eighth grade rereads

Nothing like a movie adaptation to get you reading again!

I noticed last week that Disney Plus came out with a movie adaptation of Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. I don’t know if this is true for anyone else, but in eighth grade at my middle school, Stargirl was the book. It was the biggest focus of English class that year and every class read it. It was like The Outsiders. And I. Loved. It. 

I’ve since discovered that it was not everyone’s book of eighth grade, so to give a brief synopsis, it’s told from the point of view of this boy named Leo (which is also my cat’s name, but my cat is not named after this Leo because this Leo sucks) who starts eleventh grade at his high school when a new girl shows up in tenth grade after being homeschooled up until that point. Her name is Stargirl and she is Different. Her normal attire is a floor length flowy skirt or dress and quite often she mixes it up for something more wacky. She carries around her pet rat Cinnamon and plays Happy Birthday on her ukelele for the birthday kids. There’s a bunch more but you get the idea (please keep in mind that this is a children’s book). At first everyone likes her but then her weirdness and nonconformity begins to get frustrating, particularly when she becomes a cheerleader and cheers for both teams (*gasp*). Eventually everyone hates her, which is a problem for Leo who is totally in love with her but also wants the approval of his peers. This is when he starts to be the worst. 

Anyway, I thought it was fantastic because eighth grade me wanted nothing more than to NOT be like everyone else. Also it’s an adorable book. 

So when I saw that Disney Plus made it a movie, I immediately knew I was going to be rereading it, which is exactly what I did in just a few hours (again, kid’s book, easy read). Good news, I still think it’s fantastic. I really enjoyed reading it as a fun and light read. I kept laughing at it and remembering when we would read it out loud in class and it was one of the only times I volunteered for anything. Obviously it’s a little cheesy and maybe a little cringey at times and the message seems too blatant, but given that it’s for children, I think all of that is great. 

The message that being different and nonconforming is okay is not an uncommon message, but it’s definitely something that remains important for kids to hear, so I would definitely still recommend it for young readers. I’d honestly recommend it to older readers too if they’re in the mood for something like that. It’s also about first love, which is really sweet and heartwarming to read about, albeit a bit awkward and again, cheesy.  

I’m really excited to watch the adaptation, though also terrified that Disney has butchered it. Wish me luck.