Book Description

Characters:
Sarah Byrnes~ she has always been an outcast with having burns on her hands and face. She is friends with Dale and Eric Calhoune. She lives with her abusive father and wont back down to anyone.
Eric Calhoune~ Eric, the narrator of the story, also know as Mobe, has been an outcast his whole life because he is heavy. He is very good friends with Sarah. He enjoys swimming and arguing. He looks up to Sarah because of her courage that he never has to stand up to people.
Mrs.Lemry~ she teaches CAT class and also coaches the swim team. She is a kind and understanding person. She likes to get involved with her students' lives.
Elerby~ He is one of Eric's best friends. He is religious and drives a religious car.
Dale Thorton~ He is the school bully that is always picking on Sarah and Eric. He always finds a way to get his way. He is not the brightest bulb on the tree but he loves building cars. He later becomes friends with Sarah.
Mark Brittain~ He went out with Jody. He has very strong believes. He also swims and is very competitive.
Jody~ she is a girl that went out with Mark. She got pregnant and had and abortion. She later tells Eric and they start going out shortly after. She is opinionated and has very strong believes.
Eric's Mom~ she and Eric are comfortable with talking about anything. She is in her 30s and dates a lot but she fount a man named Carver and she likes him a lot.
Carver~ He dates Eric's mom and gives Eric very good advice about life.
Mr. Byrnes~ He is Sarah's dad. He is abusive and always thinks he knows everything. He is a creepy creeper.
Mr. Mautz~ He is out to get Eric. He is the schools principle and is always trying to catch Eric doing something bad.

All these characters change and relize that it is on the inside what counts and that you have to stick up for your self.


Setting: Present day in the midwest

Summary:
Sarah Byrnes and Eric Calhoune had been friends since they could remember. They were both outcasts in their school. Eric because he was fat, for lack of a better term, and Sarah because, as she says, she dropped a pot of boiling spaghetti on her face when she was little. Although nobody believed her nobody dared asked her or say different. Having people make fun of them, they wrote a news paper called, Crispy Pork Rinds, which made fun of all the people that made fun of them. They especially liked to make fun of a boy named Dale Thornton. He was the school bully. Eric and Sarah decide to later include Dale in their news paper so they won’t get beat up. They are very close to getting caught and they decide to stop with the news paper. As they go threw their senor year of high school, and having their news paper stopped, they grow farther and farther apart. Eric starts loosing weight and becomes more popular. As for Sarah, which lives just with her abusive father, is sent to the hospital because she became unresponsive. Eric goes to visit her at the hospital and finds out that she is faking to stay away from her father. He also finds out that her father pushed her against the stove and gave her the burn marks she has on her face. Eric tells his teacher Mrs. Lemry, which teaches a class where they talk about recent issues in the world. Mrs. Lemry wants to help and takes Sarah from the hospital without permission and the two of them head to Reno to find her mother that ran away when Sarah was little. Sarah’s dad wants to find Sarah and kill her for running away but can’t find her. He is desperate and he goes to Eric to ask him where she is. He says he doesn’t know. The next night when Eric is driving home from his swim practice Sarah’s dad holds a knife to his throat and asks him one last time where Sarah is. Eric tells him they went to Reno. Mr.Byrnes doesn’t believe him and tries to kill Eric. Eric runs threw streets and allies trying to get away when he feels a pain in his back. Mr. Byrnes had stabbed him and Eric knew that he didn’t have much time to find help so he ran to Dale’s house and Dale called the hospital. Eric later finds out that Sarah found her mom but didn’t bring her back. Mr. Byrnes got caught and put in jail. Sarah was adopted into Mrs. Lemry’s family and Sarah, Dale, and Eric remain friends for many years to come.