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Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

Summary

Eric and Sarah are school friends with a lot in common: both are misfits-Eric because he's grossly fat, Sarah because of hideous scars from a childhood accident. When Eric joins the swim team and begins to shed his extra pounds, he fears he might lose Sarah's friendship. Instead, as Sarah confronts her past and the fury of an abusive father, that friendship grows in exciting and unexpected ways. 216 pages, 8th grade and up

Discussion questions

Spoiler alert! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. Author Chris Crutcher dedicates this book "for all those who finally stand up

    for themselves." Which characters learn to stand up

    for themselves? What has to happen to get them there?
  2. Narrator Eric Calhoun ("Moby") seems to think of himself as Sarah's only real friend. But super loser Dale Thornton is the person she tells what really happened when she was burned. Why do you think she chooses Dale to confide in?
  3. Sarah Byrnes has spent a lifetime standing up for herself but it hasn't made her safe or happy. What additional lessons or skills does she pick up in the course of the book?
  4. After the abortion discussion in Contemporary American Thought class, Mark Brittain attempts to kill himself. Does the educational value of the class outweigh its risks-why or why not?
  5. Some readers find it confusing that the book skips back and forth between the narrator's middle school memories (such as publishing CRISPY PORK RINDS) and what's happening in the present time. Why do you think the author tells the story in this way-what does he gain?
  6. Why do you think the book ends with Carver, a Vietnam veteran, breaking the law to see that Sarah's dad is caught and punished?
  7. Moby's dad left the family before Moby was born and Sarah's mother runs out on her daughter not just once, but twice. Yet there are several strong adults-parents, a teacher, a minister-who help the kids and who have their respect. What qualities do you notice in the "good" adults? Do they seem realistic?
  8. Moby's dad left the family before Moby was born and Sarah's mother runs out on her daughter not just once, but twice. Yet there are several strong adults-parents, a teacher, a minister-who help the kids and who have their respect. What qualities do you notice in the "good" adults? Do they seem realistic?

    9. Snacks: swim-team pizza and, if you can find them, crispy pork rinds!

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