Stargirl

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Summary: This book sings!
Review: I loved this book. I agree that at times Stargirl seems too innocent and naive, but I love her all the more for it. I remember how it feels to be in high school clearly and this rings true. I teach in a K-8 school -- I want to find a teacher who will read this aloud to 6th, 7th and 8th graders. I finished it in one day and have been raving about it to anyone at school who will listen. Wonderful!

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Summary: READ BEFORE ENTERING JUNIOR HIGH!
Review: THANK YOU AMAZON FOR MAKING ME AWARE OF THIS BOOK!

Elizabeth, my dear daughter ENTERING JUNIOR HIGH THIS WEEK, PLEASE CONTINUE BEING a "STARGIRL"!

Everyone knows their place in high school. God forbid a nerd says hello to someone in the "cool group". The druggies stay with the druggies, the "strange drama" people stay together and so on. Oh yeah, lets not forget about those friendly cheerleaders and football players, we all know how nice they can be.

STARGIRL treats everyone with dignity and respect. She joyfully floats through every day in a near dream like state, not aware that others think she's whacked out of her mind. She gets joy from making other people happy. Singing happy birthday in the middle of the school cafeteria to a student she's never met, is just part of a normal STARGIRL day.

Why are there so few "STARGIRLS" out there? Why does high school have to resemble LORD OF THE FLIES?

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Summary: She isn't weird, she's what we started out as.
Review: She sings to people on their birthdays? She gives EVERYONE something on holidays? She thinks about the moon and the stars, and a door that gets painted a different color several times a year is more interesting to her then a murder? She is Stargirl. Stargirl brings joy to Leo (the narrator), joy to the reader and joy to herself. She cares about people, she goes and helps the other basketball teams best player when he hurts himself. I thought this book was a wonderful book, it made me cry, from sadness, from happiness, from love. Yet, when I put the book down after I read it, I felt an amazing sense of love, all the love I could have in my body was enhanced by this one book. I think the world would be better off if everyone was a bit like Stargirl.

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Summary: STARGIRL KICKS!
Review: A new girl comes to quiet Mica high school, and is the talk of the hallways. She is so different and new, with her pet rat cinnamon and her birthday ukelele. She is super popular and loved, at first. But then people start to shun her,see through her. She's just too different. She captures Leo Borlock's heart, and in a desperate attempt he tries to make her normal. It is an awesome book so READ IT!

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Summary: Engagingly written, slightly overdone
Review: This story is an interesting and creative take on the issue of individuality and the universal adolescent conflict of maintaining individuality versus 'fitting in' The novel demonstrates how narrow the categories of "acceptable" and "unacceptable" can be by allowing us to experience Stargirl's initial shunning, subsequent popularity, and final decision that she must remain true to herself regardless of what others may think. Leo, the narrator, learns many things from Stargirl, including how much he can be influenced by the opinions of others. This book is well-written and clear, focusing almost exclusively on the teenage characters. (No parental dialogue is included) As did the fictional characters, some readers may find Stargirl's innocence a little too much to believe, but hopefully, this will not prevent people from reading and pondering it. It is well worth it.

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Summary: not from outer space...but inner space
Review: Stargirl is one of those novels that will change your life. Every teacher of kids in 6th, 7-th and 8th grade ought to teach this book this year, as a way to head off the ogre of conformity that rises in those ranks. It's a story of compassion, of altruism and of eccentricity, a celebration of life. Stargirl is (in the words of george burns) happy to be anywhere. And it shows in her daily life, her lasting effects on the stodgy kids at mythical Mica High (brittle, useful but not very pretty). Read it with your kids. It may change their lives.

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Summary: To all those who don't want to conform
Review: Ever wondered why even the most "non conformist" kids at school all look the same? The kids at Mica High School are cookie cutouts of each other. That is until Stargirl arrives. She's simultaneously the most empathetic soul and the most unaware of popular opinion. She celebrates birthdays, accomplishments large and small. Her enthusiasm and joie de vivre know no bounds. First everyone is wary, then they love her. But like all stars, eventually her popularity fades and they soon begin to despise her. Leo gets caught in the bind between her affection or theirs. A wonderful story to remind us that individuality is something we should all hope to attain.

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Summary: Fantastic!
Review: Everyone at Mica High was the same. Sure, there were geeks, jocks, and outcasts, but everyone pretty much wore the same clothes, listened to the same music, talked the same way. Until Stargirl Caraway appeared. She came from nowhere, it seemed, with her pioneer dresses, ukulele, and pet rat. At first people didn't know what to think, but then everyone wanted to be like her. Ukuleles popped up, the local pet shop ran out of rats, and people flocked to school athletic events just to see her cheer. Everyone loved her. Especially Leo Borlock. Head-over-heels for her, he stayed with Stargirl even when everyone else turned against her, dying out-- as all fads do. But when the scorn of his classmates extends to him, too, Leo tries to make do the one thing that could destroy Stargirl. He tries to make her normal. A great story about love, kindness, and remaining true to yourself, Stargirl is a great book for people of all ages.

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Summary: Stargirl
Review: I began this book, and thought it was a bit broad, but once I got into it I realized what a great and interesting plot it truly had. The book showed the difficult choices many of us face when it comes to friends. It also shows a great example of not taking friends for granted. This book is definatly worth reading, again and again.

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Summary: Spinelli Scores a Hit
Review: Stargirl explores the question of conformity vs. noncomformity in a high school setting. More than that it goives the reader a character to identify with and to care about. Leo, the narrator is a boy caught between feelings of first love for an outsider and the desire to be accepted by his peers. His decision, although not the most heroic one, can be understood by most teens. The story's ending made me cry - I really wanted the lovers to find each other again. However, Spinelli ending does hint that Leo may someday find his Stargirl.