Stargirl (Stargirl Series)

Read this book to my teenage students. Wow! It was super powerful and very relevant to the times and fitting in. We had ex cellent conversations about the content. Actually, it reminded me of some times in the 70s and 80s as we all back then were trying to do the samethings to connect to others and our environments. It was a hard book to forget and struck a chord with me, too, as I read it. Read it all the way through. The ending was great. My opinion, good book!

Good book

I didn't expect to love Stargirl. I had heard just enough about the nonconformity, "march to the beat of your own drummer" message that I expected it be a bit Pollyanna-ish. However, I did love this book -- everything about it. The characters, for me, were spot on. First of all, Leo. I never would have thought I would relate to a teenage boy, but again - I did. He is likeable and easy going. He is also intuitive about people and situations; when he starts to love Stargirl, so do I. Stargirl herself was, in my opinion, everything her character needed to be. Whimsical, individual, non-conforming, kind, generous, and a little bit weird. Her character is so well-written, as are all the other characters' reactions to her. Yes, the theme of this novel is nonconformity. Yes, the message is a good deal of be yourself, no matter what the price. However, at the end of the day, I think that's a message that every reader, YA or otherwise, can bear to be reminded of.

A fantastic tale told from a young person’s viewpoint. I rated it a 4 because I was totally upset by the boy’s lack of understanding just how special star girl was to the school & especially to him. Perhaps I’ve gotten too old to appreciate his lack of appreciation for her at his age, but as maturity crept up on him he still didn’t try to find her. I’ve taught ninth grade over 30 years & thought I’d kept a handle on that age group, but maybe not. Anyway, from what I’ve read about the second book, I’ll not read it until I’m assured that there’s a third with a happy reunion in it. Remember they still exist in my mind & they deserve a happy ending. WTS

I honestly don't know what to say about this book. I can't put it into words. But I'll try. I'd actually had 'Stargirl' sitting on my kindle for a while, but it didn't seem particularly interesting. Just like Stargirl herself, it's a very different type of story. There aren't many like it. It isn't the type of thing I would usually read. So I was pretty hesitant to do so. But, you guys, I am so, so, so glad I did. Stargirl literally changed my life. I really think everyone needs to read this book at some point in their life. I know I did. There is something about it… something I can't quite explain. Once you've read it, you'll understand. If I'm asked what my favorite book is, usually I'll say I don't have one. There are just so many books out there, it's too hard to just choose one. 'Stargirl' might just have changed my mind. Really, it's just the most beautiful, moving, life-changing story I've read. If you're thinking of reading it, please, please don't hesitate. You won't regret it.

I bought a class set of this for my 7th graders and we are reading it and they're enjoying it.

Stargirl is truly an amazing character in this novel. This is one of those books that bring out all of your emotions. You laugh, you cry and everything in between. I read this book because it was highly recommended by my english teacher. I really enjoyed this book, because not only did it touch base on the things that most authors try to avoid, but it's also filled with mystery and inspiration. This is one of those books that you can't stop thinking about no matter how hard you try. Stargirl is truly a role model to every reader of this book. One has to be truly lucky and gifted to run into a stargirl in their lifetime, as stated in the book. Spinelli truly did a fantastic job at capturing the emotion and discrimination that both of the main characters faced. One of my favorite characters though, was Dori. Dori is like the friend that is there for you no matter what. This book is unquestionably the best and most intriguing book I have ever read and would highly recommend it to readers of any age.

In Stargirl , Jerry Spinelli has provided many opportunities for a-ha, teachable moments. Without giving a book report, I'll just jump to the a-has that hit me while I read Stargirl in a hotel room in Providence. I assume you'll either read it or have already read it, so here we go! To my mind, Stargirl is the moa, the bigger-than-life bird that was hunted to extinction hundreds of years ago by men who were half its size. It is said that the song of the long-extinct moa can still be heard today. It has been passed down from one generation of mockingbirds to the next. At the end of the novel, Stargirl has moved away from Mica and, therefore, is physically extinct from the geographical area; but her song (i.e., acts of kindness, etc.) is still being sung 15 years after her leaving. The mockingbirds, in this case, are the people in Mica who continue to do what Stargirl used to do--the ones who keep her song alive in her absence. From the point where Archie calls Stargirl a "rara avis" to the echoed song of the moa to the Ocotillo Ball to the description of current-day Mica Area High School (MAHS), Jerry Spinelli employs the bird motif in what I consider an artful and sophisticated way. (Steve Kilsey, a teacher-friend in Providence, pointed out to me that Stargirl undergoes a huge transformation--back to Stargirl, but a much more Stargirlish Stargirl--after her speech in Phoenix. She, like the legendary phoenix, rises from the ashes to become something even greater than before.) The book offers teachers a chance to discuss motifs! But one will not typically approach the book believing it will. Stargirl is uneven, with bits of brilliance here, embarrassingly purple prose there, and puzzling stuff added in that should have been edited out. The novel certainly has its flaws: If a guy like Archie moves close to a school and holds court with teens and gives them gifts (fossil pendants) and calls the kids the Loyal Order of the Stone Bone, he should immediately find himself under serious suspicion and police scrutiny. That's not cynical; just properly wary. And I would never intimate to a child that it is OK to set up a little craft shop in a tool shed in an eccentric man's back yard. The hardest pill to swallow is the portrayal of Stargirl. If one were to sit down and try to create an unpredictable, free-spirited high school girl, the list produced from a few minutes' brainstorming would include all of the things in the novel. That is, Stargirl is unpredictable in all the most predictable ways. Many of the negative Amazon reviews written as "A Kid's Review" reflect young readers' dissatisfaction with the character. I am frustrated on Jerry S's behalf here. He had to balance the approachability of the title character with the sophisticated messages he wanted to communicate through her. Readers old enough to "get it" will be too old to think Stargirl is a refreshing, inspiring, little sprite. I would be FAR more impressed had Stargirl not been homeschooled. It's too easy to pluck such a character out of the homeschool and drop her into a hyperconformist public high school and BOOM--instant plot, with internal and external conflict aplenty. But are we meant to understand that homeschooled kids are more likely to be wacky individualists who somehow possess a nuanced understanding of enchanted places and spend their own allowance making cards and little gifts for strangers? Considered together with the fact that the kids in Mica flock to Archie's "school" (always open) for the lessons and advice they can't get at MAHS, these details appear to characterize public high school (at least in Mica) as the Great Stultifier. MAHS is The Cave. I don't want to dwell on the negative, though. There's a lot of good to point out. For instance, there is the theme of "change." Early in the novel, Leo confides to his readers that he wished Stargirl would become more like everybody else, or, barring that, that everybody else would become more like Stargirl. What's conspicuously missing here? Oh yes; any indication that Leo would consider changing in any way whatsoever. In this regard, Leo never falls out of character. It is only after he becomes aware of the shunning--some time after the shunning had started--that it occurs to him that he can't have it both ways. Why not? Because Stargirl had not (yet) changed, and "everybody else" had not changed. And he wasn't going to, under any circumstances. Enter Susan. Susan's first appearance reminds one of Sandra Dee's metamorphosis in "Grease." That's not bad at all. I half expected her to say something like, "Tell me about it, Stud." But with Stargirl, the change is not empowering, but heartbreaking. You wish it hadn't happened, but you knew it had to. Again, the alternatives were these: (1) Everybody else changes. (2) Leo changes. And, even though the students had briefly flirted with Stargirlism, they snapped back to their true nature and began the shunning. Fortunately, the same thing happens with Stargirl. After appearing to totally surrender herself--even betraying her vegetarian self for Leo's conditional "love," even adopting behaviors that must jibe with those of a hypothetical "Evelyn Everybody"--Stargirl snaps back to her true nature. But not before Jerry S. has made another important point, this one about "crowds." You see, the author took great care in establishing in the readers' minds the fact of the crowd's power. --The hallways are always crowded (unless you're being shunned, in which case the crowd makes itself known by its splitting around you). --There were never any crowds at the Mica sports games until Stargirl came along (and it was her performance at an ill-fated basketball game that turned the hitherto-adoring crowd of Electrons fans against her). --Then, after having been shunned by the Mica crowd, Stargirl wins over the crowd at the state oratory contest. Leo reports to us that applause at that event was confined mostly to the family and friends of the current speaker, along with minor, polite clapping elsewhere. But after Stargirl's largely extemporaneous performance at the contest, and after the message of her speech had sunk in, the crowd exploded in applause (and tears) for her. OK. Crowd won. Throughout the trip to the state oratory contest, Stargirl is effusive, anticipating a hero's welcome back at school. Surely the kids and parents would be swarming the high school parking lot. Stargirl would be carried on people's shoulders. A true triumph. She even warns Leo that he'll have to take hold of the silver plate (her trophy) when they get out of the car, noting that "crowds can separate you, you know. They do that." Of course, the crowd back at the school parking lot consists only of two teachers and Dori Dilson, the latter hiding behind the massive poster she'd made. Here, Dori is true to character. At no point did Dori ever leave Stargirl. Forever faithful, regardless of what the others thought. Is Dori strong? Is she better than the other kids at Mica? Of course not. Dori is as much a follower as anybody else. The difference is that she chose to follow Stargirl instead of following the crowd. In the parking lot, Dori is Stargirl's crowd. At all other times, Stargirl is Dori's crowd. By hiding behind the poster, ego-less Dori surrenders her *self* in favor of the message of support for Stargirl. And she does this again, when she plays Stargirl's chauffeur on the night of the Ocotillo Ball. So we're back to crowds now. The Ocotillo Ball. Leo watches from afar, lacking the guts to show up with this girl he believes he loves, showing only that he doesn't yet understand what "love" is. Stargirl leads a sizable number of her classmates off into the starlit desert, bunny hopping as they wander out of sight. Finally, the bunny trail of dancers winds back to the tennis courts where the band is playing and the others wait. Those who remained behind (with Mica tastemaker and Stargirl-booer Hillari Kimble) crush against the fence opposite the returning dancers. Both groups make their way to the end of the fence and are reunited amid hugs and laughter. On this one night, Stargirl has done the undoable: She's infiltrated the crowd, split it, and then reunited everyone into one happy crowd, all differences rendered meaningless. Thus does Stargirl and Jerry S. destroy the crowd--by uniting it! There is more, but this review is too long already. For teachers, I would recommend re-reading this novel. Approach it as you would a classic piece of literature. *Expect* the author to do literary things; be prepared to find themes and motifs, and give him credit for having put them in there. Then do your magic with your students, teaching them how to read with a critical eye. Teach them to discover the gold, to evaluate, and to point out flaws without declaring the whole thing stupid.

Libro scolastico richiesto a mia figlia dall'istituto linguistico che frequenta. Mi ha riferito che probabilmente viene consigliato perché scritto in modo semplice ed in inglese molto "accademico", lo sta leggendo senza grandi difficoltà e lo trova gradevole.

I read this books and was truly enchanted by the character stargirl 🌟 , she has a unique way of doing everything ... Leo was used to being invisible but due to stargirl all eyes were on him.. P.s stargirl is her REAL name if you're wondering 😂.. Definitely buy it ....

A mi hijo se lo pidieron en verdad en la ESO, pero aproveché a leerlo y es una historia impecable, lástima que la letra es un poco pequeña en esta versión!

Une lecture vivifiante sur le droit à la différence et, curieusement, à l'abnégation. Stargirl est un personnage profondément humain dont la plupart d'entre nous devrait s'inspirer. À conseiller aux adolescents qui se cherchent une identité pour leur montrer qu'il existe d'autres voies que le conformisme.

A friend of mine I met through Instagram recommended this book to me and I haven't stopped thanking her! Reading through some reviews I really can't understand why there are 1, 2, even 3 star ratings. This book is so magical. For a short read it does pack a lot of emotion. Stargirl is one for the ages this book has changed me, I aspire to be like Stargirl she is unique and amazing in her own way. My friend told me after I read it "you only have one chance to be the real you, yes its scary and tough and not everyone will accept you but you must be able to live your life freely and happily" Stargirl does just that. I loved Leo too, he was a gem. I am 18 at the moment and I'm so glad I have this book because I can pass it on to my own children if I ever have any. I loved it that much I want to readit again and again.