LSSL 5385 book blogs STAYING FAT FOR SARAH BYRNES

Crutcher, c. (2018). Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes. S.l.: Greenwillow books.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is a book by Chris Crutcher that aims to tackle a lot of the heavy topics that young adults face.

Eric Calhoun, "Moby," is our protagonist, and it’s impossible not to like him right away. Moby: the boy is such a loyal friend that he vows to stay fat for his best friend, Sarah, for a whole year. Sarah Byrnes is outspoken, cool, and ironically, has burns on her face and hands, allegedly from a childhood accident. When Eric starts to lose weight after joining the swim team, he tries to eat as much as possible to stay an outcast like his dear friend, and fellow outcast, Sarah. Inevitably, Eric starts to find friends and popularity, but when Sarah lands herself in the psych ward and completely mute at the hospital, Eric knows something must be terribly wrong. When Sarah opens up to him about the real reason behind her burns, Eric breaks the silence, and risks their friendship by asking others for help. As the book unfolds, we see the menacing truth behind Mr. Byrnes, the horrors that Sarah has had to face, and the loyalty of their friendship through it all.

The best part of this book was the voice, for sure. Crutcher is a great storyteller, and there was so much personality behind Moby's voice that I really felt like I knew him, which really lends itself to the vivid imagery- it was easy to paint the pictures in my head. Sometimes, it was downright hilarious, too.

There was a lot I loved about this book. However, I did think that he had a pretty clear agenda and he wasn’t subtle in it. Every conservative Christian in this book is cast in terrible light, which is less than fair and, well, flat out annoying and lazy writing in my honest opinion. I always prefer to see the characters take an organic journey that flows naturally, while watching their experiences and opinions unfold; the forced agenda behind Crutcher's character development didn’t do that for me. The plot had a lot of untapped potential, because, at times, it seemed like Crutcher ignored his plot and characters to push the agenda. It was obnoxious at some points. That being said, I still liked this book a fair amount, and in our politically charged times today, young adults of this generation likely will, too. I just didn't love the forced agenda and personally the morals seemed twisted to me. 

Many of Crutcher's books have been banned, so if you are interested in reading more like this one, perhaps check out Running Loose or Athletic Shorts, both by Chris Crutcher.