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Read Stargirl (2002)

Stargirl (2002)

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Genre
Series
Rating
4.21 of 5 Votes: 9
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ISBN
0439488400 (ISBN13: 9780439488402)
Language
English
Publisher
scholastic

Stargirl (2002) - Plot & Excerpts

I could feel my heart practically breaking inside me as I was reading this book. It is one of those YA books that are relevant and replete with life lessons for all to learn, whether you can relate to the characters or not. Stargirl is told in the first-person point of view of Leo Borlock, a junior at Mica High School in Arizona, who crosses paths with a beautiful, kind, and weird girl who has re-christened herself as, well, Stargirl. Stargirl Caraway draws attention to herself from day one by acting and doing things that are out of the ordinary: she plays the ukulele and sings “Happy Birthday” to her classmates-celebrators in the cafeteria, right in front of everyone; she covers her desk on three sides with a floral curtain in all of her classes, and puts a flower on a shallow vase on top, too; she dances in the rain; she cheers for the opposing team when they score, and; she dresses in odd clothes. Simply put, she was different from everybody else, and she doesn't care. Notwithstanding such non-conformity, Leo finds himself drawn to Stargirl, as did everyone else – in the beginning. But a series of events makes these very same people turn against Stargirl, and Leo, as well, by association, whom everyone began calling “Mr. Stargirl”. Thus, Leo inadvertently comes at a crossroads, and must decide whose opinion matters more to him: Stargirl's, or everyone else's. More than the fact that it was an easy read, Stargirl is a lovely book about belonging and acceptance, one that delves into the pitfalls of highschool popularity. Reading about how much Stargirl strived so hard to be normal – to belong, to be just like everybody else – wrenched my heart, especially since she did it not of her own volition, and because in her attempts to be normal, she shed her own identity and became a completely different person. After reading the book, I realized that it begged the question: How important is it, really, to be normal and popular in school? Is popularity a requirement among teenagers/highschool kids before you could belong?Although from my own experience, I did not find myself in either Leo's or Stargirl's situation when I was their age, I felt like I could completely relate to them. I could feel how much Leo was torn between his feelings for Stargirl and his sense of belonging with the rest of the school. I could understand the lengths to which Stargirl went to please Leo; I could perceive her happy moments, disappointments and heartaches. Their realness leaped out at me from the pages, it was that good a book. To end this short review (if it can be called that), I will leave you with this particular line that tugged at my heartstrings, from a dialogue by Archie Brubaker, Leo's aged paleontologist friend who collected bones, fossils and similar stuff: “... [E]very once in a while someone comes along who is a little more primitive than the rest of us, as little closer to our beginnings, a little more in touch with the stuff we're made of.”Also posted here.

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.comStargirl Caraway is an enigma. She's the type of girl that you either love or hate--with no room for any emotions in between. When she first comes to the high-school as a sophomore in small town Mica, Arizona, her name reverberates throughout the hallways. What kind of a name is Stargirl? Was she really home-schooled for all these years, or did she just magically appear in Mica? How can she seem so calm, so serene, why eating quietly alone in the lunchroom, then strumming her ukulele as if all alone? The boys in school are immediately struck by her quiet, unassuming beauty. The girls are both jealous of her innate naturalness and excited to have her enthusiasm in the school. For Leo Borlock, it's a mixture of fear and excitement that has him falling in love with the mysterious Stargirl--and a desire to see her on the Hot Seat, the in-school television show he runs with his best friend, Kevin. The kids at school embrace Stargirl--her quirkiness, her individuality, her enthusiasm and exuberance for everything she does. She discovers friends and cheerleading, and she's popular. Popular, that is, until she starts rooting for the opposition, determined to bring joy and happiness to everyone, not just her home team. Suddenly, she's not the popular girl that everyone wants to be around. The same individuality that was once embraced is now snubbed, literally, by almost everyone in school. Except for Leo, who's in love with the enigmatic Stargirl, a girl who whole-heartedly loves him back. Until Leo is forced to choose between the affections of an entire school full of classmates and the maybe-too-individual Stargirl. When faced with the choice of one person versus many, Leo might not be strong enough to make the right decision. Jerry Spinelli has penned a book that goes straight to the heart of wanting to fit in, of sometimes being too good to believe, of life and love and heartbreak and the desire to be different, yet the same as everyone else. STARGIRL is a pure delight, and you won't be able to help being drawn into this very believable story, and it's truly unbelievable characters.

What do You think about Stargirl (2002)?

Stargirl Caraway is the new girl at Mica Area High School, and in her mysterious first days of school, she reveals herself to be a true unique individual. She plays a ukalele! She carries around a pet rat! She gives little gifts and cards to people she doesn't know! Soon, all of the high school cannot resist her charm, and she has the entire community under her spell. But after a while, Stargirl's actions become tiresome, irritating, and the question rises among her peers: why can't she just be normal? Soon, Stargirl is ostracized for all of the wonderful things that make her special. Will Stargirl recover and ever be loved for just being herself?I loved this book. I cried at the end of the book, partly because the ending was so touching and partly because the story itself was over. I loved Stargirl's character and child-like innocence, I loved the romance between her and narrator Leo, I loved the book on CD read by John Ritter. I haven't been this happy about a book in a long time!One small note: in high school oratorical contests, the speaker sends in their speech to a committee ahead of time, and cannot deviate from that written speech at the time of delivery.
—Talia

“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” - Henry David ThoreauThis was a quote that rang in my head all throughout my reading of this book. It’s the story of Stargirl Caraway, a girl who dared to be different in high school, a time when teenagers often choose to conform to convention in a desire to fit in. Her story is narrated some fifteen years later by Leo Borlock, a classmate who befriended her and later fell in love. I found Leo to be a wonderfully authentic character. I liked his honesty and I felt the pain of his dilemma as he became torn between his feelings for Stargirl and his own need to be socially accepted. His life was changed by Stargirl, a fact that he realizes too late. I also came to relate to opposing sides in the course of the story. Like Leo, I admired Stargirl for the courage of her convictions but I admit I probably would have been bewildered by her in high school like most of the students in the story. I often felt that Stargirl’s character was over-the-top, the most unusual teenager I’ve ever encountered. She reminded me of Luna Lovegood but with more exuberance. But I guess it’s the author’s way of telling us that even the strangest of people have a story to tell and we can do well to listen to them.As adults, we’ve come to celebrate individuality or, at the very least, to have a higher tolerance for them. It’s more difficult for teenagers to do so especially now that we have the social networks to constantly dictate to them what is acceptable and what is not. That is why this is a wonderful book for teenagers and younger readers. It teaches them to respect diversity and encourages them to march to the beat of their own drummer no matter how different that may be.
—Veronica

Stargirl. This should be the standard for all young adult books. It’s realistic, inspiring and I bet that it’s a story everyone could relate to. Plus, there’s no sex scenes, and just one decent kiss. The book, is narrated by Leo Borlock’s perspective. He gives us an idea on how different Stargirl could be in a normal person’s point of view. Stargirl, being homeschooled, decides to come out of her shell. She enrolls at Mica High, and fortunately fails to blend in. For odd reasons, such as singing someone she barely knows a happy birthday, she stands out. Her schoolmates couldn’t help but find her odd. One time, Stargirl goes to a football match, which no one almost ever watches. She makes an exhibition of herself, by roaming around the football field (I imagine her like a fairy), until police had to come forward just for her to leave the field. That’s when Mica High attended every game onwards. Stargirl was a sight to watch. She was also recruited to the cheering squad. And again, she gives the readers another dose of her weirdness, by cheering enthusiastically, for everyone (that includes the other team). For others, we might find this hateful (just imagine your cheerleader cheering for the other team), but this proves the depths and lengths of Stargirl's naïvety and pure-heartedness. It’s actually amazing. Leo, is and always has been amazed by Stargirl. The feeling was mutual, and they become a couple. Leo enjoyed being with Stargirl. He was at peace, but then he noticed that the entire Mica High was shunning him as well. Leo Tolstoy was definitely no island, so he turned sad. He needed Stargirl, but he needed his peers as well. How Stargirl ever manages it, was a wonder to him. And Leo makes a choice. A terrible choice.And Stargirl, makes a terrible choice as well. She decides to be ”normal”.All of us are either Stargirls or were Stargirls. Everyone is a star. We are stars, some in little ways, and some in ways that no one can possibly miss them. But the thing is, we have what it takes to be a star. The problem is, how do we deal with the stars lodging in us. Some polishes their star to make it brighter, while some hide in the brightness of other stars to suppress their shine.After I finished this book, I was left with the same thought as Leo’s: Is she there? I wonder what she calls herself now. I wonder if she’s lost her freckles. I wonder if I’ll ever get another chance. I wonder, but I don’t despair. Though I have no family of my own, I do not feel alone. I know that I am being watched. The echo of her laughter is the second sunrise I awaken to each day, and at night I feel it is more than the stars looking down on me.And I have to say, we have to make Stargirls the new normal.
—Jasmin

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