friend Sarah Byrnes is scarred from a terrible burn she suffered as a child. Sarah has ceased speaking inexplicably, and Eric tries to help her out, and on the way discovers that truth about her abusive father.
I loved this book! the author had a very unique voice, and unique characters, that made the book impactful and interesting.
The novel follows Eric "Moby" Calhoune a fat kid whose best friend Sarah Byrnes is scarred from a terrible burn she suffered as a child. Sarah has ceased speaking inexplicably, and Eric tries to help her out, and on the way discovers that truth about her abusive father.
Fat boy and girl with burned skin unite as junior high outcasts. When boy starts losing weight from joining the swim team, he continues to eat prodigious amounts of junk food so that he will maintain his hefty physique and thus his friendship with the girl. Girl stops talking for some mysterious reason, and he visits her in the treatment center daily. Finds out girl's dad is a mean s.o.b. Discusses contemporary issues such as abortion in high school class with rigidly thinking classmate.
Friendship, suspense, psychology.
Friendship, suspense, psychology.
It took a while for me to get into this book, but once I did, I couldn't put it down. This is an unbelievably moving, deep book. It covers bullies, kids who are different, suicide, abortion, child abuse, mental and physical abuse, and the power of friendship through all these things. I would love to see this book updated and reprinted so it would be more relevant for students today.
When Eric was fat and Sarah Byrnes was horribly scarred, the only friends they had were each other. Now Eric 'Moby' Calhoune has discovered swimming and leaned up a bit, but Sarah Byrnes has gone from bad to worse—a mental break has left her in a hospital ward, awake but unable (or unwilling) to speak. As Eric navigates tough questions at school and searches for answers to help Sarah Byrnes, a complex tale of trials, trust, and friendship unfolds. The book is well organized—it jumps easily between past and present, juggling multiple plot lines, and brings everything together into a cohesive whole. There are exciting moments in the book, especially near the end, and interesting moments throughout. The main character is complex, interesting, and well-written. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same about the side characters; many of them felt like one-note characters, crafted to serve a role in the plot and theme. And speaking of theme, there was a lot of it. Some of it I agreed with, some I disagreed, but even the parts I agreed with sometimes felt shoved down my throat. Many of the villainous characters were completely one-sided, and many of the good characters were only explored as they related to the theme (I'm looking at Jody). The ending tied up nicely, but it almost felt a little bit too perfect to be real. That being said, I recommend this to people who are interested in heavy topics, but still want humor throughout and a happy ending.
Excellent job by Crutcher as always. I am continually impressed with his ability to weave in current issues with a captivating storyline teens latch onto. I highlighted this ebook extensively and looking back, many are comments on issues I wish I had known when I was 18 like the characters. I applaud Crutcher for both knowing and understanding his audience and having the courage to write about difficult issues that require attention.
I have a vague memory of reading and liking this during my middle/high school phase when I used the ALA most frequently challenged book list as my personal reading list. Pulled out our somewhat dusty bookstore copy last week and found it totally compelling.