Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #355103 in Books
• Published on: 2002-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Review
"This is going to be huge and it deserves to be" The Guardian "Believe the hype about this novel, which is both lyrical and beautiful an unforgettable book" The Bookseller "This is a story which, once read, is not easily forgotten" Time Out "Could match the success of ARTEMIS FOWL" The Bookseller

Customer Reviews

A deep and thoughtful book.
"Stargirl", by Jerry Spinelli, is a very touching story about a girl who dared to be different. She had a different kind of name (Stargirl), she wore a different kind of clothes, she brought a ukelele and a pet rat to school, but what really set her apart was that she cared. More than anything, she cared about the people around her.

When she first arrived at Leo's school, everyone was uncomfortable around her. She sang "Happy Birthday" to complete strangers, she wore no make-up and really unusual clothes, she made up her own version of the Pledge of Allegiance... At first no one believed she was real, then slowly people started to accept her, even like her.

However, later in the school year the whole school turned on her. Her only crime was not behaving the same way as everyone else, being herself, being different...

I loved this book because it really got me thinking. As I read it, I considered the people in my own school and thought about how we all strive to be the same, to be accepted. Jerry Spinelli wrote about a girl who did things that were just out of the question, things that were just not done and his message gets through very clearly: Why shouldn't these things be done? Why shouldn't people all be different?

All in all, a brilliant read and a very thought-provoking story. It really effects the reader. If enough people read it maybe it will incite a revolution!

An enchanting tale of someone we all wish we could be.
Although this is meant to be a book for teenagers, it is really an extremely enchanting and surprisingly philosophical tale for all ages. It tells a story of a girl who is a willow-the-wisp and charms a town, and especially the local high school, into adopting individualism. This lovely creature drops her change on the floor, because people love to find money, she mysteriously knows of all the personal events in peoples lives (birthdays, marriages, deaths, accidents etc) and delivers tokens of kindness to their doors or serenades them with her ukulele on their birthdays, simply to make them feel happier. This isn't, however, a sickly sweet story of do-gooding but a comment on how we all feel we must conform. It is beautifully written, with prose which often read more like poetry and a gentleness that is rarely observed. I was enchanted by this book and have bought six copies to give to friends, who in turn have bought some for their friends. It may not be a classic but I know you'll know someone who would love this book.

how to describe....?
im 16 and admittedly not an adult yet, but pretty much :) and i loved this book. At first i bought it for my little sister but thought i better read it through first. I was amazed. Its so ...different and just so spot on. We all have someone that changes our lives in a way that we cant even start to describe, and the author has captured this perfectly in 'stargirl'. Someone who challenges or perceptions of them and other people. So buy it for ur children and read it yourself. U'll be touched, i promise.