52 pages • 1 hour read
Chris CrutcherStaying Fat For Sarah Byrnes
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 1993A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 11-13 Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 11 Summary
When Eric goes the hospital next, again Virgil Byrnes is there and again he tells Eric he better tell Sarah to knock it off and come back home. Eric continues to play ignorant and leaves a notebook for he and Sarah to communicate in. Sarah writes Eric a long letter, confessing her love as a friend for Eric (despite the tough exterior she’s maintained over the years) and her deeply-felt hope that her mom might still be out there, ready to love her and keep her safe from her dad. Though Sarah said in her note that Eric is not to show it to anyone, he does share it with Ms. Lemry, who cries some and resolves to help Sarah find her mom.
Chapter 12 Summary
Ellerby and Eric go once more to visit Dale Thornton, this time to ask if he has any information as to where Sarah’s mom might be. Dale tells them that he heard Sarah’s mom took off for Reno, Nevada. At school, Eric is called down to the principal’s office, where he is accused of harassing Mark Brittian. Mr. Mautz attempts to get Eric to stop seeing Jody, but Eric refuses to agree to do that. At swim practice, tensions run high between Eric and Mark, but Ms. Lemry defuses as much as possible. Eric decides it is probably also best that he warn Ms. Lemry that Mr. Mautz is suspicious of the CAT class, citing it as a source of bullying against Mark Brittian. Finally, before the day’s end, Eric goes to see Sarah and confesses that he told his coach about Sarah’s situation. Sarah is angry at first but the two embrace before Eric leaves.
Chapter 13 Summary
Sarah goes to live in Ms. Lemry’s attic, hiding out from her dad. In CAT class, discussions again focus on religion, with Mark Brittian dominating the debate. When abortion becomes a subject of discussion again, Jody Mueller shocks the class by confessing that she had an abortion and the father was Mark. Mark calls her a bitch and runs out of the classroom, shouting that it is all a filthy lie.
Chapters 11-13 Analysis
Eric’s quandary of how to help Sarah is suddenly resolved when she passes him a secret note, confessing that she is being abused by her father and that her one hope is reuniting with her mother, who Sarah thinks may be able to offer her a new home and safer life. Eric quickly springs to action, reaching out to Dale Thornton for information concerning where Sarah’s mom may be. He decides it is time to involve adults and solicits Ms. Lemry’s help. Because Eric acts so ably at the right moment, they are able to sneak Sarah out of the hospital without Mr. Byrnes knowing.
In contrast to Eric’s productive soul searching, Mark Brittian is unable to face the challenge caused to his beliefs when his girlfriend announces that she had an abortion and he was the father of the child. Instead of admitting his own fallibly, he accuses Jody of lies and appears a fraud to his classmates.
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By Chris Crutcher
