Module 3: Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher

Crutcher, Chris. 1993. Staying fat for Sarah Byrnes. New York: Harper Tempest. ISBN-13 978-0-06-009489-8

Book Excerpt:(in italics)

Mrs. Lemry to Moby (aka Eric Calhoune):

“I can’t figure exactly how you’re put together inside,” she says. “You’re a jock who doesn’t compete in his best sport, a student who doesn’t excel where his aptitude is his highest, and you surround yourself with a supporting cast straight out of ‘The Far Side.'”

“Tweech his own,” I [Moby] said, and pirouetted to tippy-toe out of the room.

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher tells the story of Eric Calhoune, known as Moby by everyone in his universe, and his long lasting friendship with Sarah Byrnes. Moby and Sarah’s friendship came about because both were outcasts in their school. When they met, Moby was fat, and Sarah was disfigured by burns that occurred when she was three by supposedly poured a boiling pot of spaghetti down on top of her, but we find out later that there is more sinister truth waiting to be found out concerning how she got her burns. The novel opens at the beginning of Moby and Sarah’s senior year, and we find out that Sarah has had a mental breakdown and is in a psych ward. We also discover that Sarah and Moby’s friendship has grown apart because of Moby’s competitive swimming and weight loss. However, Moby loves Sarah Byrne’s (not romantically) and their friendship, and we discover as the story progresses that he intentionally stayed fat for her for an entire year so she would not think he was going to drop her as he made new friends and entered the social strata of an athlete. Narrated by Moby, the story unfolds as he tries to figure out how to help Sarah and what caused her breakdown. Moby’s narration goes back and forth between the present and the past as he tries to deal with his present world with Sarah Byrnes in a catatonic state and find clues from the past that may help unlock the mystery to Sarah Byrnes’ breakdown. Moby does eventually discover what led to Sarah’s institutionalization, and it is more serious than he realized. As Moby begins to act and try to help Sarah, he finds himself and Sarah endangered. Will Moby be able to help Sarah and keep them both out of harm’s way? Read this awesome book and find out.

Spoilers ahead. Chris Crutcher’s Adventure-Sport’s story Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes is a classic novel and destined to have a long shelf-life. Crutcher has done an excellent job of fleshing out the characters in this book. Main characters Moby and Sarah are intelligent, flawed, and real. Their friendship and loyalty to each other, especially Moby’s loyalty, is touching and makes the reader long for such friendships. For example, in Moby’s case, how many young teenage men would intentionally work hard to stay fat in order to keep their friendship with their co-outcast friend? Moby, that’s who. Sarah, though fearing losing Moby to the athletic or more popular crowd, is equally loyal to Moby and will not let him stay fat for her.

Crutcher also does a good job of surrounding Moby and Sarah with a cast of reasonably developed supporting characters. In fact, one book review says that the “characters who interact with Moby and Sarah Byrnes—members of his swim team, classmates in their Contemporary American Thought class, and parents and teachers—are a quirky, multidimensional bunch” (School Library Journal 1993). Even Moby’s mom’s boyfriend Carver is a minor but dynamic character who ends up transforming from a loser in Moby’s eyes to a hero by the end of the story).

This story also has a high index of verisimilitude and deals with serious issues such as being bullied for looking ugly or not being “normal,” child abuse, abortion, and suicide.

Adventure stories often have characters who deal with crisis and show physical and mental accomplishments. This is true of Moby and Sarah. They both learn to become impervious to those around them who would seek to bring them down about their looks. A School Library Journal (March 1993) says this of Moby and Sarah: both characters “face the world with the cold armor developed after years of mockery and abuse.” In spite of that abuse, Moby and Sarah, like the fighters they are, turn the tables on their enemies. For example, when Sarah and Moby were in junior high, they created the underground anonymous paper Crispy Pork Rinds as a vehicle to annihilate their foes, such as Principal Mautz and bully Dale Thornton. And Moby and Sarah both learn to deal with living in single parent homes, one of which is abusive (Sarah’s). Physically, Moby is strong and has become a strong competitive swimmer. Moby also finds strength to face his fears when he does what he can to save Sarah from her father. Of all the elements in this book that speak to its strength, probably Crutcher’s humor (sometimes dark humor) and dialogue outshine them all. For example, remember Crispy Pork Rinds? Moby and Sarah wittily came up with the name for their paper because Sarah was “crispy” (from her burns) and Moby was the “porker” and “rinds [were] the part that’s left—that no one pays attention to” (Crutcher 1993, 17).

I highly recommend this book to mature teen (and adult) audiences. Boys will like it, but so will girls. This book can be recommended for independent reading in schools, but beware, it has been challenged by the censors due to the serious issues it tackles and graphic language, so do not be surprised if some parents come out of the woodwork in protest of this book.

Book Cover Art found at Barnes&Noble:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Staying-Fat-for-Sarah-Byrnes/Chris-Crutcher/e/9780613614641/?itm=4&USRI=staying+fat+for+sarah+byrnes

Module 3: Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. 2006. Dairy queen. Boston: Graphia. ISBN-13 978-0-618-86335-8

Fifteen- (almost sixteen)-year-old D.J. Swhenk finds the summer before her junior year filled with working her parents’ dairy farm (as her dad recovers from hip surgery) and unexpectedly training Brian Nelson, a Hawley quarterback, to get ready for the up-coming football season. D.J. lives in Red Bend, Wisconsin, and Brian plays for Hawley, which happens to be Red Bend’s major football rival. Brian’s coach, who happens to be a Swhenk family friend, sends Brian to D.J. for summer training, and at first, Brian seems like a spoiled, lazy, complaining rich kid—totally different from D.J. However, as the summer progresses and D.J. begins to take her role as trainer seriously, D.J. and Brian strike up a truce, then a friendship, and then a budding romance. But all that is put in jeopardy when D.J. realizes how deeply she loves the game of football and decides to go out for the Red Bend high school boy’s football team, which will pit her against Brian. Will D.J.’s decision destroy her friendship and possible romance with Brian? How will her family react? What about D.J.’s friend Amanda who resents her relationship with Brian and is not too happy about her going out for football? Can D.J. achieve her dream of making the football team without destroying all the relationships in her life? Read Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock and find out.

Spoilers ahead. Dairy Queen fits into the Adventure-Sport’s genre category. First of all, the adventure novel tends to have characters undergo a crisis or an ordeal. In this novel, protagonist D.J. undergoes many ordeals. For example, she has to deal with the crisis of living in a family where no one talks, her older brothers are estranged from the family, her younger brother Curtis refuses to talk, and D.J.’s father is recovering from an injured hip so she has to take on the brunt of the physical labor. Thus, she flunks sophomore English and has to drop out of sports. Add to that. she finds out her best friend Amanda is gay and thinks she has been dating D.J. for years while D.J. has been totally clueless and has been developing an interest in her former enemy Brian Nelson.

Another way in which this book fits into the Adventure-Sport’s genre is the wish fulfillment elements to this story. For example, D.J. wishes to make the boy’s high school football team, and she succeeds. She also desires for her family to talk more and become less dysfunctional, and some of this does occur by the end of the book.

A third way in which this novel epitomizes the Adventure genre is through D.J.’s ability to show physical and mental accomplishments. We see D.J. take on the chores of running her family’s dairy farm, which is a job that her father and two older brothers used to do. We also see her successfully train Brian Nelson, and as a result become so physically fit that she is able to try out and make the high school football team. D.J. also shows mental strength by learning how to overcome her fears of what her family and friends may think of her trying out for football and doing it any way.

Readers who appreciate strong female protagonists, humorous dialogue, and football will enjoy this book. A 2008 School Library Journal review says this of the book: “Wry narrations and brisk sports scenes bolster the pacing, and D.J.’s tongue-tied nature and self-deprecating inner monologues contribute to the novel’s many belly laughs.” Murdock has created a story that will capture the hearts of teens and even inspire them to work hard in their own lives and go after their dreams. Murdock deals realistically with family drama, a teen girl’s angst that includes trying to figure out her feelings for Brian Nelson, and just navigating her way through life.

This is a good book for teachers and school librarians to recommend for independent reading and is also a book that could be used in assigned literature circles that are reading sport’s-themed books. The target group for this book is teen girls, “girls who, like D.J., aren’t “girly-girls” but just girls, learning to be comfortable in their own skins” (School Library Journal, April 2008).

Book Cover Art found at Barnes&Noble:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dairy-Queen/Catherine-Murdock/e/9780618863358/?itm=1&USRI=dairy+queen

Module 3: I'd Tell You I Love You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Carter, Ally. 2006. I’d tell you I love you, but then I’d have to kill you. New York: Hyperion Paperbacks. ISBN-13 978-142310004-1

Meet Cammie Morgan, aka The Chameleon. Cammie is a 15-year old student at the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, but this academy is no ordinary girl’s private school, and Cammie is no ordinary high school student. Gallagher Academy is an undercover spy training school for girls, and Cammie is a spy-in-the-making. Since Cammie’s mother is the Headmistress of the Academy, and Cammie’s father died in the line of duty as a spy, Cammie is a legacy student who is under pressure to make the grade in spy school. Unfortunately, Cammie’s sophomore year has some unexpected complications. First, she has to deal with her new Covert Operations teacher Mr. Solomon, who does not seem to like her. Throw in an unexpected romance with clueless civilian boy Josh Abrams, and watch Cammie’s sophomore year of school turn into a balancing act as she attempts to lead a double life as a spy and as a regular girl with hottie Josh Abram as a boyfriend. Will Cammie successfully be able to pull this venture off and still pass Covert Operations 101? Read I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter and find out.

Ally Carter’s I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You is a fun adventure story for YAs. If you are the type of reader who enjoys light-hearted spy capers, then this is the book for you. This book clearly falls into the adventure genre. Like the YA Adventure-Mystery genre, this book expects you to suspend disbelief to a high degree. Probably the most appealing elements of this novel are the fun capers that Cammie and her friends embark on as they train to be spies and sneak Cammie out of Gallagher Academy to rendezvous with her new boyfriend Josh. Author Ally Carter also presents the storyline in a clever way by having Cammie narrate the story in first person, but also ever so often making the reader believe that Cammie’s narration is part of an Operations report that will be read by her mother, the Headmistress of the school. Pop culture aficionados will chuckle at Carter’s allusions to pop culture, such as a recurring allusion to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. An August 2006 School Library Journal review says this book has a “unique plot, snappy dialogue, and Cammie’s wry asides maintain the interest” of the audience. However, if you like your books with some depth, fully developed characters, and high-levels of suspense, this is not the novel for you and may leave you feeling unsatisfied after the read.

This book would work well for tweens and teens, 11 years on up. The target audience for this book is most likely 11-15 year old girls. I recommend this novel for those who like spy-adventure, light romance types of stories, and teachers and librarians (school and public) should recommend this book for independent reading. Book talks and trailers would be a good way to introduce this book and author to a bigger audience.

Review Excerpts

• A Publisher’s Weekly (May 2006) review says this is an “entertaining novel” with “fun details,” and “Readers will eagerly anticipate the next installment.”
• A School Library Journal (July 2006) review says that Cammie’s “double life leads to some amusing one-liners, and the invented history of the Gallagher Girls is also entertaining, but the story is short on suspense,” but “the novel has been optioned for a film and will likely attract readers who enjoy lightheared, frothy tales and squeaky-clean movies.”

Book Cover Art found at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Gallagher-Girls-Library-Binding/dp/B003C0LM16/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1288028779&sr=8-3

Module 2: Angus, Thongs, and Full-frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

Rennison, Louise. 1999. Angus, thongs, and full-frontal snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson. New York: Harpertempest. ISBN-13 978-0-06-447227-2

Angus, thongs, and full-frontal snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison is the first in a series of books about Georgia, a fourteen-year-old British girl.This first book centers around a year in the life of Georgia and spans approximately one year, from late August through July. Through Georgia's various journal entries, the readers get a bird's eye view into Georgia's perspective on her life as well as her desires. Georgia lives with her parents, her three year old sister, and her cat Angus. During the course of the year, she has to deal with a fresh cousin, her sexual awakening, pining for the Sex God (aka Robbie Jennings), fighting with her friend Jas over a boy, confronting school bullies, enduring school, and trying to figure out who she is, what she believes, and how to navigate her life while ending up with the Sex God in the end--at least that is her hope.

This novel, a part of the romance genre, has been categorized as chick lit for teens. A Publisher's Weekly article that came out in November 15, 2004 (Vol. 251, Issue 46) compared this novel to Bridget Jones (as many other reviews have as well) and likened "Angus, Thongs..." as a Bridget Jones for teens. The article goes on to discuss how teen chick lit must be humorous like chick lit written for adults. Also, the article mentions how this type of literature generally "revolves around a girl's angst-ridden but witty foray into womanhood, battling the perils of cool boys who might or might not like them, uncool parents, and other peer and academic pressures." This is a perfect description of "Angus, Thongs..." and the character of Georgia.

Louise Rennison formats the novel as a series of diary entries made by Georgia. The format makes for an easy and fast read, but is also a vehicle for much of the humor in the book as the reader gets insight into the hysterical workings of Georgia's mind. Probably the stand out feature of this novel is the author's style of writing. Rennison does a great job of writing in colloquial language chock full of British terminology. Rennison kindly provides a glossary for the American readers, which is fun to read. However, the British terminology in no way detracts from the storyline, but enhances it. In fact, the British English in the book takes the sting out of some of the "graphic" language for the American audience because it does not have quite the meaning in American English as it does in British English. Georgia cusses a lot, but she does it in Spanish, and she uses French phrases scattered here and there. She may say bloody, bugger, and tosser, but to most of the American audience, this language is not viewed as profane, and when we find out what it means, it is quite funny within the novel's context.

This story also has likable characters. Georgia is funny and gets herself in one mishap after another, such as when she ends up with no eyebrows after trying to groom them with tweezers and keeps trying to even them out until they vanish. Rennison does a good job of creating other stand-out characters, such as her three-year old sister Libby and her Scottish wildcat Angus. Those two characters create some laugh-out loud moments for the reader, such as when Georgia and Libby meet up with one of the boys who Georgia dates, and Libby proceeds to inform him that Georgia had just had a big poo. Too funny! And of course, there is Angus, the bit, fat cat who likes to stalk the neighbor's poodle, capture guinea pigs, eat knickers, and generally bully Georgia, yet Rennison also makes him endearing, which is a testimony to her skill as a writer. This is a great book for a teen audience, especially reluctant readers. A librarian could prepare a book talk on this series to peak student interest, but due to some minor, sexual encounters and some graphic language, this book could be targeted by censors.

Book Cover Art found at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Angus-Thongs-Full-Frontal-Snogging-Confessions/dp/B002Z2TPAW/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1286238175&sr=8-9

Module 2: Before I Die by Jenny Downham

Downham, Jenny. 2007. Before I die. Oxford: David Fickling Books. ISBN 978-0-385-75183-4

Before I Die by Jenny Downham is a novel set in England and tells the story of 16-year old Tessa Scott who is dying of leukemia. The novel spans the last year of Tessa's life and shows how she faces death. Tessa has a list of ten things she wants to do before she dies, and with the help of her friend Zoey, her dad, and later her boyfriend Adam, she accomplishes much on her list. Some of the things on her list are to have sex, take drugs, say yes to everything for one day, break the law, become famous, visit another country and so on. As each month passes and Tessa gets sicker and sicker, the list expands and changes as Tessa re-prioritizes what is important in life.

This is a realistic problem novel that deals with a young girl's death. The central problem to the story is Tessa's fatal diagnosis of cancer and how she is going to spend the last year of her life and meet death. Tessa's journey is written in a believable way. Throughout the story, Downham shows the reader the various stages that Tessa goes through as she grapples with dying. For example, sometimes she won't get out of bed and wallows in depression (rightly so), and other times she is gung-ho about accomplishing the tasks on her list.

The author also does a good job of showing how the supporting characters are dealing with Tessa's diagnosis. The reader can not help but feel for the father who does everything he can to fight for his daughter's life in spite of the fact that doctors have given her a terminal diagnosis. The reader's heart also goes out to Cal, Tessa's younger brother, who has had to live in the shadow of his sister's illness for four years. He loves his sister, but his anger, at times, comes out, such as when Tessa won't get out of bed one day, and he tells her that he hopes she dies while he is at school (p. 42).

Downham treats Tessa's story with respect. She does not sugarcoat her battle with cancer. In fact, she goes into realistic detail about the side-effects of leukemia and its treatment. Tessa has to deal with nosebleeds, passing out, blood transfusions, leg pain, and so on. In spite of some of the dark and depressing moments in the novel, Downham tempers them with Tessa's hope and with her still wanting to be loved and not be alone, even in the face of certain death. Thankfully, Tessa meets and falls in love with Adam, and he helps see her through her illness and sticks around until the end.

I recommend this book for teens and even young adults. It deals with an important subject that is universal to all humankind, and one review in a December 24, 2007 edition of Publishers Weekly describes this book as a "luminous story," and a January 1/15, 2008 Book List book review describes the story as being told in "clear, beautiful words." On March 1, 2008, Booklist followed up its previous review of this novel by calling Before I Die a "fierce, devastating novel" that explores "end-of-life realities with honesty and grace." In spite of my recommendation, I must caution that this book should be used for independent reading and not as assigned curriculum because there are definite aspects to the book that will invite censors to come out of the woodwork, such as Tessa losing her virginity in a one-night stand, and later, her sexual relationship with Adam. Also, some of the language and realistic treatment of death may cause some parents concern.

Book Cover Art found at Barnes & Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Before-I-Die/Jenny-Downham/e/9780375849374/?itm=1&USRI=before+i+die