Stargirl

I have owned this book for several years but had never found the time to crack it open until I was looking for YAL novels for this course. I was always put off by it's title and appearance and had a hard time believing that it was anything worth reading. However, after reading and very much enjoying Spinelli's Maniac Magee for this class, I decided to give Stargirl a chance. What I found was a really nice story that could spark change and appreciation if put in the hands of High School students. It has a little something for boys and girls as the narrator and main character is a male, but the hero and second most central character is a female.

I was really impressed with this story and found it to be much more useful as a part of a classroom than I had previously thought. It is definitely a younger YAL novel than some, but it does have enough maturity to be useful at the 9th grade level for sure. That would also be a good year for it because of the morals that it embodies. It speaks of individuality and acceptance. Through the model of Stargirl herself, this book shows kids how important it is to look past the differences of their classmates and appreciate the great things each person has to offer. Now, as corny as that sounded is exactly how un-corny the actual novel presents these ideas. It manages to pass on a good message without sounding preachy or out of date. I think it could appeal to a lot of kids as it is relevant and easy to read.

I would definitely use this novel in my classroom. I might not teach it to the whole class but rather offer it as a free read. I wouldn't want to make it cheesy or ruin its wholesome message by beating it over the heads of my students. I think it finds the most success as an individual experience which each student could react to on his or her own. I think it could really inspire kids who have felt like the outsider to embrace those unique qualities and realize them as good assets.