Stargirl

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Summary: Stargirl-- A Shimmering Star in the Sky
Review: On occasion, a person who is full of spirit and friendly towards all will mysteriously come into the lives of many, yet will be hated by most everyone. This notion was eloquently conveyed in Jerry Spinelli's riveting novel entitled Stargirl. The novel takes place in present day at Mica Area High School (MAHS), located in a small Arizona town called Mica. Until the time during which the book took place, MAHS seemed to be a pretty boring school where generally nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Everybody, even nerds and geeks, all behaved within more or less the same boundaries; they all dressed, talked, and acted alike, and anybody outside those limits "quickly snapped back into place like rubber bands" (Pg. 10). But then, Stargirl showed up! Stargirl, a friendly, perky, unique teenager who had been home schooled until this particular year, arrived at the Mica Area High School on the first day of the new school year to the glances and stares of bewildered students. No one had ever seen anyone so different, so unique. She dressed in extravagant clothing, sang "Happy Birthday" to those whose birthdays it was, and she spoke of topics no one had ever thought about before. She knew nothing of conformity. At first, all the students were interested in Stargirl. They began to follow her actions and enjoy life. She once went to one of the school's ever unpopular football games and danced and cheered up and down the sidelines as the football team played. The word of her appearance at the game quickly spread, and at the next game, over 1000 people showed up so that they could have the chance to see her show off her spirit! The cheerleading squad soon asked her to join and she gladly accepted. She began her "cheerleading career" just as the basketball season began. Friendly to all, Stargirl would cheer when the Electrons (Mica's team) made a basket, and also when the opposing team would score. During any other year, nobody would have been truly offended by her cheering for both teams, however, this particular year something amazing was happening. MAHS was winning their games for the first time ever, and people were beginning to feel that Stargirl's cheering for the opposing teams was a threat to the Electrons' success. People hated her for her happiness, her cheerfulness, and her spirit! The entire school body started ignoring her, or as they called it, giving her the "silent treatment." But they were not only shunning Stargirl herself, but also her boyfriend, Leo, who was a normal, happy teenager who truly loved Stargirl. However, the silence soon began driving Leo crazy...he could not take the rejection any longer. Leo avoided Stargirl whenever possible on school grounds, hoping that the students would think he had "abandoned" her and her crazy ways, and that they might begin talking to him again. Yet Stargirl quickly noticed Leo's constant absence and finally asked him what was wrong. "You don't seem to care what everybody thinks. You don't seem to know what everybody thinks," Leo responded desperately. "Something's gotta change...That's all I know." (Pg. 133) Spinelli's descriptions of Stargirl herself and the relentless conformity of the student body at Mica Area High School were painfully realistic, and reminded me that we, as people, must remember to be open-minded to others who are unique and extravagant, for often they have much to teach us. Spinelli describes the loving, gentle, Stargirl and the student body's impression of her in the following: "She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew." (Pg. 15)

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Summary: WOW! THIS IS GOOD! BLOODY GOOD!
Review: Ohmigod, this is great! I got back from U.S.A. one week ago, and brought back a bunch of good books. This was one my friend bought me for the plane ride, and everyone was starring at me because I was blubbering halfway into the flight! It was so good at the end, totally unexpected, and I thought it was so good, it doesn't need a sequel to complete it (Rare for me, huh?) ANyway, Stargirl is a very unique girl. She carries a rat in her bag, dresses in funky stuff, and embraces everyone and everything. I don't even want to give away the plot because it's too hard to describe. Trust me.

It changed my life, and I bet it can change yours. I even skipped peanuts and a drink because I was too busy reading.

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Summary: She will forgive everything.
Review: What did Stargirl look like? She was beautiful. She was unusual. She was alone. Through the narration of her deeply loved boyfriend, Leo, we get acquainted with her, are fascinated by her, are anxious of her, and get a little tired of her, but still are rooted deeply to her solitary attitude. People around her at first were amazed with her attitude. For them she was a stimulus. She was exciting, until she betrayed them by cheering their opponents. They couldn't understand her at all, so they hate her and put her alone in the school society.

She just said that she was what she was. She couldn't be anybody other than herself. She coudn't understand why she had to act like others. From the beginning to the end of the story, she is the same. She is Stargirl, that's all. However, she tried to change herself for Leo. What a deep love made her try to be "normal" Susan! Unfortunately it didn't work at all.

After she left the town, most of people had an unsolved question, "Who was she?" With it she occupied some part of their mind for ever. We sometimes have such people like her in our lives. They are "Star people" as Archie told Leo.

Will she come back to him again? I think she will. Leo has betrayed her like that, but she will forgive everything. Why am I so sure? Because she knows how to forgive people who don't know what is like to be a "Stargirl."

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Summary: another great book by Jerry Spinelli
Review: I really loved this book! Have you ever read a book, and once you finished, you didn't want to read anything else? Well, anyways, that's what happened to me with Stargirl. I felt conected to the characters while reading about their adventures. I liked all the small details that Jerry Spinelli added to the story (like Cinnimon the rat and the Moa birds) that made the book really come alive. I found the plot was a little bit predictable (thanks to the inside cover!), but I still liked it a lot. Jerry Spinelli has observed what teenage life is really like and incorporated it well into this story. I would recomend this book to 12-14 year olds.

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Summary: Stargirl
Review: I read Stargirl for a book club in school. At first, i though the book would be preety good, after reading what it was about. But, after getting about 1/3 through the book, it got very boring and dull. The book just isn't very intresting and to me, has a terrible ending that leaves you a bit wondering. If you are thinking about reading this book, i would consider not reading it.

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Summary: Stargirl
Review: I think that this book is a good book for kids and adults. Stargirl is about a girl named Stargirl who had been home schooled for a while. When she comes to regular school, everyone thinks she is a very strange person. No one knows what to think of her. She wore very awkward clothing. In the cafeteria she would get up in front of everyone, and sing, dance, and play an instrument. Rumors were going around that the teachers and principal hired her to come to their school and sing and dance. They thought the reason the teachers did that was to have more school spirit. So when people wanted to change her and make her a different person, she realized that the person everyone is making her into is not really her and that all she really wants to be is an individual I too think that everyone should be an individual.

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Summary: Read Star Girl
Review: Are you looking for a good book to read? If you are you should consider reading Stargirl. It is a wonderful book for adults and children and always leads to new problems. I think this book teaches you a great lesson about life and how you look at people. This interesting book is by Jerry Spinelli, a newbery medalist. He has written many books such as Wringer, Maniac Magee, Crash, and Knots in my Yo- Yo String. This book takes place in Arizonia and is about a very interesting girl, named Stargirl. She comes to Mica Area High School in eleventh grade and is not like everyone else. She is different by she wears different clothes and acts differntly. Also she is a cheerleader and at games she is always cheering for other teams. Stargirl has a pet rat named, Cinnamon who is always on her shoulder. Also she sends people birthday presents she doesn't even know. She has a friend named, Archie who has classes for kids at his house. He is a great person and teaches Leo, the narrator alot about Stargirl. Stargirl falls in love with Leo Borlock. Leo has feelings for her too, but he is afraid he will become unpopular if they get together. They go tot the mall, ride bikes and do a lot of stuff together, but at school they are distance. The question is, "Whose affection does he value more hers or the others?" Well if you are going to read this book you will find out the answer to this question.

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Summary: an insperation
Review: Stargirl is the best book i have read or will ever read. It was amazing from start to finish. I felt everything the narrator was feeling and i truely wanted to be stargirl, and to live through all that she was experiencing. The book was increadable and i doubt i will ever find another like it.

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Summary: Stargirl gets FIVE STARS
Review: Stargirl was the first book selection for our book club (all members are adults) and we will hard pressed to ever choose a better book. This book is so completely delightful I found myself hugging it when I was finished. Extremely well written, there is more here than meets the eye. We were a bit concerned when we had to find the book in the young readers section of the bookstore, but after reading and discussing it, we were amazed at how multilayed and thoughtful it is. An easy read, but a very complex character. This is a great book for teachers to have their classes read. Not only does the message encourage us to be true to ourselves, but to let others follow that same rule, sometimes meaning being a little different than us. It is also a great tool for literary structure. I cannot tell you more than this: get this book and read it and love it!

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Summary: She's A STAR
Review: I really liked the book star girl.It is about a girl called Stargirl.She was homeschooled.She entered high school in 10th grade.She was unique.She wore clothes that nobody else wore.In the book she wore those kind of clothes because her mom worked as a clothes person for a movie.She had a pet rat.She knew everybody by reading every article in the newspaper. SHe would sing them happy birthday.The cheerleaders wanted her on their team.She became popular,but when they found out she was cheering for the other team they resented her.SHe picked Leo as her valentine. They both became friends doing as he requested she tried to be popular but it didn't work.I can't tell you all the information.The book is good and you will probally be surprised about the ending.