Loved Love, Stargirl

Alright my Book Club friends. I gave you a whole extra week to finish Love, Stargirl. The following are my first thoughts after reading it:

I was so concerned that I wouldn’t like Love, Stargirl as much as I liked Stargirl. In fact, I was quite hesitant to read it. And I was halfway through it before I was enjoying my read, and not just reading to get through it. By the end, though, I was touched and thrilled and excited. I loved it. I loved it just as much as the first book—maybe more. Because in the first book Stargirl is somewhat elusive. We know what she does, but we don’t understand much about who she really is or what motivates her behavior. This book opened up a window to her charming little soul and we came to understand her so much better. I was thoroughly impressed with Jerry Spinelli’s ability to do that. I look at these two books with the same main characters, and am super impressed with his ability to write from both Leo’s and Stargirl’s perspective. Here’s who I adore: Jerry Spinelli!

What did you think??!!

Back at it

Holy smokes, bookclubbers. My apologies for dropping the ball. I'm ready now. It's January, after all--a time for new beginnings! Shall we discuss Love, Stargirl on January 31st?

Dear Bookclub, Shall We Go for It?

Well we had so much fun discussing Stargirl! I was amazed at the many different perspectives and interpretations brought out! That's what's so fun about a book group. So, I had planned on a particular book for our next read, but there is some talk of reading Love, Stargirl so we can discuss things from Stargirl's vantage point. All in favor??

Let's Discuss

Here's what I would love to know:

*What did you think overall?

*Could you identify with Leo and/or Stargirl?

*Do you know anyone like Stargirl? (I myself would like to be a bit more Stargirl!)

*What is your favorite Stargirl-ism? (Mine, for example, is how she makes her desk at school a home--tablecloth, flower in vase, and all!)

*What did you think of the ending?

*Did you read the Q&A with Spinelli at the end? What did you think?

*What were the great literary bits?

*What parts of the story did you particulary love or find profound?

Feel free to answer any or all of the above, or just tell us whatever you want! As always, keep checking back to keep this an open, circular dialogue!

Stargirl Countdown

OK friends, here is your 4 day warning: We will officially begin discussion on THURSDAY. I'm so excited I can hardly wait! Until then...

Bookclubbers, I Give You Stargirl

Well I thoroughly enjoyed reading Rules, and the discussion was wonderful. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend that you do. It is so prevalent in our world today and you will love the way it makes you stop and think. So many relatable characters and so many touching themes--absolutely a must-read.


The next book on the book club agenda is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. First of all, I love Mr. Spinelli. If you haven't read Maniac Magee, you must. Secondly, I have heard raving reviews of Stargirl from many friends, so I cannot wait to read it. I hope you will join me. Here is a thorough and intriguing review from Amazon.com:

"She was homeschooling gone amok." "She was an alien." "Her parents were circus acrobats." These are only a few of the theories concocted to explain Stargirl Caraway, a new 10th grader at Arizona's Mica Area High School who wears pioneer dresses and kimonos to school, strums a ukulele in the cafeteria, laughs when there are no jokes, and dances when there is no music. The whole school, not exactly a "hotbed of nonconformity," is stunned by her, including our 16-year-old narrator Leo Borlock: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl."
In time, incredulity gives way to out-and-out adoration as the student body finds itself helpless to resist Stargirl's wide-eyed charm, pure-spirited friendliness, and penchant for celebrating the achievements of others. In the ultimate high school symbol of acceptance, she is even recruited as a cheerleader. Popularity, of course, is a fragile and fleeting state, and bit by bit, Mica sours on their new idol. Why is Stargirl showing up at the funerals of strangers? Worse, why does she cheer for the opposing basketball teams? The growing hostility comes to a head when she is verbally flogged by resentful students on Leo's televised Hot Seat show in an episode that is too terrible to air. While the playful, chin-held-high Stargirl seems impervious to the shunning that ensues, Leo, who is in the throes of first love (and therefore scornfully deemed "Starboy"), is not made of such strong stuff: "I became angry. I resented having to choose. I refused to choose. I imagined my life without her and without them, and I didn't like it either way."
Jerry Spinelli, author of Newbery Medalist Maniac Magee, Newbery Honor Book Wringer, and many other excellent books for teens, 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 as Stargirl and Starboy, and indeed, what it means to be a human being on a planet that is rich with wonders. (Ages 10 to 14) --Karin Snelson --

Please comment if you would like to participate, and let us know when you'd like to discuss...



Note: If you click on "Best Price" and then "Return to Product Information," you can find copies of the book for a penny.

Let's Talk Rules

The time has come, bookclubbers! I hope that waiting until now has given all of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Eclipse readers adequate time! I really enjoyed Rules and am so curious to find out what all of you think. Here are some questions I have:

*What did you think of the use of present tense?
*Do you think she captured the voice of a twelve-year-old?
*What good literary bits did you find?
*What did you think of it overall?
*How do you think it compares to The Higher Power of Lucky? Do you think it's better?
*What personal chords did it strike?
*What else?


Remember that this is a dialogue--please keep checking back and adding your comments!

Book Club Update

Dear bookclubbers,

I have recently recruited some new reading friends, which I am thrilled about. Remember, everyone is always welcome to join our little cyber club! As a reminder, we are reading Rules by Cynthia Lord. (For a summary, click here.) We are going to discuss the book around the last week of September (my apologies to those who may have already finished and are waiting for the rest of us slow-pokes).

Sincerely,

Mrs. Cropper

A Soap-box and a Fresh Start

Well I, for one, think we had a very fun and successful first Book Club Cyber-Meeting. (You may have missed some of my late rantings and some of the wise comments made by other commenters--scroll down if you wish to read them). Thank you all for participating.

NOTE: My friend, Emily, told me, "Even though I didn't participate, I enjoyed reading the comments." I hope others are doing that as well. Here's why: It is imperative that we, as parents/future parents/good citizens, make ourselves aware of what is out there. I think it's fairly easy to learn whether a certain movie is appropriate or not--through word of mouth, websites, etc. What is more difficult, however, is making sure our children and teens are reading things we are comfortable with. While I'm not worried about my kids reading The Higher Power of Lucky, you might be. So it's important to be informed. While I'm on this soapbox, let me take the opportunity to warn you about a highly acclaimed young adult novel. It is Looking for Alaska by John Green, and it won the 2007 Printz Award, which is the equivalent of the Newberry Award, but for Young Adult literature (Young Adult meaning 13 and up). So you're thinking, "Great, it's got a gold medal on it, and it's here in the children's section at Barnes&Noble just 10 feet from the Dr. Seuss hardbacks. It must be a greatie." Think again. Looking for Alaska contains horrid language and explicit descriptions of oral sex. Yuck. I can't believe I just wrote those two words on my blog. But it's important to me that you know. And that you remember how important it is to be informed.

Now, safely off the soapbox, let me introduce you to the next Book Club novel. Like I said before, many thought The Higher Power of Lucky was undeserving of the Newberry gold medal this year. In fact, many thought our new book, Rules by Cynthia Lord, should have captured the gold. Instead, it was awarded a silver Newberry medal. I think it will be fun for us to read it and decide amongst ourselves which we think is better. (Note: Don't worry if you didn't read the first novel with us--feel free to join us now!)


So what is Rules about? I found this great review on Amazon:

Twelve-year-old Catherine has conflicting feelings about her younger brother, David, who is autistic. While she loves him, she is also embarrassed by his behavior and feels neglected by their parents. In an effort to keep life on an even keel, Catherine creates rules for him (It's okay to hug Mom but not the clerk at the video store). Each chapter title is also a rule, and lots more are interspersed throughout the book. When Kristi moves in next door, Catherine hopes that the girl will become a friend, but is anxious about her reaction to David. Then Catherine meets and befriends Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic who uses a book of pictures to communicate, she begins to understand that normal is difficult, and perhaps unnecessary, to define. Rules of behavior are less important than acceptance of others. Catherine is an endearing narrator who tells her story with both humor and heartbreak. Her love for her brother is as real as are her frustrations with him. Lord has candidly captured the delicate dynamics in a family that revolves around a child's disability. Set in coastal Maine, this sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter.-Connie Tyrrell Burns, Mahoney Middle School, South Portland, ME

I am very eager to read this book--I hope you are too! Please let me know when you'd like to discuss it. I was thinking the end of August, but we can push it back if you like. Also, if you would like to purchase this book through Amazon, just click on the link below.

Book Club Cyber-Meeting

OK Bookclubbers, it is time to discuss The Higher Power of Lucky. My hope for this forum is that it can be more dynamic-like a chat room, and less static-like everyone makes one comment and is done. Please continue to check back and respond to other readers' comments, so it can be an ongoing conversation.

A while ago I made some suggestions about what to take note of--plot, character development, good literary bits, etc. Tell us what you think about all that. Also, tell us what you thought generally of the book. Do you think it deserved the Newberry Medal this year (declaring it the best book in American children's lit for 2007)? What do you think about the controversy?? (Let me tell you, there was quite a conversation about it in the class I attended last month, so I'm super curious about what all of you think.) I'll let y'all begin the commenting and I'll add my two cents here and there.

Let the fun begin!

Dear Bookclubbers...

Hi friends. First of all, remember that the book club is always open to anyone. Please feel free to join at any time! Second, for those of you who have expressed interest in reading The Higher Power of Lucky--let us begin! I thought June 30th would be a good deadline. It is only 134 pages of 4th grade reading, so even if you don't have much spare time, I figured a month would be sufficient. Please let me know if you'd like more time (like if it's taking forever to arrive from Amazon...).

Here are some things to note while you are reading that I think will make for fun and interesting discussion:

1) Plot development

2) Character development

3) Things you do/don't like about the story

4) What side of the controversy you are on

5) Good literary bits/clever writing

6) Anything else you want to talk about

I've been having a ball jotting down the "good literary bits." Here's one of my favorites thus far (from page 6):

"Lucky thought of a question that Short Sammy's story had lodged into one of her brain crevices. She figured she had so many crevices and wrinkles, almost all of them filled with questions and anxious thoughts, that if you were to take her brain and flatten it out, it would cover a huge space, like maybe a king-size bed."

READ ON!

Novel of the Month and Book Club Challenge

A couple of my friends told me the other day that they would like me to recommend novels for grown-ups (my word, not theirs). They even suggested a bloggy book club, which I thought was a clever idea. Well, here's the thing. I think every adult needs to read the classic children's and adolescent books as much as they need to read grown-up classics. Partly because it will help you be a better parent. And partly because there are a lot of greaties that you should not be living without!

So I'm challenging you all to read this month's Novel of the Month. (Which month, Mrs. Cropper? It's the end of May for heaven's sake! Well, I'm counting it for May AND June, so there you go!) The unique thing here is that I'm going to read it along with you for my first time, as I've yet to read it. Therefore I cannot now say, "You'll love it! This is a must read!" like I usually do. We'll be exploring together. The book is the 2007 Newberry Medal winner, and is entitled The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron. It is highly acclaimed, but has stirred up a bit of controversy as well. If you want to read about that to make sure you want to read it, click here.

So here's what I'm envisioning. You read this post and take my challenge. You leave a comment to say "I'm in!" You rush out to your local library or Barnes&Noble, or click my link to Amazon to obtain the book. We choose a date to be finished by and have a cyber book club meeting about the book. What do you think??!!