Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

February 14th, 2008 at 1:16pm |

Audience: 11 and up

Rating: A-

Synopsis:

Stargirl has moved to Pennsylvania, but she has not forgotten about Leo. This novel is in the form of a series of letters Stargirl writes to Leo describing her new life, zany new friends, and her continued love for him. Even though she’s not in the enchanted desert anymore, Stargirl’s still one of a kind and her new set of friends are just as unique and lovable as she is.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) At first I didn’t like reading from Stargirl’s perspective. The letter format bothered me too. I wanted to know the whole story, and Stargirl’s not the most reliable narrator. I also was dying to know the other half of the story; what is Leo doing and what would his reaction to Stargirl’s letters be?

Eventually, I got used to Stargirl’s perspective, and it was interesting how honest and open she was about her own feelings. It was increasingly interesting to see how Stargirl had experienced the events at Mica Area High School. Her feelings in these situations are very different than Leo’s were. The periods of time that brought him the most relief were the times that upset Stargirl the most.

Also clarified in this book was why Stargirl liked Leo in the first place. If you read my posting for Stargirl, you saw that I didn’t get the attraction at all. Now? I’d be curious to read a third book in this series: one in which Leo and Stargirl meet again.