Stargirl

Author: Jerry Spinelli
Publisher: Knopf Books
Copyright Date: 2001
Number of Pages: 199
Reading Level: Ages 10-14






Summary
Stargirl is a very unique young woman. She does not care what others think of her. She only wants to reach out to those around her through random acts of kindness. This story is told by Leo, a young man that had received a porcupine necktie for his birthday by an anonymous source. He and his friend are young talk show hosts that created a show for the school called The Hot Seat. During this show the person in the hot seat is asked all sorts of questions and he or she have to answer them. When Stargirl first comes to the school nobody knows what to think of her. She sings happy birthday to individual students in the lunchroom and she places a tablecloth and a vase with a flower in it on her desk in every class. One day Stargirl showed up to a football game and decided to randomly join the cheer leaders. Everyone shocked, but they grew to love and respect her for who she was. Stargirl was invited to join the cheer team. However, things go wrong when Stargirl cheers for more than just her team. She decides to cheer for the other team as well. When a basketball player from the other team gets hurt and falls to the ground Stargirl is the first to run to his side. The other students at the school cannot understand this and they come to hate her for it. They cannot believe that she could help the opposite team. Unfortunately, Leo and his friend had decided to put Stargirl on the hot seat while she was popular. This is unfortunate because they don't do the show until she is unpopular again. The questions that the jury asks Stargirl are almost cruel and they judge her harshly. At this point the boy Leo has come to really like Stargirl. Leo is torn between his need for people, and his love for Stargirl. However, he falls head over heals for her and for a while they are together. Eventually he notices that nobody in the school will talk to him or even look at him. He has been called Starboy at this point and when he realizes what everyone thinks of him he starts to feel disgusted with himself. He tries to make Stargirl change for him but the other students at the school still don't accept them. Finally, Stargirl returns to her normal self, but Leo has given up. In the end the other students come to love Stargirl again as they dance with her at a school dance. Leo watches from a distance. One day Stargirl just disappears and Leo goes to someone for guidance. He comes to learn more about Stargirl, including the fact that she was the one that gave him the porcupine necktie.

Personal Response
I thought that this was a very well written book that does a great job at addressing the cruelty that can exist in schools. It raises many questions about the way people think and respond to people that are different.

Potential Problems
The cruelty that Stargirl receives could be considered overly harsh. However, the problems that it addresses are perhaps more important.

Recommended to...
I would recommend this book to anyone that is struggling socially in school. This is a great book to encourage uniqueness. The message is that it is okay to be different.