Stargirl Review

Stargirl

Author: Jerry Spinelli

My rating: 4/5 stars

Summary: Stargirl is not the average girl. She is, in fact, the least average girl you’ll meet. When she comes to Arizona’s Mica High, after being homeschooled, Stargirl opposes the rest of the student body’s boring, conformist lifestyle. She carries her pet rat with her, plays her ukelele and sings “Happy Birthday” to every single student, and did I mention her name is Stargirl? While the whole school is stunned by this wonder of a girl, the narrator, Leo Borlock, falls for Stargirl and all of her eccentricities….until her eccentricities make him and the students at Mica High uncomfortable. Leo encourages her become normal in order for her and Leo to fit in and be liked by the rest of Mica High. But what happens when Stargirl becomes normal?

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My thoughts:

Stargirl is uplifting and refreshing. It reminds us all to be ourselves. Stargirl expresses her individuality freely and happily. And yes, it does bother or, rather, shock the students at Mica High, but the respect for her individuality leaves a mark on the school as seen in the end of the novel.

When I read Stargirl, I tried to imagine how I would feel if someone like her showed up at my high school. Unfortunately, I feel like I would have been reluctant to like her at first (trust me, I’m not a terrible person). On the outside, I understand how many of the students thought she was weird or had something wrong with her. But I was always taught to accept people for who they are and to also not judge someone until you get to know them. After I thought about that, I understood that she is beautifully different. She is the Luna Lovegood of Mica High, and for any Harry Potter fan, she is a welcoming reminder of how awesome people like her and Luna are, and how little of them we find in the real world.

One aspect of novel the novel I found interesting was the time frame in which it was told. You can tell from the beginning that Leo is looking back on his time with Stargirl. It’s what makes this book interesting because ou’re itching to find out their relationship in present-day Leo’s life. I found that I wanted to keep reading and keep reading because everything in the novel had already happened and I felt as though I had to play catch-up.

Spinelli’s addition of Archie into the story is so wonderful. Archie is a retired, widowed man who teaches any person who wants to learn about anything at his unofficial Saturday school at his house. The group of students is called the “Loyal Order of the Stone Bone,” and they wear homemade necklaces with a pendant fossil bone as a symbol of belonging to the group. Archie is not only a mentor for Leo (and others), but he is someone that Leo looks up to and seeks advice from. Archie is a good complement to Stargirl because he is alittle odd and unconventional like her. Upon reading all of the parts with Archie, I instantly became jealous that I didn’t have such a person to admire and school to learn from.

Spinelli continued to awe me with his writing style. He wrote a short novel, but in that small space, he created memorable characters and used excellent word choice. Spinelli opts out of using the overused “butterflies in my stomach” phrase and comes up with his own: “My stomach had flies.” (Paperback, 77) Spinelli’s vivid imagery of his Arizona landscape caught my eye as well. Sentences like, “She faced the mountains, bathed in sun syrup….” (Paperback, 92) His story became one I could picture in real life and one that I became jealous of (see part about Archie); Stargirl greatly deserves the nominations and awards listed inside the front cover of my paperback edition.

The relationship between Leo and Stargirl was light-hearted and nerve-racking, and everything in between. I was impatiently waiting the romance that I knew was to come in the novel, and Spinelli kept us coming back in delaying their romance. But, as I read through Stargirl, I realized how little he focuses on their relationship. Sure, it’s important for the story, but it’s not THE story. In doing this, Spinelli urges the audience to focus on the importance of his novel - Stargirl's individuality and her willingness to freely express it.

What’s important is to not make people change like Leo made Stargirl do, and to not allow people to change you. Embrace your difference, embrace your individuality, embrace your Stargirl-ness.

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Would I recommend Stargirl?

Yes, I would recommend Stargirl to fans of YA and general fiction. It is for middle schoolers and young adults, but it can be read and appreciated at any age.