Review Detail

Reader reviewed by MssJos

Jerry Spinelli has an incredible knack for writing about the "different" kids in school. What is really impressive, is that he gives these characters some amazing strengths, one being the ability to overcome the odds and deeply impact the lives of everyone they encounter. Stargirl is no exception.

Leo Borlock is a shy eleventh-grader who directs/produces a show called The Hot Seat. When a new girl comes to his school straight out of being home-schooled, it is only a matter of time before she ends up on his show.

Stargirl is different--and not just because of her name. She plays the ukulele in the cafeteria while singing Happy Birthday to students she doesn't even know, she has a pet rat who travels with her everywhere, she cheers for both teams at basketball games, and she captures Leo's heart. Torn between siding with his peers who thinks she's crazy and Stargirl who's smile lights up his life, Leo must choose whose affection he values more. After Stargirl's unforgettable appearance on The Hotseat, Leo tries to help Stargirl fit in but instead, he learns a valuable lesson about the importance of standing out.

"We wanted to define her, to wrap her up as we did each other...Her ways
knocked us off balance." (p.11)

"She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest
scent of 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 a corkboard like a
butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew." (p.15)

In Stargirl Spinelli does a wonderful job of capturing the intensity of the pressure to conform adolescents are subjected to in high school. After experiencing this novel, we as readers can't help but hope we all have a little bit of Stargirl in us.