by Chris Crutcher
Okay, so I'm giving Mr. Crutcher one last shot by reading the ever-popular Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes. It is the CC novel that is most requested, at least in my library experience.
Who is staying fat for SB and why? Eric "Moby" Calhoune is Sarah's best friend, and an outcast, just like her. Eric is chunky; Sarah's face and hands are disfigured by burns from her childhood. When Eric joins the swim team and slims down, he continues to eat a lot, in order to maintain his freak status and friendship with Sarah. For him, it is a way of showing his loyalty to Sarah.
When Sarah tunes out and winds up in the psych ward, Eric struggles with the situation. He misses his friend. But when he learns how she really incurred those burns, pain and trouble ensue.
I tried so hard to like this novel. But CC keeps doing the same thing: inserting an anti-Christian agenda. What's up with that? Why does the author insist upon ruining a perfectly good story (Eric is quite engaging) with irrelevant barbs at religion? I don't understand this author. At all. I just cannot recommend this man's books to anyone. Very disappointing.
10/16/06
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