| Stargirl | |
|---|---|
First edition cover |
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| Author(s) | Jerry Spinelli |
| Original title | Stargirl |
| Translator | none |
| Cover artist | Jerry Spinelli |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English and Spanish |
| Series | Stargirl |
| Genre(s) | Realistic Fiction |
| Publisher | Knopf Books |
| Publication date | August 8, 2000 |
| Media type | Book |
| Pages | 192 pp |
| ISBN | 0-679-88637-0 |
| OCLC Number | 43207653 |
| LC Classification | PZ7.S75663 St 2000 |
| Followed by | Love, Stargirl |
Stargirl is a young adult novel written by Jerry Spinelli, first published in 2000.
The book centers on an eccentric and compassionate 10th grade student at Mica Area High School in Arizona named Susan "Stargirl" Caraway, who has spent her previous years in homeschooling. Eleventh-grader Leo Borlock narrates throughout the story. The main idea of the story is the introduction of individuality and diversity in a normal high school that has no "abnormalities". It also focuses on staying strong during times of need and acceptance between a girl and her boyfriend. Between the story and the epilogue, the narrator implies that 15 years have elapsed. The sequel Love, Stargirl [1] was released August 14, 2007.
Contents |
Leo Borlock - The narrator of the book. Falls in love with Stargirl and dates her. Yearns to be popular, but is set just below the standard. Because of this, he rejects Stargirl when she returns to her former self, breaking her heart and making her unsure of who she wants to please, herself, or her true love.
Susan "Stargirl" Caraway - a new face to Mica Area High School. Stargirl is definitely not the same as everyone else at MAHS. She captures Leo Borlock's heart by just one smile. She brings the idea of individuality to MAHS, something that the school has never encountered before, and the student body is not always sure how to grasp it. She is at first rejected by everyone but Dori Dilson, another reject. But when she joins the cheerleading squad, all of a sudden, everyone is intrigued and fascinated by her. She suffers a huge letdown when they don't see eye-to-eye on her cheering tactics (cheering for the other team, not only MAHS) and is suddenly at the bottom of the chain again. She made up her own name, and often consults Archie, like other high schoolers, however, they have a much stronger bond. He is her mentor and often offers deep insight for her.
Cinnamon - a friendly rat that is Stargirl's most cherished companion and sidekick. He listens to Stargirl and does what she says. Stargirl brings him to school, which often attracts attention, not always good. Leo is a little bit scared of him at first, but eventually warms up to him and welcomes the rat wherever they go.
Barney - an ancient, 60 million year-old, Paleocene era rodent skull that Archie keeps around to prove a point throughout the book, until the end, when Barney is buried. - Mr. McShane - Mica High's faculty representative to the state contest. He drives Stargirl and Leo to Phoenix, Arizona where the state competition is held.
Hillari Kimble - the girlfriend of Wayne Parr. She cannot stand Stargirl, hating her for the attention she gets, meaning she's jealous.
Dori Dilson - the best friend of Stargirl Caraway. At first, she is very shy, but Stargirl helps her to open up more towards others. She is accepting of Stargirl all throughout the book, at first when she is rejected by peers, then when she climbs to the top of the "popular pyramid", and again when she is again rejected by her peers for her differences.
Wayne Parr - the boyfriend of Hillari Kimble. In terms of achievement, he is a nobody. When asked by Kevin on Hot Seat what his inspiration is, Wayne answers that it is the magazine GQ. He is the most popular boy at MAHS, but no one is quite sure why. Proven to be as very boring boy, but somehow looked up to as an idol.
Archie Brubaker - a teacher who works on Saturdays. He is a retired paleontology professor whose home, full of bones, is open to the students each Saturday. An old man who knows his stuff. Archie can be confusing since he is a man of riddles. He is a mentor to Stargirl, often telling her "Star people shed light, not tears."
Kevin Quinlan - the best friend of Leo Borlock. He is the host of Hot Seat. Kevin is one of the few who continue to acknowledge Leo while he is dating Stargirl.
Peter Sinkowitz - the boy who lives across the street from Stargirl. Peter is a little boy that Stargirl keeps an eye on. She takes random pictures and notes about him for a scrapbook she will give him when he comes to an age at which he can appreciate it.
Señor Saguaro - the giant cactus that grows in Archie's backyard. When Leo and Kevin go to Archie for answers to their problems, Archie turns to Señor Saguaro for help and advice.
Mallory Stillwell - the captain of the MAHS cheerleading squad. She invites Stargirl to be a cheerleader after Stargirl wows her classmates with stunts at football games. This causes controversy in the school, but no one dares to contradict Mallory. She however, is repulsed and angered by Stargirl's actions at the games, when she chooses to cheer for both MAHS, and the opposing team.
The novel begins with a brief introduction of Leo's life and chronicles his moving from his home state of Pennsylvania to Arizona, at the age of twelve. Before his move, his uncle Pete gives Leo a porcupine necktie as a farewell present, inspiring him to collect more like it. For a while, his collection still contained only one porcupine necktie until his birthday, when he receives one in a gift-wrapped package that an anonymous person left on his doorstep .
This story picks up four years later with the arrival of an eccentric new classmate, Stargirl. Her behavior is unusual for a teen at Mica Area High School which prizes student conformity above all else. She wears kimonos, Native American buckskin, 1920s flapper clothes, and pioneer clothing with no makeup.
During each class period she decorates her desk with a tablecloth and a vase with a daisy in it. She dances in the rain. She strums a ukulele during lunch every day and sings "Happy Birthday" to kids she has never met. She once yelled "Opokolo" out loud during lunch for no apparent reason. She attends other peoples' funerals and, during sporting events, cheers for both teams. Her behavior is so unusual and so unlike anything anyone at the school had seen before that the student body at first did not know what to make of her. One student, the popular Hillari Kimble, declares, "She is not real."
Leo becomes infatuated with Stargirl and refuses pleas of his best friend, Kevin , to put her on their show Hot Seat, the school’s student run television production where students are placed on the spot, and a jury of fellow students ask them questions "to make them squirm." Because Leo is infatuated with Stargirl, he doesn’t want to embarrass her on the show. Once the student body becomes accustomed to Stargirl’s eccentricities and Mallory Stillwell invites her to join the cheerleading squad , her popularity soars. Students begin to mimic her behavior, and at lunch, her table is overflowing with peers. She joins the cheer squad and goes to games for all of the sports, and the attendance at games suddenly booms. She sparks a revolution against conformity in the school.Then she cheered and cheered.
When Hillari Kimble, the girl who was the most popular in school before the appearance of Stargirl, demands Stargirl not to sing to her on her birthday, Stargirl keeps her promise—she does not sing to Hillari, but she sings to Leo, only she says Hillari's name. When Kevin, Leo's best friend, asks Stargirl, "Why him?", she responds by tweaking his earlobe and saying, "He's cute."
Leo does privately celebrate the outburst of individuality taking over the school, even though his own shy demeanor keeps him from participating himself. He is merely a spectator in the events that follow.
The basketball season brings about Stargirl's downfall. For the first time in the school's history, they have an undefeated basketball season. She slowly begins to anger her school by cheering for not only MAHS, but the other teams as well. She doesn't believe winning is the only way to have fun, and this puzzles and angers the students, though this is the same behavior she exhibited as a cheerleader for the football team.
Shortly after the beginning of the basketball controversy is Stargirl's "Hot Seat" appearance. The show starts innocently, however, things slowly turn sour as the students begin to attack Stargirl with questions that single her out and attempt to embarrass her. As events get out of control the advising teacher cuts the show short. It never airs but the events are quickly revealed to the school by the members of the Hot Seat jury.
When basketball play-offs come around, the school faces tough competition, and, unfortunately, lose in the semi-finals. Stargirl angers the school by comforting a player from the opposing team when he breaks his ankle. This leads to her ultimate downfall from popularity. After the next game, where MAHS suffers a season-ending humiliating defeat, an unknown student hits Stargirl in the face with a ripe tomato, to which the audience responds by applauding. The school takes out their anger for the defeat on Stargirl, illogically blaming her for the team’s loss. This eventually leads to her being shunned by the entire student body except for Leo and her one remaining friend, Dori Dilson.
After Stargirl’s popularity ends, she and Leo begin an obvious romance. Stargirl takes Leo to a place that seems like nowhere and they sit there for an hour and enjoy the beauty and "connect with the earth". A few days after this, they kiss on the sidewalk in front of her house, and Leo declares that it was "no saint I was kissing," They enjoy each others' company, and Leo begins to help Stargirl with her antics, such as leaving cards for people she doesn't know, and dropping change on the sidewalk. It is by observing her behavior that he figures out that Stargirl was the mysterious person that gave him the porcupine necktie four years before. Soon, though, Leo realizes the entire school is shunning the couple. Wanting to help her, he ask Stargirl to change and become "normal", so she becomes "Susan", the name she was born with. She drops her unconventional clothing and acts like all the other students at the school. She becomes obsessed with being "accepted" and popular. This plan, however, fails, and their classmates continue the shunning, despite Stargirl's valiant efforts to become a normal girl.
"Susan" feels that the best way to become popular is by winning a state public speaking competition. Her eccentric and creative personality helps her achieve victory in the competition, and she returns to MAHS thinking she will receive a hero’s welcome. She is bitterly disappointed when only three people show up to see her homecoming. Susan realizes that she had achieved nothing by trying to fit in. She decides to go back to being her true self, and Stargirl returns, much to Leo’s dismay. He then abandons his relationship with Stargirl, confused about his feelings for her and with his desperation to be accepted by the school.
When the Ocotillo ball comes Leo decides not to go. Leo watches the ball from his bike in the distance. Stargirl regains popularity as she arrives on a bike covered in sunflowers. Stargirl is dressed beautifully and impresses everyone as she walks onto the tennis court. As the dance progresses, Stargirl causes conflict with Hillari Kimble. When Stargirl asks the DJ to play the "Bunny Hop", Hillari is appalled. Stargirl starts the dance with only a few people participating, until eventually the only people not in line are Hillari Kimble and Wayne Parr. Stargirl leads the hop into the desert where it seems as though they stay for hours. Upon the dancers' return, Hillari confronts Stargirl telling her that she always ruins everything and slaps her on the face. Stargirl returns Hillari's anger-filled action with, yet another, act of kindness - a polite kiss on the cheek. The next day, Stargirl disappears...
Fifteen years after graduating high school, Leo finds himself working not as a television director, but a set designer. Stargirl has left behind some permanent changes at Mica Area High: students cheer the first basket scored against them at every game, a club called "The Sunflowers" performs one nice act per day for someone else, and the school’s marching band is the only one in Arizona to feature a ukulele. The story ends with Leo receiving a porcupine necktie in the mail one day before his birthday and realizing Stargirl had given it to him, his hope for Stargirl continues.
After she moves, Stargirl begins writing a letter to Leo. She writes about her encounters with Perry Delloplane and Dootsie. She also tells how she overcame her love of Leo and all her adventures in Philadelphia.
Stargirl has received much praise from critics. Imot was a New York Times Bestseller, a Parents Choice Gold Award Winner, an ALA Top Ten Best Books Award winner, and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. Critics have praised the Stargirl character and the novel's overall message of nonconformity.[2][3][4]
In 2004 students from Kent, Ohio founded a Stargirl Society, which aimed to promote the nonconformist message of the novel. The society received much attention, and inspired young people all over the world to create their own societies.[7] Spinelli's website contains a list of tips on how to start a Stargirl Society.[8]