48 pages 1 hour read

Jerry Spinelli

Love, Stargirl

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2007

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Essay Topics

1.

Love, Stargirl is an epistolary novel; one told in letter or diary format. What effects do this literary technique have on the reader? How does this format help the reader connect to Stargirl? Do you think Stargirl plans to send the letter to Leo? Why or why not?

2.

When the novel begins, Dootsie is only five years old. Do you think it strange that Stargirl would have a five-year-old for a best friend? Characterize Stargirl’s and Dootsie’s relationship. What does Stargirl bring to their friendship? What does Dootsie contribute? Do you think they are more like sisters than best friends? Explain your answer.

3.

Stargirl loves the natural world, and nature is an important motif in the novel. What are some ways that Stargirl and Archie think people ruin nature? What are ways the characters celebrate nature? How does the natural world impact the lives of different characters? Consider Stargirl, Betty Lou, and Dootsie.