Love, Stargirl: Difference between revisions
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* '''Cinnamon -''' Stargirl's pet rat. |
* '''Cinnamon -''' Stargirl's pet rat. |
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* '''Perry Delloplane-''' A confusing and mysterious boy who steals to live, but also steals part of Stargirl's heart. |
* '''Perry Delloplane-''' A confusing and mysterious boy who steals to live, but also steals part of Stargirl's heart. |
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* '''Charlie -''' An old man who sits in front of his |
* '''Charlie -''' An old man who sits in front of his late wife, Grace's grave. |
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* '''Arnold -''' Grown man who walks around town and often says "Are you looking for me?" |
* '''Arnold -''' Grown man who walks around town and often says "Are you looking for me?" |
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* '''Margie -''' A woman who works as a donut seller. |
* '''Margie -''' A woman who works as a donut seller. |
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Revision as of 14:58, 18 April 2010
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Jerry Spinelli |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Kids,Teens, and Adults |
| Publisher | Knopf Books |
Publication date | August 14, 2007 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 274 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-375-85644-0 |
| OCLC | 319548034 |
| Preceded by | Stargirl |
Love, Stargirl is a 2007 young adult novel by Jerry Spinelli.
This book is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling book, Stargirl and centers on "the world's longest letter" in diary form. It picks up where the previous novel left off after Stargirl left Mica High and describes her bittersweet memories in the town of Mica, Arizona along with the involvements of new people in her life, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.[1]
Plot summary
Love, Stargirl begins on New Year's Day as the first of many entries in the "world's longest letter" from the main character.
During the first months in the book, she is still confused over her feelings for Leo but still says this to him in the letter as she has 'nothing to hide' from him. This leads to her missing out the Vernal Equinox and emptying her happy wagon. She befriends Dootsie, a loud but loveable 5 year old who takes a shine to Stargirl and her pet rat Cinnamon.
Over the summer Stargirl develops a closer relationship with Alvina, who is struggling to make the transition between child and teenager. At the request of Alvina's mother (after hearing how Stargirl dealt with Alvina and her little brother fighting), Stargirl takes Alvina under her wing, and along with Dootsie, spend the summer engaged in various activities. Along with Alvina, Stargirl gets to know Perry, a generally unsociable fellow who matches her in both wit and confidence (realising this when they first talked on the top of his roof in the middle of the night). Stargirl, despite the fact that along with Perry come his "harem" of girls known as the Honeybees who share his attention and affections, finds she has feelings for Perry.
With the arrival of autumn, Stargirl's life is affected when, arriving at her Enchanted Hill to plant another spatula in her solar calendar, she sees a house on fire, and in her attempt to break in to warn any possible residents, ends up in the hospital with smoke-damaged lungs and a sprained ankle. She stays in the hospital for one week, getting visited by Dootsie (in her waffle halloween costume), Alvina, the Honeybees and Perry, also getting calls from Betty Lou. Once Stargirl recovers, she returns to her Enchanted Hill to plant the next spatula, only to find Perry has been planting them in her absence. Perry and Stargirl share a sunrise kiss, ending Stargirl's confusion over having feelings for both Leo and Perry, but leaving her to deal with the reality of living with uncertainty.
As winter sets in, Stargirl turns herself to planning her Winter Solstice party, inviting all of the people she has encountered in her new town to celebrate the beginning of winter by joining her at sunrise on the Enchanted Hill. Stargirl also discovers the truth about Perry, whose mother has a new baby, whom Perry has been trying to support by working several jobs last summer and by resorting to "stealing" to avoid burdening her with feeding him. In the end, Stargirl becomes worried that no one will show up for her solstice party, but is reassured by Archie, her former teacher and friend from Arizona, who arrives to attend her celebration and comforts her with his wisdom.
On the morning of the Winter Solstice, Stargirl is overwhelmed and surprised when a huge crowd of her friends and acquaintances, and several other people she's unfamiliar with, flock to Calendar Hill, as she now calls it, including her friend Betty Lou who hasn't left her house in nine years. The magic moment of sunrise is magnified by a special tent her parents have built, allowing the sunlight to stream in through a hole in the tent, forming a single beam that cuts through the crowd of people and pierces the back wall. Everyone is profoundly affected by the start of this new day, and returns home to the start of real winter.
The novel ends with Stargirl still struggling over the uncertainty of her past and future relationship with Leo. Archie, however, has brought Stargirl a letter from Leo, that simply states "YES," effectively answering Stargirl's question of "Will we ever meet again?", which she has been asking him mentally, after pitching the calendar spatulas, before leaving Calendar Hill. Thus, a year and a day after she began the letter, Stargirl concludes with happiness that she will live in the moment until Leo comes back into her life, and decides that she will send this letter on to Leo so that he can know her feelings.
Characters
- Susan "Stargirl" Caraway - Eccentric girl/main character.
- Dootsie Pringle - Lovable yet boisterous 5-year-old (6-year-old at the end of the book) who becomes Stargirl's best friend. Dislikes Alvina but gets along with her.
- Alvina Klecko - Aggressive and tomboyish 11-year-old girl who somehow gets along with Stargirl later. She works as a sweeper in Margie's shop and has a crush on the blond boy she beat up in Dogwood Festival.
- Betty Lou Fern - Middle-aged agoraphobe who hasn't been outside for 9 years who becomes Stargirl's friend and confident.
- Cinnamon - Stargirl's pet rat.
- Perry Delloplane- A confusing and mysterious boy who steals to live, but also steals part of Stargirl's heart.
- Charlie - An old man who sits in front of his late wife, Grace's grave.
- Arnold - Grown man who walks around town and often says "Are you looking for me?"
- Margie - A woman who works as a donut seller.
- Leo Borlock - Stargirl's ex-boyfriend. Although not having a role in the book, he is the one who Stargirl writes her letter to to keep in touch and always mentioned.
- Mr. Caraway - Stargirl's father who works as a milkman and often brings Stargirl with him very early in the morning to deliver milk to the houses.
- Mrs. Caraway - Stargirl's mother who accompanies Stargirl at midnight while using a walky-talky when Stargirl leaves to calendar hill.