Stargirl – Jerry Spinelli

The first day of Leo’s junior year in high school, there’s a new girl at school.     Her name is Stargirl (well, really, it’s Susan, but she takes a new name whenever it suits her).    She’s been home schooled up until now, and it shows – she’s a total free spirit, and has no idea of all the social rules that it takes to fit in at school.    Not that she really cares – Stargirl knows who she is, likes who she is, and brings the entire school along with her on the wild ride.

This is a such a sweet story – it’s all about fitting in, but also how you start to learn to be yourself in high school, and that fitting in isn’t the be all end all of your life.    I feel like it’s a bit of a throwback to before YA lit became a thing – when younger books had a more optimistic outlook.       This is definitely a message book, but it’s one that won’t bring you down in the end.