ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A PARADE BEST KIDS BOOK OF ALL TIME A modern-day classic from Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli, this beloved celebration of individuality is now an original movie on Disney+! Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love. Don’t miss the sequel, Love, Stargirl , as well as The Warden’s Daughter , a novel about another girl who can't help but stand out. “Spinelli is a poet of the prepubescent. . . . No writer guides his young characters, and his readers, past these pitfalls and challenges and toward their futures with more compassion.” — The New York Times "Spinelli has produced a poetic allegorical tale about the magnificence and rarity of true nonconformity." — The New York Times “A magical and heartbreaking tale.”— Kirkus Reviews , Starred "Part fairy godmother, part outcast, part dream-come-true, [ Stargirl ] possesses many of the mythical qualities of Maniac Magee ." —Publishers Weekly , Starred " Stargirl is luminescent. . . . This book resonates long after the cover is closed." — The Detroit News and Free Press "Stargirl tells us the captivating story of a magical, mysterious girl. . . . A wonderful tribute to nonconformity." —Chicago Tribune "Throughout his career, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli has shown he’s a master of evoking the particular pangs felt in adolescence." — Time Magazine Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of ?Stargirl, Stargirl.? She captures Leo Borlock?s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love. Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of "Stargirl, Stargirl." She captures Leo Borlock's heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love. JERRY SPINELLI is the author of many novels for young readers, including Dead Wednesday ,  The Warden's Daughter; Stargirl ; Love, Stargirl ; Milkweed ; Crash ; Wringer ; and Maniac Magee , winner of the Newbery Medal; along with  Knots in My Yo-Yo String , the autobiography of his childhood. A graduate of Gettysburg College, he lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, poet and author Eileen Spinelli. When I was little, my Uncle Pete had a necktie with a porcupine painted on it.  I though that necktie was just about the neatest thing in the world.  Uncle Pete would stand patiently before me while I ran my fingers over the silky surface, half expecting to be stuck by one of the quills.  Once, he let me wear it.  I kept looking for one of my own, but I could never find one. I was twelve when we moved from Pennsylvania to Arizona.  When Uncle Pete came to say goodbye, he was wearing the tie.  I though he did so to give me one last look at it, and I was grateful.  But then, with a dramatic flourish, he whipped off the tie and draped it around my neck.  "It's yours," he said.  "Going-away present." I loved that porcupine tie so much that I decided to start a collection.  Two years after we settled in Arizona, the number of ties in my collection was still one.  Where do you find a porcupine necktie in Mica, Arizona - or anywhere else, for that matter? On my fourteenth birthday, I read about myself in the local newspaper.  The family section ran a regular feature about kids on their birthdays, and my mother had called in som