A review by 4saradouglas
Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

5.0

Original (11/18/07): Eric “Moby” Calhoune and Sarah Byrnes had been best friends for years. They were both social outcasts; Moby because of his excess weight and Sarah because of the fact that she had terrible scars all over her face and hands from a childhood accident. To prove his commitment to Sarah, Moby stayed fat for her for a year; overeating on purpose to make up for all of the calories he was burning in swim practice. When Sarah Byrnes stops speaking and is put in a hospital, Moby does all he can to figure out why. When he hears a rumor that the burns covering her weren’t caused by an accident at all, Moby decides to do all he can to save her from being hurt again. This book is fantastic. Crutcher is not afraid to go after big issues and to challenge people’s beliefs. Though this book is over ten years old, it does not seem dated and all of the issues discussed are just as pertinent to today’s teens.

Update (2/24/13): When I read this 6 years ago, I said that it didn't seem dated at all. Now, having just given it to my book club and knowing it was written a year before the oldest member was born, it did seem a bit dated. Some of the references will be lost on the kids, but the issues are still issues we're passionate about today, and the action and drama are just as intense this second time around for me. I'm hoping the kids can stick with it through the slightly boring first 70 or so pages to get to the real meat of this novel!