When I was in my early stages of becoming a reader, Jerry Spinelli was one of my favorites. I remember for the longest time Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush? was at the top of my list of books to reread. A few years ago, I returned to Spinelli and his newer books (Stargirl and Eggs among them).
The first book is told from the viewpoint of Leo, a teenager living in Arizona. Stargirl is the newcomer to school, toting a ukulele and subscribing to no one's rules but her own. This follow-up book is told from Stargirl's perspective, after she has moved to Pennsylvania and is once again being homeschooled. Touted as the longest letter that she'll never send, Stargirl journals her new life in story form, as if talking to her faraway friend.
Being as unconventional as she ever was, Stargirl goes on field trips assigned by her mother. Only the place is picked out, and Stargirl must simply write poems of what she sees and experiences there. Another project finds Stargirl creating a sundial type calendar as a countdown to the Winter Solstice. The great build and near finale of the book is a viewing party wherein Stargirl invites all of the new friends she's made in her small town. With all the inventiveness of his main character, Spinelli introduces us to a precocious 6-year old and an agoraphobic elderly woman as Stargirls' best friends.
Addicted as I am to YA fiction, Spinelli is still at the top of my list. I can only hope that there are more tales of Stargirl ahead.
"I think I had discovered that the closest I could come to reliving the past was to tell my story to someone, the right someone."
No comments:
Post a Comment