Stargirl

http://sninny.blogspot.com/2010/10/stargirl-by-jerry-spinelli.html
After attracting my eye by the simplicity of the cover, this blue book beholding at the center a green stick-figured girl and a bright yellow star above her head, I immediately grabbed this novel. The title is the same as the name of the main character, Stargirl. This character is an effervescent and very amiable teenage girl, and this story revolves around her, and another boy. Centering on the impact she makes on the people and the community, the storyline takes place in a town of the state of Arizona.  One of the most memorable scenes that I recollect whenever I think of Stargirl is the first day when she attended Mica High, where she meets the student body and eventually meets Leo Borlock.  The school environment and the people as described by the boy are mundane and very monotonous that the conformity of the school is irksome. When this bright and happy girl, who wears pioneer dresses and carries her pet rat, enters the school, she enters with her spirited and energetic self. She does not hide her “star” eminence, and she does not pretend to be like any of the dispassionate students. Through the hallways, she skips, dances, hums, and sings while she plays on her delightful ukulele.  At lunch, she would eat her food peacefully, but she would eventually stand up, take out her instrument, and  serenade someone for his/her birthday. Even if there was no birthday that day, she would find some sort of achievement or doing, small or big to celebrate. As one of the most cheerful persons in the world, she still spares time to perform random acts of kindness for everyone. While she animatedly goes through her days at school, the student body has feelings of admiration, shock, annoyance, and curiosity. From her arrival, Stargirl had brought life to the school by her constant enthusiasm and elated behavior, but she seemed more like the life of the school since she was the most happy and playful creature to ever enter this town. The conflict Leo encounters has more to do with himself than with her. The two had commenced a relationship on mutual affections for one another, and he sincerely loved her benevolence, wildness, and charms. Nevertheless, after the basketball incident in which Stargirl rooted for the opposing team (she was oblivious to the customs of sports culture), the student body despised her and her “Starboy”, thus making him feel “invisible” and ungrateful for her qualities. He loved her, but did not want to lose her, therefore he pushed for her to change. She did, but only for a short and unsuccessful time. She returned to her normal usual self and still cared for the boy who once asked her for the impossible and painful choice of conforming.  At the end of the novel, she attended a dance, and struck the students with the same exuberant behavior at the beginning. They fell in love with her again, and appreciated her, but too late, because the next day, Stargirl moved away. Leo learns of the news, and feels disappointed.  This short-read novel taught Leo and me that a majestic soul is carried in all of us, and that we should protect our own “star” beauty.