staying fat for sarah byrnes by chris crutcher

All of the adult antagonists are pretty one-dimensional, though a kid bully gets some more nuance. Uptight Administration storyline, and the way Jody's story plays out (I'm being intentionally vague to avoid spoilers) - again, they might have seemed fresher in 1993. Certain plot elements are extremely predictable, like the Inspirational Teacher vs. Other parts, including some of the class discussions from Eric's Critical American Thought class, are starkly relevant. It's just that teens now are going to struggle with that aspect and miss out on a lot of the humor.

I can't really hold that against the book in its time, I'm sure they added a lot. First off, parts of it are extremely dated. I have such mixed feelings about this title. I thought I had read this as a teenager, but if I did, a whole lot of it went right over my head! I suspect that I remember seeing the title on the library shelves, but that I never checked it out. Eric visits her regularly, wondering all the time: what happened to make her check out like this? Is there any way he can help her find her way back? And she's in a mental hospital, in a catatonic state. Now, in high school, Eric has discovered swimming and has made at least one other friend, but Sarah Byrnes is still one of the most important people in his life. She and Eric, the fattest boy in school, made up a sort of club of rejects, banding together to use their wits against their tormentors. 'My subject will be shame.Eric's only friend in middle school was Sarah Byrnes, a girl with an acerbic sense of humor and severe burns on her face and hands. So,' Lemry says quietly, 'your subject will be the juxtaposition of man and God in the universe?'Įllerby shakes his head. Lemry better get a handle on this class before it turns into some kind of therapy group. I feel tears welling up, and I see them running down Ellerby's cheeks. I was embarrassed that I haven't found a way to include her somehow the way Mobe has.' I was embarrassed that I let some kid go to school with me for twelve years and turned my back on pain that must be unbearable. Because the other day when I saw how hard it was for Mobe to go to the hospital to see her, I was embarrassed that I didn't know her better, that I ever laughed at one joke about her. And if she's going to get help, she'll get it from herself or she'll get it from us. “From a distance,' he says, 'my car looks just like every other car on the freeway, and Sarah Byrnes looks just like the rest of us.

Staying fat for sarah byrnes by chris crutcher