Sarah Byrnes and Eric have been friends for years. When they were children, his fat and her terrible scars made them both outcasts. Later, although swimming slimmed Eric, she stayed his closest friend. Now, Sarah Byrnes—the smartest, toughest person Eric has ever known—sits silent in a hospital. Eric must uncover the terrible secret she’s hiding, before its dark currents pull them both under. Another good book-I know, I know, you probably think I'm a softy-but I promise if I really truly don't enjoy a book I will tell you. This one is at least tied with Speak, although to be honest I don't think I personally enjoyed Speak as much as a lot of my peers.
This book took longer for me to read than my previous two, but it covered a huge range of issues: Friendship, Alienation, Physical/Psychological Abuse, Family, Body Image, Religion, Societal Pressures, and Suicide. It covers so many issues but is not completely overwhelming. I would label it as moderate-difficult reading level. There is a semi-sophisticated vocabulary selection and some of the text from Eric's point of view takes some reflection to figure out. It's definitely an intense read, but definitely worth it. I feel as though it could be recommended to students who maybe just want a good book to read outside of class, and not necessarily one about a specific topic to relate to, just something good to read that will maybe expand their thinking. Definitely a keeper.
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