About this title: High school senior and swim-team star Eric "Moby" Calhoune, always a little overweight, is Sarah Byrnes's only friend. Badly scarred from a burn during childhood, Sarah protects herself by being acerbic to others. When Sarah is hospitalized for not speaking, Eric learns the truth about a horrific event in her past, and in trying to protect her, finds himself in water almost over his head.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Bantam Books, New York
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780440219064ISBN:044021906X
Description: Good. No Jacket. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. Good clean flat paperback with only very light overall wear. pages clean and unmarked. light edge rubbing. read more
Description: Used-Acceptable. Differnt cover art than shown in image Cover shows wear. Front or back cover creased. This book is a library discard Has typical library markings. Pages show some tanning. All books are boxed and ship via USPS with delivery confirmation. read more
Description: Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 224 p. Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Description: Good. 0688115527 Good Condition, No Markings, highlighting or notes, ex-library book, ** Satisfaction Guaranteed ** Orders ship same or next business day. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Date Published: 1995
ISBN-13:9780440219064ISBN:044021906X
Description: Acceptable. FORMER LIBRARY BOOK. MAY HAVE COVER WEAR, SPINE CREASES, HIGHLIGHTING, UNDERLINING & PAGES YELLOWED FROM AGE. FASTER SERVICE FROM US! ! ! read more
Description: Acceptable. Former Library book. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Former Library book. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 224 p. Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Description: Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 224 p. Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Description: Good. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 224 p. Intended for a juvenile audience. Intended for a young adult/teenage audience. read more
Edition: Book Club (BCE/BOMC
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Greenwillow, N. Y.
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780688115524ISBN:0688115527
Description: Cover Art. Very Good in Very Good jacket. Hard Back. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. X-Library with normal flaws........The hard cover and the jacket has light shelf wear........We are very careful when we list our books, but sometimes something minor may get by.... read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Greenwillow Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780688115524ISBN:0688115527
Description: Very Good in Very Good w/ Mylar Cover jacket. Ex-Library First Edition in very good condition, Clean covers with light wear, tight binding, pages and text clean, Dj is very good in a clear mylar cover. Ex-library with pocket in back, lib name stamps on top and bottom and flylear. read more
"Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is a heartwarming novel that makes you appreciate loyalty in friendship of youth. The story tells the tale of two junior high friends who have found friendship in each other because of exterior flaws. The narrator, Eric (Moby), who is overweight, finds companionship in Sarah Byrnes, who has disfigured hands and face because of a burn accident in her childhood. As they mature into high school, Eric joins the swimming team and trims off some of his weight. He still, however, keeps his bond with Sarah strong, though his physical flaws are not as emphasized as hers. The real conflict of the novel begins when Sarah is suddenly put in a mental ward. Throughout the novel, their friendship is tested, as he tries to help her in any way he can without breaking his vow of secrecy about her past. Eric must face Sarah's evil father, his vice principal, and his classmates as he forges through this challenge of helping Sarah. This story represents the genre "realistic fiction" in its entirety, as it taps into the difficult issues that plague the teenage years. The story makes you appreciate and value the fact that there are still good teens out there. There are still kids who will stand against the crowd if it means doing something to help a friend."
"Eric's best friend is a tough, mean, scarred girl from a troubled home, Sarah Byrnes. They are friends because they are both objects of scorn and jokes among their peers. Eric is the fat kid. Sarah is disfigured by burn scars on her hands and face she's had since she was 3. There comes a time when Eric realizes he can change--not be fat--when he goes out for the school swim team and discovers he's pretty good. He's afraid his friendship with Sarah will end if he no longer has his role as the fat kid no one likes, thus we get the title of the book. Then one day, Sarah just shuts down, almost catatonic, and is taken to the psych ward of the hospital. Eventually the story unfolds of how she was burned by her father all those years ago, who is an abusive, crazy man--and how her (also abused and terrified) mother ran away after the incident...
I think Chris Crutcher has a knack for addressing very serious and difficult issues in his novels, and in a very believable teen voice. I think he also can't resist tying up a pretty neat ending. But it does make you feel better after all the hurt that goes on in the story."
"I loved this book, though I didn't think I would even be interested in it when I first read the description/review. It had a lot of complex issues in it, which is probably why it has been challenged so much. Basically the story is Eric (nicknamed Moby b/c he's fat) is best friends with Sarah Byrnes, who is ironically named as she has huge burns across her face and arms. She has completely shut down and is in the hospital and it is up to Eric to figure out what is wrong with her. All of this while dealing with a self-righteous overzealous guy named Mark, who's always blasting everyone with his beliefs whether people want to hear them or not, and trying to avoid Sarah's creepy dad Virgil. These are the issues mentioned/discussed in the book: a bit of God bashing/different beliefs, physical/emotional abuse by a family member, abortion, bullying, depression, suicide, stabbing a child by an adult, and running away. That's a lot for one book, but Chris Crutcher manages it. And makes it into a really good story too. I liked that Moby wasn't your typical fat kid, i.e. pathetic and whiny, and that he was this champion swimmer and really smart guy. I loved Ellerby's character, who I didn't find out till the end of the book an Episcopal preacher's kid (PK, like me), and had some interesting views that I mostly agreed with."
"This was an intense book about two friends - one who is fat and one who is severely scarred - who remain loyal and true to each other throughout the treachery of school and humiliation. The book dealt with several emotional subjects like bullying, abortion, physical abuse, dishonesty and courage.
Sarah Byrnes, was burned at three years of age and never given the proper reconstructive treatment so her face and hands are horribly scarred. Eric Calhoune has always been the "fat boy". When Sarah is admitted to the hospital, Eric is by her side all the way even when the situation becomes personally dangerous to him. Sarah is an inspiration to me with her courage to continue going forward and finding happiness in life despite being saddled with a horrible disfigurement.
The characters are complex and well-developed, easy to admire, love, or hate as the case may be. I couldn't put the book down."
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