Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli (cover image from Amazon.com)
Bibliography: Spinelli, J. (2000). Stargirl. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN: 978-0375822339
SUMMARY
Leo is shocked by and curious about a new student at Mica High School: Stargirl Caraway. She seems immune to the judgment and scorn of her classmates when she shows up in outrageous costumes, sings "Happy Birthday" to her peers while playing the ukelele, or bringing her pet rat to class. As Leo wrestles between wanting to fit in with his peers and falling in love with Stargirl, he watches the changing tide of Stargirl's popularity. She shifts from alien species to most popular girl and cheerleader. However, after a disastrous appearance on The Hot Seat, the student-run TV show, and the school's defeat at the basketball championship, Stargirl becomes a shunned pariah. When Leo realizes that he shouldn't ask Stargirl to stifle her personality just to please him and her classmates, it's too late. She disappears after the school dance, never to be seen again. The book is a lesson about self-discovery and the fickleness of popularity.
MY IMPRESSIONS
I ADORED Stargirl and inhaled it in a few hours. I wanted to go back in time and BE Stargirl. It captured everything about high school and beyond perfectly--the powerful urge to conform, the difficult struggle to be yourself at all costs, the lasting effects of someone who challenged your view of the world, and the sweet and poignant moments of teenage friendship and romance. Spinelli's vivid, evocative language set the mood of the book and help portray the depth of emotion that Leo feels toward Stargirl. He also includes foreshadowing and symbolism to alert readers that Stargirl's popularity will be short lived. So on one hand, it's no surprise that Stargirl is extremely popular. It's a standard teen book about the trials and tribulations of high school. Spinelli uses a universal theme--conformity--and credible characters to show the reality of rocking the status quo. Readers will empathize with both Leo and Stargirl. However, they will also understand that while ignoring public opinion may be important and empowering, there's usually a high price to pay for being different.
On the other hand, it's a heart-breaking novel for adults, a memoir of life lessons and lost chances by a narrator looking back at how monumentally Stargirl changed his life. Stargirl's innocence is exaggerated to the point of allegory, making her an even bigger target for ridicule. Many times she's written as impossibly idealized and selfless. It is also implausible that a junior in high school would ever write such romantic, overwrought prose for a girl. I often thought the book was written for adults like me, who wished for a do-over in high school, rather than a young adult, especially since the story was filtered through a grown up Leo, remembering his teenage years with Stargirl with wistful nostalgia and bittersweet regret.
After my first rushed devouring, I read it a second time aloud to my husband. (Note: my husband is a man continually haunted by things he said in high school, even though he's 36 years old.) As we moved through the story, he cringed and groaned, finally hissing, "I hate Leo." "Why?" I asked. "Because that was me in high school. He's going to do something bad to Stargirl." Clearly, the book well-written enough to conjure a visceral reaction from readers (young and old!) who are either angry at Leo's desperate attempts to fit in or understanding of them. Likewise, I suspect most readers wish they had more Stargirl in themselves and could ignore the opinion of others more easily. While I truly enjoyed this book, Stargirl is not a great audio experience. The sentences are choppy and don't always flow when reading aloud.
2000 Best Book of the Year (Publisher's Weekly)
2000 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner
2000 ALA Top Ten Best Books Award
New York Times Bestseller
2001 Best Books for Young Adults (Booklist)
ACTIVITIES
This book would be a great selection for a book discussion in grades 5-8. Questions could include:
1. How do you feel about Leo's desire to conform in high school? Is being popular important? Do you think it was fair for Leo to ask Stargirl to change and act more "normal"? Why or why not?
2. Do you believe that Stargirl is a believable character? Have you ever met anyone like her? If you were a student at Mica High School, how would you react to Stargirl? Would you avoid her? Be friends with her? Make fun of her?
3. Was Leo a good boyfriend? Which version of Stargirl do you think he liked the best: Stargirl or Susan?
4. Why do you think everyone turned against Stargirl after the basketball tournament? Do you think Stargirl was wrong to cheer for the opposing team?
5. Was it fair for Leo to invite Stargirl on the Hot Seat? Why do you think her classmates acted the way that they did toward her?
6. What do you think Leo learned from Stargirl? From Archie?
7. Why do you think Hillari Kimble reacted so strongly to Stargirl?
8. Have you ever wanted to reinvent yourself? Think of some celebrities who have tried to create a new persona. Were they successful? Did your opinion of them change?
9. Do you think that a person's name can define who they are as a person? If you could choose, would you use a different name? If so, would you act differently because of it?
10. Were you surprised that Stargirl went to the school dance? How do you feel about her classmates reactions to her? Why do you think they acted the way that they did?
11. Why do you think Stargirl left without saying goodbye to Leo? Do you think her experiences at Mica High School would change her behavior at her next school? Why or why not?
REVIEWS
"Sixteen-year-old Leo recounts Stargirl’s sojourn at Mica High in an allegorical story that is engagingly written but overreaches. Everyone notices Stargirl when she comes to school. She wears a granny gown, strums a ukulele, and sings 'Happy Birthday' to kids in the cafeteria. She also carries around a pet rat. Her classmates veer between ignoring her and being discreetly fascinated by her weirdness--dancing when there’s no music, speaking in class of trolls and stars. Slowly, Stargirl attracts a following, especially after she gives a spellbinding speech in an oratorical contest and singlehandly stirs up school spirit. But her intense popularity is short-lived as, predictably, the teens turn on her. Leo is attracted by Stargirl and her penchant for good works. But just about the time they get together, the rest of the school is shunning her, and to his confusion and despair, Leo eventually turns his back on Stargirl, too. Spinelli firmly captures the high-school milieu, here heightened by the physical and spiritual barrenness of an Arizona location, a new town where people come to work for technology companies and the school team is called the Electrons. Dialogue, plot, and supporting cast are strong: the problem here is Stargirl herself. She may have been homeschooled, may not have seen much TV, but despite her name, she has lived on planet earth for 15 years, and her naivete is overplayed and annoying. That she has not noticed she is being shunned is unbelievable, and, at times, readers may feel more sympathy for the bourgeois teens than the earnest, kind, magical Stargirl."
Ilene Cooper from Booklist Online (Reviewed June 1 & 15, 2000)
"Unconventional behavior is one way of getting attention, that's for sure. But Stargirl Caraway is not acting–she really does have a pet rat, loves her ukulele, and wears weird clothes. Mica High is a place where being normal is cherished, and being different is cause for alarm. Her wish for happiness is almost contagious, until peer pressure causes her conformist friends to abandon her. Spinelli presents an inspiring free spirit who will encourage many a misfit to endure the gauntlet of adolescence."
School Library Journal
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