Best Young Adult Novels
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book data
13,578 ratings,
3.89
average rating, 2,489 reviews
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published
2000
by Knopf Books for Young Readers
binding
Paperback, 188 pages
characters
setting
The United States
isbn
0439488400
(isbn13: 9780439488402)
description
Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 16,930)
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avg 3.89
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in July, 2008
Very sweet. I had this book lying around and picked it up to give myself a break from the Holocaust Monster I've been chipping away at for the past month, and it definitely did the trick. The kids seem a little innocent - more like elementary school than high school - but dammit why CAN'T there be beautiful and magical teenagers who hold hands at the movies and give their friends cupcakes and valentines? Why do they have to do drugs and have sex and be JERKS all the time?
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4 comments
Read in November, 2007
For some weird reason I couldn't put this book down! You should read it. It grabbed my attention and I am a very picky reader! :)
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(11 people liked it)
7 comments
Read in April, 2008
There are too many things wrong with this story. First of all, nonconformity for nonconformity's sake is not necessarily a good thing. Sure, we should not judge people who don't jump on the Abercrombie wagon. We shouldn't care if a girl want to dress hippy-style. We should applaud people who show sportsmanlike conduct.
But why do we need to applaud people's outrageous behavior, especially when it borders on staulking? Creepy.
I love that Stargirl stood for some good ...more
But why do we need to applaud people's outrageous behavior, especially when it borders on staulking? Creepy.
I love that Stargirl stood for some good ...more
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(13 people liked it)
5 comments
Read in June, 2005
recommends it for:
anyone who believes life should be magical
Okay, I'm going to say it. Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is a young adult classic (maybe even a children's classic but that's really a cataloguing issue that I am ill-equipped to discuss). This designation raises the question: What makes a book (any book) a classic? For me it means a book that is timeless; something you can read years and years after it was written without the book losing its vibrancy. A classic also needs to have memorable writing and characters. It needs to speak to the reader. I...more
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Read in January, 2004
recommended to Jared by:
Kimrecommends it for: anyone
Stargirl is an amazing book about individuality and nonconformism. A home-schooled girl named Stargirl begins attending the public high school for her sophomore year. Stargirl is different.
She learns everybody's birthdays and on the day of, she sings them a happy birthday song -- accompanying herself on the ukulele -- in the middle of the lunch room, whether they want her to or not. She watches a young boy who lives across the street so that she can create a scrapbook for him with...more
She learns everybody's birthdays and on the day of, she sings them a happy birthday song -- accompanying herself on the ukulele -- in the middle of the lunch room, whether they want her to or not. She watches a young boy who lives across the street so that she can create a scrapbook for him with...more
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Read in May, 2003
Guh. First of all, just because someone wears an outfit with ants glued in a line crawling up one side, and down the other, doesn't mean they're an original person. It just means they're a person with an original outfit.
Stargirl is supposed to be about a girl who is the epitome of original. Having been homeschooled her entire life, she comes to a public school and baffles everyone by her clothes. Clothes! Nothing more.
Then this boy, the narrator of the story, fa...more
Stargirl is supposed to be about a girl who is the epitome of original. Having been homeschooled her entire life, she comes to a public school and baffles everyone by her clothes. Clothes! Nothing more.
Then this boy, the narrator of the story, fa...more
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Read in June, 2008
Stargirl Caraway is the new girl at Mica Area High School, and in her mysterious first days of school, she reveals herself to be a true unique individual. She plays a ukalele! She carries around a pet rat! She gives little gifts and cards to people she doesn't know! Soon, all of the high school cannot resist her charm, and she has the entire community under her spell. But after a while, Stargirl's actions become tiresome, irritating, and the question rises among her peers: why can't she just be ...more
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Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
Stargirl Caraway is an enigma. She's the type of girl that you either love or hate--with no room for any emotions in between. When she first comes to the high-school as a sophomore in small town Mica, Arizona, her name reverberates throughout the hallways. What kind of a name is Stargirl? Was she really home-schooled for all these years, or did she just magically appear in Mica? How can she seem so calm, so serene, why eating quietly alone in the lu...more
Stargirl Caraway is an enigma. She's the type of girl that you either love or hate--with no room for any emotions in between. When she first comes to the high-school as a sophomore in small town Mica, Arizona, her name reverberates throughout the hallways. What kind of a name is Stargirl? Was she really home-schooled for all these years, or did she just magically appear in Mica? How can she seem so calm, so serene, why eating quietly alone in the lu...more
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Read in March, 2008
It started with a necktie. It ended with a necktie. But not just any kind of necktie and not just any kind of girl would give someone a gift with pictures of porcupines.
I really loved this book. REALLY! I did. I HEART Stargirl. Seriously. I’d been meaning to read it for years and like the last book I devoured, after reading the first 2 pages, I couldn’t put it down; so the other books I’d started before this one got pushed aside so I could get lost in her world. This boo...more
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Read in January, 2008
Spoilers Throughout: This is a beautiful, brilliant and stunning story. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. It made me so happy. The ending is quite perfect, or as perfect as it could've been.
Synopsis: The story centers on a new 10th grade student at Mica Area High School in Arizona: Stargirl Caraway, an eccentric and compassionate non-conformist vegetarian who has spent her previous years in homeschooling. Eleventh-grader Leo Borlock narrates. Between the story and the epi...more
Synopsis: The story centers on a new 10th grade student at Mica Area High School in Arizona: Stargirl Caraway, an eccentric and compassionate non-conformist vegetarian who has spent her previous years in homeschooling. Eleventh-grader Leo Borlock narrates. Between the story and the epi...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
friends
This book is about a weird girl called Stargirl. She is weird because she does a lot of things that people don't normally do. Even her name is weird.
Let me tell you about a few of the weird things she does. Firstly she takes photos of people without them knowing. She stalks them and secretly takes their photos. Then she makes a photo album and gives it to them when they get older.
The other weird thing she does is to wear clothes that do not fit her. She usually wears lo...more
Let me tell you about a few of the weird things she does. Firstly she takes photos of people without them knowing. She stalks them and secretly takes their photos. Then she makes a photo album and gives it to them when they get older.
The other weird thing she does is to wear clothes that do not fit her. She usually wears lo...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in March, 2005
recommended to BATMAN by:
a person who didnt deserve a neck so they could make me read thirecommends it for: poeple who want a reason to cut them selves
if this book was a person i would kill them. i would kill them in front of there mother and make them swallow there own heart. it showed a sad message that HAS BENN PLAYED OUT OVER AND OVER again. if you were locked in a box and told not to look at sun light for 12 years this book might be refreashing if not then dont bother. simply it was so crappy. here is the WHOLE STORY i'll save you time well she is differnt meets kids and then marginalized and then surprisingly becomes not differnt. here i...more
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Read in January, 2009
it was refreshing to read about stargirl's genuine kindness and individuality. i liked it.
we want to dance to the music in our own heads, but we don't because of the looks, whispers and stares we'd get.
stargirl is the person we all want to be, while leo reminds us of the person most of us are.
i hope one day to be as brave as stargirl
we want to dance to the music in our own heads, but we don't because of the looks, whispers and stares we'd get.
stargirl is the person we all want to be, while leo reminds us of the person most of us are.
i hope one day to be as brave as stargirl
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Read in February, 2009
Review- Others would like this book for many reasons, such as how interesting and the amount of individually in the loving & vulgar characters. From the very sore beginning and the sad but sweet ending, I enjoyed it every much. All the words made into sentences that formed into paragraphs and final came together to make a magical, captivating and enchanting short novel Others might think differently but the characters to me were not real, but just a blink of an eye away from being similar to the...more
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Read in January, 2009
recommended to Annalisa by:
Rosarecommends it for: looking for a quick/light read
Truthfully I did not expect to like this book. I expected a heavily handed tale about acceptance. But here's the thing: I did not like Star Girl.
The story is about a free-spirited girl whose named herself Star Girl who shows up for her first year of public education as a sophomore and the typical apathetic student body doesn't quite know how to respond to her. Normally when I read stories about the quirky outcast, I want to shield them from cruelty of the popular crowd, but I found ...more
The story is about a free-spirited girl whose named herself Star Girl who shows up for her first year of public education as a sophomore and the typical apathetic student body doesn't quite know how to respond to her. Normally when I read stories about the quirky outcast, I want to shield them from cruelty of the popular crowd, but I found ...more
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Read in September, 2008
Is she an alien? Is she home-schooling gone berserk? Is she sniffing fumes? …this and many more queries surround Stargirl Caraway when she makes her appearance at Mica High. Strumming a ukulele, carrying a rat called Cinnamon in her canvas bag and wearing clothes ranging from pioneer gowns to kimonos she’s as strange as they come. Add to that the fact that she does the weirdest, kindest and friendliest things. She sings birthday songs to perfect strangers, drops loose change accidentally on ...more
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Read in April, 2008
Poor Leo, a junior in high school is dumbfounded by the new girl. She comes to school with a rat in her purse, plays the ukulele, sings in the cafeteria, decorates her desk with a tablecloth and flowers, takes over the football field from the team, and well, is simply strange. But Leo is drawn to this girl, the self-named Stargirl; her behavior and his reaction to it will change them and all of the student body. Jerry Spinelli has built strong characters in Stargirl, ones you won't soon forge...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
young adults
This was my first Jerry Spinelli read and for the most part I enjoyed it. I'd give it 3.5 stars if that was possible. :)
I can see why kids like his writing style, which is simple and straightforward, yet interesting. The issues he tackles in this book -- identity, conformity/nonconformity, and peer pressure -- are all relevant for middle school-aged readers, which is who this book is best suited for. Also, I think he does a good job of sending the "right" message without ...more
I can see why kids like his writing style, which is simple and straightforward, yet interesting. The issues he tackles in this book -- identity, conformity/nonconformity, and peer pressure -- are all relevant for middle school-aged readers, which is who this book is best suited for. Also, I think he does a good job of sending the "right" message without ...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is the first Spinelli book I read. It's no wonder he's popular among children and youth... it's sort of hard to put the book down! The desert setting, nostalgic point of view, cast a romantic spell. The book paints a reminiscent ideal of a tight-knit, connected American community, contrasted against a suburban cinnabon eating culture. It turns out that community is a naive construct in Stargirl's mind that has to face the harsh reality of rejection when she enters public school. It is abou...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
teenagers or children finding their way in this world
Stargirl is a story of Susan (aka Stargirl) who has been homeschooled for the majority of her life. She makes her way into Mica High and is not deemed normal by other kids. She arrives at school in costume-like outfits, plays her ukulele for students celebrating a birthday, takes her pet rat Cinnamon everywhere. The student body doesn't quite know what to make of her. For one student, Leo Borlock, Stargirl is mesmerizing and intriguing. Eventually the student body embraces her individuality and ...more
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quotes from this book
"She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow."
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