Stargirl (Stargirl, 2000) is disappearing. She and her family (including pet rat Cinnamon) have moved to Pennsylvania, leaving her boyfriend, Leo, behind in Arizona. "Can you lose your favorite person without losing yourself?" she writes in one of the many letters to him that comprise an epistolary companion to Spinelli's first story of the eccentric, large-hearted, happy-to-a-fault teenager. The questions abound: Will she be reunited with her Starboy, or will he be replaced by Perry, the petty-thieving, dangerously attractive new boy in her life? How will she help her new friends (five-year-old motormouth Dootsie, angry Alvina, agoraphobic Betty Lou, grieving widower Charlie, developmentally disabled Arnold)? And are the many genuinely nice moments in this novel buried under too much sentimentality, whimsicality, and self-conscious cuteness? The answer lies with individual readers. The many teens who loved the first book will embrace this sequel. Those who didn't, won't. It's as simple as that.

Fifteen-year-old Susan "Stargirl" Caraway has moved to Pennsylvania, but as independent and free-spirited as she is, she can't seem to let go of Arizona and her old boyfriend Leo Borlock. She's lonely, even in the midst of a loving family and a colorful cast of characters in her new town. There's five-year-old spitfire Dootsie, agoraphobic Betty Lou, angry Alvina, Margie the donut queen and mysterious Perry, a potential new boy in Stargirl's life. As much as readers will relish this community and wish Stargirl would get on with her life there and forget mooning over Leo, she can't seem to, and the whole leisurely paced novel is "the world's longest letter" to him. Humor, graceful writing, lively characters and important lessons about life will make this a hit with fans of Stargirl (2000) and anyone who likes a quiet, reflective novel. Those meeting Stargirl here for the first time will want to read the previous work to see if Leo is worthy of her devotion. (Fiction. 11-14)

In Newbery Medalist Spinelli’s sequel to his 2000 novel <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Stargirl, readers join the eponymous heroine and find out how she is coping after being dumped by Leo Borlock. Having moved from Arizona to Pennsylvania, Stargirl records her thoughts, observations and emotions in near daily (unsent) missives to Leo, as she works to move beyond her sadness. Her entries are peppered with poetry as well as little pep talks she writes to herself whenever her spirits are low. (“You have your whole life ahead of you, and all you’re doing is looking back. Grow up, girl. There are some things they don’t teach you in homeschool.”) Stargirl spends most of her time with a talkative six-year-old, Dootsie, a grumpy girl named Alvina, and a handful of older locals with their own quirks and problems. She also meets a boy with a mysterious past; their brief romance and other events combine to lift Stargirl out of her doldrums, as she reconciles her feelings about Leo (“You be you and I’ll be me, today and today and today, and let’s trust the future to tomorrow”). Readers should embrace Stargirl’s originality and bigheartedness, and may be inspired to document their own emotional ups and downs in the <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Stargirl Journal, available the same month, which consists of blank lined pages with quotations from both novels. Ages 12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug.)

Gr 6-10-This brilliant sequel to Stargirl (Knopf, 2000) takes place a year later. Now living in Pennsylvania, Stargirl, 15, continues to pine for Leo, who dumped her, and struggles to make a place for herself in her new community. Fortunately, her eclectic neighbors, who include Dootsie, a five-year-old "human bean"; Betty Lou, an agoraphobic divorcee; and Perry Delloplane, an amiable thief, draw her back into life and happiness. Written in diary format-the "world's longest letter," as Stargirl calls it-this novel is as charming and unique as its sensitive, nonconformist heroine. Addressing loss, growing pains, and staying true to oneself, this stellar follow-up is both profound and funny.-Terri Clark, Smokey Hill Library, Centennial, CO Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

One of Spinelli's most memorable characters returns her to tell her own story. Nearly a year after leaving Arizona and Leo Borlock behind, Stargirl, homeschooling again in Pennsylvania, is trying to get past her high school experience. Unable to forget her love for Leo, she writes him the world's longest letter and shares her life without him. In her debut novel, Stargirl was magical, as alien as her fellow students thought her to be. In this book, she is both as extraordinary as expected and surprisingly real. Readers who loved her as the free-spirited object of Leo's conflicted affections will see the heartbroken but enduring Stargirl as a friend, a character to whom they can relate. Spinelli fills the novel with unforgettable characters-six-year-old Dootsie, agoraphobic divorcee Betty Lou, and Alvina, a fierce and confused tween. The other teens in the novel regrettably are the least interesting. Perry, perhaps the boy who will replace Leo in Stargirl's heart, is an alleged bad-boy, with a fan club of bright, funny girls, but he, like Leo, is never so spectacular that readers can understand the fascination. Although the letter format adds little to the story, this book completes the touching and inspiring story of Spinelli's beloved heroine, and readers who have been unable to forget her in the seven years since she appeared are sure to be eager to meet her again.-Vikki Terrile.