Stargirl (Readers Circle) by Jerry Spinelli
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Book Reviews of Stargirl (Readers Circle)
Book Review: Startling and Provocative: This Book Made Me Reexamine My Life
Summary: 5 Stars
Every time I finish reading this book, I find that it is about something new. In middle school, I thought it was about porcupine neckties. In high school, I thought it was about teenagers in love. And now, after my third pass, I discovered that this book is about people: you and me.
"Stargirl" is the story of a tenth-grade, previously homeschooled girl who shows up on the first day of class with a flowing dress, a ukulele, and a song to sing. Stargirl's character represents nonconformity: the childhood spirit, the innocence, the brilliance, the absolute wide-eyed wonder that is waiting to burst out of each and every one of us. But that's not how her peers see her. Though initially hoorahed for bringing something new and special to her bland high school in Mica, Arizona, Stargirl is quickly shunned by the rest of her school for being too awkward, too nice, too...different.
And that's not good for Leo, the character whose perspective the story is told from. Leo is an eleventh-grader and director of the school TV show, "Hotseat." His initial reaction to Stargirl was nothing more than a mild interest to put her on his show. However, he quickly becomes enamored. He follows her home from school, thinks about her at night, and then begins to hang out with her, discovering the world through her eyes.
As Stargirl's popularity wanes, Leo must fight a personal war: who's affection does he value more, the world's, or Stargirls'? This is no classic battle between good and evil; there is no right or wrong answer to Leo's quest. Along the way, Leo finds out what it means to be alone, to be one with consciousness, to be spontaneous, to be in love, and to be loved back.
Most of us are Leo's. Within a limit, we're normal, think normally, act normally--we seldom break the collective constraints that society places on us. But Stargirl not only breaks those boundaries; she lives outside of them, swimming in the vast universe of human possibility and potential. As Leo gets to know Stargirl, I felt like I, as the reader, got the chance become reacquainted with a long lost part of myself. This book made me reexamine my life and what is important to me. It is one I will never grow tired of reading.
Book Review: Captures a Time in Life Most of Us Can Easily Relate To.
Summary: 5 Stars
High school is a very trying time in any young adult's life, and if you happen to be a nonconformist, the going is twice as difficult. If you remember your teens without regret, your are part of the few who do.
Jerry Spinelli shows us a world that more than vividly captures the affections of a boy named Leo for the unusual Stargirl who's social status changes almost as often as her names. Now, I'll admit like some of the reviewers here that she was a bit over the top in her behavior, but it seems that Spinelli exaggerated her to make his point about how cruel kids can be to others who don't act as impulsively on their whims as our heroine.
I learned in my own high school years that it's okay if others don't like you for being yourself, but when someone like Leo is very close to you and expects you to change, it's a different matter entirely. If you were teased in school for associating with a "stargirl" or a "starboy," you usually gave them a nasty and unceremonious dumping. Leo held on instead, cringing all the while as he kept on crushing Stargirl's spirit by asking her to give up pieces of what attracted him to her in the first place. A rather truthful and sad social commentary about people at any stage of life.
A wonderful glimpse into Leo's psyche as his tale of first love makes him grow up and regret his poor choices with a truly unique and wonderful individual. With beautifully simple details that even the youngest reader can grasp, quirky humor, and heart-tuggingly painful moments that deal in heartbreak and peer pressure--plus a touch of mystery--I would recommend Stargirl to anyone who is grasping with this issue. The book also has a surprising and bittersweet ending that will bring a smile to your face. Age recommendation: 9 to 90!
Book Review: Can You Be A "Star Person?"
Summary: 5 Stars
Stargirl is a book with will warm and break your heart. It's a short book about a boy--a community really--that was utterly transformed when they met a truly good person. At first, the depiction of High School and of Stargirl herself seems almost comically exaggerated, but the readers really get a punch in the stomach when they realize how realistic--how REAL--both of these are.
The book, clearly influenced by Romantic Poetry, overflows with insight, posing questions that we all should have been asking all along: Why do we act the way we do? Why do we confine ourselves by society's norms and absurd rules? Why is this character, this ideal person, so hated for her individuality? Shouldn't a society, shouldn't we as individuals, embrace such a person, even strive to be AS individual as they are? Those are just some of the questions you are left with after closing this book.
I'm not doing this novel justice, though. It's more than just insight, as the story it offers is top-notch, all the way from the unconventional story structure to the characterization of the reluctant protagonist Leo (who you will simultaneously hate and also see as yourself towards the end), to the ever-poetic Archie, to the wonderful, indescribable titular character Stargirl.
This is an utterly transforming work. This book, this "children's" book, has left me--as I am sure it will leave you--with major questions concerning both my individuality and the way that I fit into society. This book will make you strive to do good.
10/10 Classic.
Book Review: 5 Stars for Stargirl
Summary: 5 Stars
**SPOILERS**
An absolutely amazing book. I remember reading it when I was younger and I didn't really understand it all that well. Reading it a few years later, it's so much better. I still hate and always will hate the ending, because Stargirl reads (although I guess Love, Stargirl gives me some hope that it might all be okay, that's next on my reading list!), but still. I think everyone should be a star person. Stargirl is the person everyone should strive to be, the ultimate non-judging good. I love her character to death, she's just great. Leo, on the other hand, was such a nuisance. Come ON, he should have loved her for what she was, and it seemed like he did, until he began his little crusade to change her. Susan's not Stargirl. Susan's just...wrong. He shouldn't have done that. That was a truly bitter ending, and I wish things had ended on a high-note (like maybe she could have delivered the necktie in person).
It's such a true book though. So yeah, maybe none of us have Stargirls in our schools, but don't we wish we did? I know I do. It does illustrate that whole high school popularity contest very well, and I don't think it was exaggerated one bit.
The writing itself was gorgeous. It was detailed, but not so detailed that it was long-winded and b-o-r-i-n-g, it was actually detailed and kept my interest, which is ridiculously hard for a book to do. The descriptions themselves were magical, as was the dialogue. Great book, again, except for the ending. Can't wait to read Love, Stargirl!
Book Review: Cornwall NY Sixth Grader
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a Sixth Grader.The book Stargirl is the best book I have ever read.
Star girl isn't popular but Leo still falls in love with her. Star girl is weird and crazy and doesn't care what other people think. She is disliked in the beginning of the book. She and her pet rat are too weird for Mica High. After she gets the team all prepped up and they are having a winning streak she becomes popular. Later in the book, as an attempt to be nice she cares for the other team's wounded player and the school starts to hate her. Leo tries to change Star girl into one of them but, she turns back into herself after she wins a contest and at the end Leo misses out on the chance of a life time.
I loved the book. I thought it was mysterious and magical. I loved when the author talked about all the weird things that happened with Star girl as a student of Mica High. I also loved the part when Star girl became popular and everyone liked her. I think Stargirl is a very good book and anyone who likes books about a magical friendship should read it.
I didn't like some parts in the book. One part I didn't like was that Star girl became un-popular and hated by most of the school. Another part I didn't like was the ending. I didn't like the fact that Leo missed out on a chance that would have changed his life and he would have been happier.
The moral of the story was take a chance; don't let something that could have been slip away.