I first read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli with my daughter when she was nine. It is one of my all time favorite books. I often give it as a gift to the women (young and old) in my life.
Stargirl is a shimmering exhibition of courageously living out loud as oneself. Sprouting authenticity, Spinelli describes her “as real as hope, as real as possibility, as real as the best in human nature.” He “elegantly and accurately captures the collective, not-always-pretty emotions of a high school microcosm in which individuality is pitted against conformity. Spinelli’s Stargirl is a supernatural teen character–absolutely egoless, altruistic, in touch with life’s primitive rhythms, meditative, untouched by popular culture, and supremely self-confident. It is the sensitive Leo whom readers will relate to as he grapples with who she is, who he is, who they are together” Editorial Review by Karen Snelson
Take an afternoon, brew a pot of tea and read this work of young adult fiction together with your daughter, or your niece, or a friend. As foreign as she may seem, I think the book will leave you longing for a little more Stargirl in your life.
On living up to yourself,
Carrie
Tags: authenticity, self help, Spinelli, Stargirl