Stargirl

Here's my read for today. Yes, I finished this one in a day. I read half of it on my bus ride into work and the ride home, and then finished the rest after dinner. Quick read, short book, written for a young audience - it was fabulous!

Does anyone feel guilty still about how they may have treated others growing up? I know I do. I was part of the snobby, popular crowd (if any of your kids complain they want to be part of the popular crowd - I'm so anti-popular these days and would be happy to come talk them out of it). In my own defense, for the most part I really was nice to pretty much everyone. But every once in a while, someone just rubbed you wrong. There was one girl though who I never liked. Mostly, it's because my mother paid a lot of attention to her and the classmate, in return, really liked my mother. Well, my mother and I didn't get along. She wasn't nice to me like she was to my classmate. Though, unlike my classmate, I had two parents at home, I had a nice home, I had nice clothes, I got pretty much anything I ever wanted, except the kind of mother I wanted. So I wasn't nice to this girl (probably one of the reasons my mother wasn't so nice to me at that time.) But does anyone else feel like that sometimes? That even though you've got SOOO much going for you, there's that one thing you want and can't seem to get. And then you see someone else who has IT, that one thing you want, and even though they don't have nearly what you have, you want to take that one thing away from them?

Enter Stargirl. She is batty. She is in her own little world. But she loves everyone, regardless of what they think of her. She is always looking out for others, she is the kind of person I wish I could be. But did people like her? Well you will have to read to see, because I don't want to ruin the story.

But so often I think we, or I, don't accept people for who they are. There has to be a reason they are different. For example, "they can't REALLY be THAT happy all the time" can they? And instead of just appreciating the good that is that person, we make bad for that person.

I struggle reading books like this because I've tried for too many years to become a better person, to be the accepting one and not be the judgmental one. And I read stories like this and just cry, remembering who I was, and wanting all the more to be more like her, more like Stargirl.

I'm so glad I've hopped on board with the book club in the 5th Ward. I'm thinking I will never be able to recommend a book since apparently what I read is pretty trashy, but I am thankful for the books I'm being introduced to. Stargirl is the extra credit book for March. The main book is The Help, my top pick for 2009 - I sure hope this book is OK for the book club. But in hopes that more of you will join us, I thought I'd review the book before our meeting at the end of March. Oh, and I just checked Stargirl out just yesterday so have it until March 25th if anyone would like to borrow it for a quick read.

What a great read, a great read I think you can share with your kids even. I definitely recommend this one, even if you can't join the book club.

Happy reading!

ps: I kind of feel like I'm the only one reading these days...