Catherine Hardwicke Directing Jerry Spinelli’s Stargirl

After directing Stephanie Meyer adaptation Twilight to blockbuster numbers, Catherine Hardwicke is again trying her hand at adapting a beloved YA novel. Variety reports that the director, who recently shot comedy-drama Miss You Already with Drew Barrymore, has signed on to tackle Jerry Spinelli’s bestselling book Stargirl.

Cake producer Kristin Hahn adapted Spinelli’s book, and it was apparently her script that convinced Hardwicke to come aboard. Hahn will also produce alongside Gotham Group, Hahnscape Entertainment and BCDF Productions.

First published in 2000, Stargirl follows a homeschooled teen who enrolls in an Arizona high school. Quickly, the differences between her idiosyncratic approach to life and the relative normality of her peers becomes clear.

Here’s the official synopsis:

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.

Spinelli’s book is rightly considered a mandatory read for middle – and high-schoolers, so it will be terrific to see it finally brought to the big screen.

Hahn released an official statement this week about the project, saying:

“This is one of those stories and characters that stir your imagination and steal your heart and just stick with you forever. I am thrilled to have the chance to adapt this beloved novel and I can’t imagine anyone more uniquely equipped to bring this story to life than Catherine Hardwicke, a Stargirl in her own right.”

Production on Stargirl is expected to get under way this fall, once Hardwicke and company lock in a young cast.