Love, Stargirl

Love, Stargirl	Alfred A. Knopf
Written by Jerry Spinelli	2007
Contemprary Realism	274 pages
Reading Level age 13-16

Summary

This is a journal to Leo written by Stargirl. It is after she moved and Leo is in college. She is still in home school and has classes like the Elements of Nothing. Her next door neighbor is Dootsie, a young and energetic little girl who loves being with Stargirl. Dootsie introduces her to Betsy an agoraphobic who loves visitors and leaves a red sock in the window when she is needs more cheering up than usual. Stargirl misses Leo tremendously and has conversations with him in her journal. She continues with her cheerful musings, leaving donuts for Charlie, who sits at his wife’s grave and helps Alvinia become less of a terror and kinder to Dootise. Stargirl meets Perry, who doesn’t go to school, sucks on lemons, and reads French novels like Ondine. She goes through her days with Dootsie, visiting with Betsy and wandering the town. She still receives information from Archie about Leo and Senor Saguaro. She often thinks about Leo and Dootsie automatically doesn’t like him for breaking Stargirl’s heart. Eventually, she comes to terms with their breaking up and tells Leo she won’t be sending her journal to him after all and that if they ever met they could start over.

Potential Problems

Perry is poor and steals things off the grocery shelves and doesn’t pay for them. Though Stargirl condones it, he doesn’t get in trouble for it.

Recommendations

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed reading Stargirl. This gives insight to her thoughts and through them her actions.