Love, Stargirl

infobox Book |
name = Love, Star girl
title_orig =
translator =


caption = First edition cover
author = Jerry Spinelli
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Young adult 10+
publisher = Knopf Books for Young Readers
release_date = August 14, 2007
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 288 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-375-81375-6
preceded_by = Stargirl
followed_by = "Love, Stargirl" is a novel by Jerry Spinelli.

This book is the sequel to the "New York Times" bestselling book, "Stargirl" and centers around "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. [ [http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375813757 Kids@Random | Catalog | Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli ] ]

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 Stargirl to her former boyfriend Leo. The letter depicts not only Stargirl's new life in Pennsylvania, but also her emotional struggles in dealing with the loss of Leo. Stargirl reminisces about life at her high school in Arizona and about Leo; however, she soon becomes preoccupied with Dootsie Pringe, the precocious and rambunctious 5-year-old who takes her life by storm. Dootsie gets Stargirl to talk about her personal life, and introduces her to Betty Lou, a middle-aged agoraphobic woman who becomes Stargirl's confidant.

Stargirl goes through everyday life, often taking trips with Dootsie to various locations around town, including Margie's donut shop, where she meets Alvina, a headstrong 11-year-old who has a penchant for beating up boys. As winter moves into spring, Stargirl tries various methods to deal with her sadness and confusion over her boyfriend Leo, including accompanying her milkman father on a milk run. Stargirl also focuses her attention on the mysterious old man who sits by the tombstone of his dead wife Grace day after day, trying to form a relationship by leaving him donuts by the gravesite.

As spring moves into summer, various town events take place, where Stargirl becomes aware of the existence of a strange boy who will steal and take things at will. Perry, a boy about her own age, becomes an increasing frustration to Stargirl as she observes him stealing lemons and littering. After the summer solstice (June 21), Stargirl begins her plan to create a solar calendar by planting spatulas in the ground one day a week until the winter solstice (December 21), where she will have created a perfect quarter circle to mark the shortest day of the year.

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, 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. 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. 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 hill with the calendar. 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 day of, Stargirl is overwhelmed and surprised when a huge crowd of her friends and acquaintances 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?", what she has been wondering since their separation. 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.

Main Characters

* Susan "Stargirl" Caraway - 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.
* Alvina Klecko - tomboyish preteen known for Stargirl eventually befriends and develops feelings for.
* Betty Lou - middle-aged agoraphobe who becomes Stargirl's friend and confidant.
* Cinnamon - Stargirl's rat.
* Perry Dellopane- a confusing and mysterious boy who steals to live, but also steals part of Stargirl's heart.

Other Characters

* Margie - friendly donut shop owner who employs Alvina and pays her in donuts.
* Charlie - old man who spends his days at his wife Grace's tombstone in an effort to relive the past.
* Arnold - confused man who spends his days wandering around town and inquiring of people, "Are you looking for me?"
* The Honeybees - Perry's "harem," a group of girls who don't mind sharing his affections between the three of them.
* Archie - Stargirl's former teacher from Arizona

etting

Thee exact name of the town was not released in the book, but Phoenixville, Pennsylvania is most likely where it was set. For one thing, that's where The Blob was filmed. The (real) town holds a re-enactment of the scene in which moviegoers run screaming from the town's Colonial Theatre, as described in the book. Even Rapps Dam Road, where Stargirl is said to live, is real.

Cover note

The cover's color scheme is the same as its predecessor's, but reversed, and the design is the same except for the word "love" at the top.

References

External links

*Official website - [http://www.lovestargirl.com http://www.lovestargirl.com]
*Publisher's website - [http://www.randomhouse.com http://www.randomhouse.com]
**Publisher's news on book - [http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_007.htm http://www.jerryspinelli.com/newbery_007.htm]
*Author's website - [http://www.jerryspinelli.com http://www.jerryspinelli.com]
*Review by Carlie Webber - [http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/9780375813757.asp http://www.teenreads.com/reviews/9780375813757.asp]

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