Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Crutcher, C. (1993). Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York: HarperCollins.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes tells the story of two teens who are in their final year of high school. Eric (also known a Moby) and Sarah Byrnes have been friends since Jr. High. She has a severely scarred face and Eric is significantly overweight. Together the two form a bond as outcasts in the social hierarchy of Jr. High. Once they enter high school, Eric joins the swim team and starts to lose weight. He actually tries to keep the weight on because he still wants to be friends with Sarah Byrnes. By their Senior year, they are still friends but Moby is even more involved in swim. As Sarah Byrnes’ home life spirals out of control, she ends up at a mental hospital. Moby visits her and tells her all that is happening the Contemporary American Thought (CAT) class and slowly develops a plan to save Sarah Byrnes. With the help of his CAT teacher and his mother’s boyfriend, Sarah Byrnes is rescued and is able to find happiness.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes contemporary realistic fiction novel told from Eric’s sometimes humorous and always honest point of view detailing the issues and problems faced teenagers in this coming of age story. This story covers a variety of topics including child abuse, abortion, suicide/attempted suicide and religion all in a way that teens would relate to and understand. The topics are debated and wrestled with, not necessarily solved. The issues of family dynamics are also examined as Eric’s understanding and supportive mom is dating and Sarah Byrnes’ dad is escalating his abusive behavior. There is an underlying theme that unsuspected heroes are everywhere and you never know when you will find one.

Awards:

ALA Best Book for Young Adults (1994)

SLJ Best Book (1993)

Interesting Links:

http://www.chriscrutcher.com

Monster

Monster

Myers, W. (1999). Monster. New York: HarperCollins.

Monster tells the story of the Steve Harmon who is on trial for murder. The story takes places during the trial with a few flashbacks to a time before the trial. On trial with the alleged shooter, James King, this sixteen-year-old boy is faced with charges of felony murder which carries a significant jail sentence. He is considered an accomplice to murder because he (allegedly) was the one who gave the all clear for the robbery to occur. As the trial proceeds, Steve struggles with his fear during his nights in prison and truly understanding what is happening in his court proceedings. The prosecution depends heavily on jail house snitches, who all have criminal histories of their own. As the trial comes to an end, Steve is acquitted, but continues to wonder if he is a monster as the prosecuting attorney claimed.

Monster by Walter Dean Myers is a contemporary realistic fiction novel that tells the struggle of a teen in jail while on trial in New York City. The format of the novel is unique as it is written a film script with occasional journal entries. It is written completely from Steve’s point of view allowing the reader to feel his terror and confusion. This book tackles the tough issues of young men in jail and how they cope with the horror of what their future holds. The novel reflects on how one poor choice (bending to peer pressure) can result in a lifetime in prison. One of the major continuing themes throughout the novel is: What is really the truth?. Is it what happened? Is it what you rationalize your actions to be? Is it what you wish it to be? Steve continues to wrestle with this idea as the book closes. Is he a monster?

Awards

Printz Award (2000)

Coretta Scott King Honor Book (2000)

Coretta Scott King Honor Book for Illustrations (which were done by Meyers’ son)

Best Book for Young Adults (2000)

Books of Interest:

Monster: A Graphic Novel adapted by Guy Sims (2015)

Interesting Links:

http://walterdeanmyers.net

Looking For Alaska

Looking for Alaska

Green, J. (2005). Looking for Alaska. New York: Penguin Group.

In Looking for Alaska, Miles Halter decides to go to boarding school during his junior year of high school to escape bullying while seeking “The Great Perhaps”. When he arrives at Culver Creek Preparatory School, he finds himself rooming with Chip “The Colonel” Martin and dorm neighbor to Alaska Young. As school commences, Miles (now nicknamed Pudge), begins to make friends and become part of a group. There are many pranks played, cigarettes smoked, bottles of wine drunk and Pudge even gets a girlfriend (even though he is slightly in love with Alaska). After a night of heavy drinking, Alaska drives off into the night and dies tragically. Pudge and the Colonel (and the rest of the student body) are left to come to grips with her death. Her close friends wonder if perhaps, she committed suicide. As Pudge and the colonel come to grips with her death and the possibility that they might have been able to stop her, they pull one last prank in her honor.

Looking for Alaska by John Green, is a moving coming of age story told from Pudge’s point of view, giving it a slight autobiographical feeling. This realistic novel would appeal to teens as it deals with friendship and relationships. Navigating the dating world is painful, but as told by Pudge, it is even more so. The novel is written in two parts: the countdown to Alaska’s death and the counting up from her passing. Pudge and the Colonel wrestle with her death, their possible role in her tragic accident, then the possibility that she took her own life. They try desperately to makes sense of something that never will. The novel ends with forgiveness: forgiving Alaska for driving drunk, forgiving himself for not stopping her, while finding the strength to move on.  

Awards:

Printz Award (2006)

ALA Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults (2006)

ALA Teens’ Top 10 Award (2006)

Interesting Links:

http://www.johngreenbooks.com

Recommended Novels by John Green:

The Fault in our Stars

Paper Town

An Abundance of Katherines

Turtles All the Way Dawn (Release date Oct. 2017)