Love, Stargirl

Jerry Spinelli’s beloved free-spirited character from his eponymously titled 2000 young adult novel, Stargirl, returns in this companion work Love, Stargirl (2007). Writing the “World’s Longest Letter” to her ex-boyfriend, Leo, 16-year-old Stargirl chronicles her new life in Pennsylvania. Lonely and emotionally wounded by Leo’s rejection, Stargirl struggles to regain her confidence. Over the course of a year, Stargirl forms lasting friendships, falls for charismatic bad boy, Perry, and learns important lessons about self-worth and living in the moment. The novel sensitively explores themes of identity, true love, and the necessity of authentically connecting with others. Love, Stargirl won accolades from VOYA and School Library Journal, and earned a starred review from Kirkus. Disney+ has adapted the novel for film release on its streaming platform in March 2020. This guide refers to the 2012 Ember edition.

Plot Summary

In Stargirl, Susan Caraway, aka Stargirl, lived in Mica, Arizona. There, Stargirl’s joyful eccentricity, altruism, and nonconformity at first enchanted the students at her high school, then turned them, and her beloved boyfriend Leo Borlock, against her. Now, Stargirl and her parents live in Pennsylvania. Stargirl’s mother still works as a costumer, and her father, once an engineering supervisor, is a milkman.