Love, Stargirl | Jerry Spinelli | A moving story of change

Love, Stargirl | Jerry Spinelli | A Teacher's Perspective

books:

Love, Stargirl

	Love, Stargirl Jerry Spinelli Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 38 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

LOVE, STARGIRL picks up a year after Stargirl ends and reveals the new life of the beloved character who moved away so suddenly at the end of Stargirl. The novel takes the form of "the world's longest letter," in diary form, going from date to date through a little more than a year's time. In her writing, Stargirl mixes memories of her bittersweet time in Mica, Arizona, with involvements with new people in her life.

In Love, Stargirl, we hear the voice of Stargirl herself as she reflects on time, life, Leo, and - of course - love.

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A moving story of change

Jerry Spinelli's LOVE, STARGIRL tells what happens when Stargirl moves from Arizona and leaves her boyfriend beyond for a new home in Pennsylvania, where she faces a new school and possible new friendships. Fans of STARGIRL will find it a moving story of change, told in Stargirl's own 'voice'.

A Teacher's Perspective

This piece of CRF features a young girl who is quirky, wise beyond her years, and homeschooled. She has moved away from her first love and is writing a journal which is, in fact, a letter to him. In the process of fitting into a new place, Stargirl becomes a bit of a celebrity in her new town because of her outstanding virtues and wisdom.

I love Stargirl! She is the girl I always wanted to be...so insightful, poetic, and wise. She pursues her own questions with passion and without regard for how others will view her. Stargirl is a great role model for modern-day tweens and teens.

As an extension idea, I would study the winter and summer solstice and ancient practices of telling time with the sun. In addition, I would use Stargirl as a model, listing her positive attributes and noting the way she helps others...even when she risks being chastized for her aid. I also think Stargirl's habit of trying to understand other people's points of view would be a great lesson to bring out of this book in literature circles.

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Stargirl Writes Back

Jerry Spinelli's "Stargirl" may be my favorite book of all time. It's not only a well told tale about individuality and innocent love, it's also a completely transforming read to the people who became engrossed with the character of Stargirl Caraway and her outlook on life. I enjoyed the book so much that I purchased "Love, Stargirl" (the sequel) before I even finished the first book. But then it sat on my shelf, unread for months. I was actually nervous about reading it. Maybe I was scared that the mystery and intrigue of Stargirl would be ruined, as this book is told through her point of view. Maybe I was unsure that Spinelli could recreate the magic that the first novel sparkled with. Whatever the reason was, I forgot it by the time I was a quarter-way into this book, as I was mesmerized by the new ways that Stargirl and the cast of characters that surround her could captivate me.

The character does lose a bit of the mysterious air she had about her in the first book, but that's not a bad thing. The first book was told through Leo's point of view, and since he was a regular, "normal kid," the reader also kind of pictures themselves in Leo's shoes when they meet the out-of-this-world Stargirl. I know I did. And this book is sort of like a letter to Leo, as well as the normal readers who loved but never really fully understood her... but now we get a chance to. We see her interact with a large cast of quirky and heartbreaking characters, all who have their own wonderful stories to tell.

It's a light read in some ways and heavy in others. It'll constantly move you, bring you to tears every so pages, and might just change the way you look at things. This book, and Stargirl, is simply a celebration of living in the now.

10/10 Classic.

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Love, Stargirl

I have to admit I was a little disappointed in Love, Stargirl. I was expecting it to be very similar to Stargirl. I found it to be very different. Stargirl was written from Leo's point-of-view, whereas Love, Stargirl is written from Stargirl's point-of-view. This book finds Stargirl pining over missing Leo. It also takes some of the mystery out of Stargirl. I didn't feel the magic the first book portrayed. Aside from all of that, it is a good book for 5th through 7th grade girls. There are lessons to be learned from Stargirl.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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