Crutcher, C. (1993). Staying fat for sarah byrnes. Greenwillow Books.
Summary
When Eric was younger, he was obese, and his nickname of "Moby" has stuck with him through school, despite his joining the swim team and large amount of weight lost. Eric formed a lasting childhood friendship with Sarah, a girl who is an outcast due to the scarring on her body from an accident when she was a child. Sarah's scars don't go away, so Eric starts to eat more to 'stay fat' for her. When she tells him to stop, she forms a friendship with a boy who shares a common abuse with her. One day Sarah stops talking, functioning, everything. They admit her to a mental hospital and Eric visits her everyday, trying to figure out what happened. Eric turns to Sarah's new friend, Dale, for help and information. When all is eventually revealed, Eric and Sarah go through friendship struggles that eventually makes them both stronger in the end.
A Teacher's Perspective
I had never heard of Chris Crutcher, nor had I ever heard of the book Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. When I had to pick a book by him, I decided to go with a google search of his most popular and widely taught book, and this one came up in every list. After reading it, I can see why. This book doesn't seem preachy, but some may call it so. It's such a unique perspective on the abuse that Sarah goes through, that it's almost relatable (not truly if you haven't gone through it) in the sense that the writing style is relatable. Crutcher creates such an elaborate situation that you can understand why Sarah reacted and reacts the way she does to her environment.
Want to know more?
To purchase your own copy of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes: Click here! (it can be read on KU as well)
Here is a wonderful novel study on TeachersPayTeachers (not my product): Link
A simple youtube search of the novel returns with several students creating 'book trailers' as school projects; there are outlines for this on TPT as well.
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