Books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

If you liked Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, read Ironman, Tears of A Tiger, or After — the closest matches in our database, matched on shared themes, shared award lists, and reading level.

Closest match: Ironman by Chris Crutcher — shares interpersonal relations

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Looking for books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher (Realistic Fiction · grades 9–12)? It’s most often read for its themes of conduct of life, interpersonal relations, and high schools. The 10 titles below are the closest matches in the ReadingList database — each scored on shared themes, shared award lists, genre, and reading level, and each linked to the curricula, states, and grades where it’s assigned, with primary sources.

These are reading-level matches, not just topical ones — so the picks stay grade-appropriate for a grades 9–12 reader. See how we judge text difficulty on our methodology page.

10 books similar to Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

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Why each is a match

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Ironmangrades 9–12
Is by Chris Crutcher, the same author, shares themes of interpersonal relations, and both on the California Young Reader Medal list. Amazon → books like this →
Tears of A Tigergrades 9–12
Shares themes of high schools and schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Aftergrades 9–12
Shares themes of high schools and schools, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
All We Have Leftgrades 9–12
Shares themes of conduct of life and interpersonal relations, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Plague Yeargrades 9–12
Shares themes of high schools and schools and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
The Only Alien on the Planetgrades 9–12
Shares themes of high schools, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction). Amazon → books like this →
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soulgrades 9–12
Shares themes of conduct of life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
If You Come Softlygrades 9–12
Shares themes of schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Impulsegrades 9–12
Shares themes of interpersonal relations, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →
Perfect Chemistrygrades 9–12
Shares themes of high schools, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12). Amazon → books like this →

Books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes for younger readers (K–2)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps K–2— same scoring, different audience.

  • Never Spit on Your Shoes by Denys Cazet · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Mr. Tanen's Ties by Maryann Cocca-Leffler · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Rotten Teeth by Laura Simms · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • The Toll-Bridge Troll by Patricia Rae Wolff · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes for elementary readers (grades 3–5)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 3–5— same scoring, different audience.

  • Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of conduct of life and schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Never Spit on Your Shoes by Denys Cazet · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Flying Solo by Ralph J. Fletcher · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes · grades K–3 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Math Curse by Jon Scieszka · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes for middle school (grades 6–8)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 6–8— same scoring, different audience.

  • Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of conduct of life and schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Strider by Beverly Cleary · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of high schools and schools.
  • Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos · grades 6–8 — Shares themes of schools, both on the California Young Reader Medal list, and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Flying Solo by Ralph J. Fletcher · grades 4–6 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).
  • Math Curse by Jon Scieszka · grades 4–8 — Shares themes of schools and same genre (Realistic Fiction).

Books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes for high school & teens (grades 9–12)

Closest matches whose grade range overlaps 9–12— same scoring, different audience.

  • Sweat by Lynn Nottage · grades 11–12 — Shares themes of interpersonal relations, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (11–12).
  • The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Ann Brashares · grades 9–12 — Shares themes of conduct of life, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–12).
  • What it Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah · grades 9–10 — Shares themes of interpersonal relations, same genre (Realistic Fiction), and overlapping grades (9–10).

Common questions

What books are similar to Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes?
The 10 closest matches to Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher on ReadingList include Ironman, Tears of A Tiger, After, All We Have Left, and Plague Year. Each is scored on shared themes (conduct of life, interpersonal relations, and high schools), shared award lists, genre, and reading level (grades 9–12), and links to the curricula, states, and grades where it is assigned in US schools, with primary sources.
Are books like Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes reading-level appropriate?
Yes — every match is a reading-level match, not just a topical one, scored on Lexile and grade band (grades 9–12), so the picks stay grade-appropriate. See how ReadingList judges text difficulty on the /standard methodology page.
How does ReadingList choose similar books?
Matches are ranked by shared themes, shared award and reading-program lists (two books picked for the same state award were chosen by the same committees for the same readers), same genre, comparable Lexile and grade band, and publication decade — computed from cited public curriculum data, not editorial opinion or AI-generated summaries.

Book data last updated 2026-09-05. Matches are computed from each book’s cited attributes — see the methodology.

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