Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

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Description:

Stargirl. From the day she arrives at quiet Mica High in a burst of color and sound, the hallways hum with the murmur of “Stargirl, Stargirl.” She captures Leo Borlock’ s heart with just one smile. She sparks a school-spirit revolution with just one cheer. The students of Mica High are enchanted. At first. Then they turn on her. Stargirl is suddenly shunned for everything that makes her different, and Leo, panicked and desperate with love, urges her to become the very thing that can destroy her: normal. In this celebration of nonconformity, Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli weaves a tense, emotional tale about the perils of popularity and the thrill and inspiration of first love.

General Content:

Language: 0/10- Little to no derogatory language/ references.

Alcohol & Drugs: 1/10- A character (an adult) smokes a pipe while talking to the characters. There's a reference to "sniffing fumes."

Violence & Gore: 2/10- Bullying throughout the novel.

Sexual Content: 1/10- Stargirl and Leo kiss.

Age Recommendation: 13-15, 8-10th Grade

Parent Guide:

Prologue

-Leo is gifted a birthday gift from a mystery person.

“At the time, I simply considered the episode a mystery. It did not occur to me that I was being watched. We were all being watched”.

Ch.1

-“Or one of those summer makeovers, someone who leaves in June looking like a little girl and returns in September as a full-bodied woman, a ten-week miracle”

Ch.2

-The students talk about how they think Stargirl is a fake, a plant by the admin. Someone compares this to “how they plant narcs in schools”.

Ch.3

-The students had many theories about Stargirl, two of which were that she was “sniffing fumes” and that “her parents were witches”.

Ch.7

-Archie, an adult friend of Leo, smokes a pipe while they talk with him.

Ch.8

-A student tries to bully Stargirl by dangling her pet rat over the second-floor balcony, threatening to drop it.

Ch.11

-The other cheerleaders and basketball players tricked Stargirl, resulting in her being left at an away school while the rest of them rode home on the bus.

Ch.13

-Stargirl is on a student-led show, while on, other students begin rudely questioning her and making fun of her.

Ch.14

-During a basketball game, while Stargirl was cheering, someone through a tomato at her face.

Ch.17

-Stargirl brought Leo out into the desert to see an “enchanted” place. There she showed him how to meditate, to “wipe himself away”.

“‘The Earth is speaking to us, but we can’t hear because of all the racket our senses are making. Sometimes we need to erase them, erase our senses. Then- maybe- the earth will touch us. The universe will speak. The stars will whisper.’…’The thing is, there’s no difference anymore between me and the universe. The boundary is gone. I am it and it is me. I am a stone, a cactus thorn. I am rain’”.

Ch. 21

-Leo and Stargirl secretly follow a lady around the mall, and she shops multiple sections, including lingerie.

-Stargirl kisses Leo in her driveway.

Ch. 24

-Because of her weird nature and kindness, Stargirl grows increasingly unpopular at school. No one talks to her or acknowledges her, now that Leo is dating her, they are both being shunned by practically the whole school.

Ch. 29

-Stargirl wins a speech contest, and when she, Leo, and her family return, they are invited to the nightclub at the hotel.

Ch. 31

-Hillari (a bully) gets mad and slaps Stargirl; she winces, thinking she will be hit in return. Instead, Stargirl kisses her cheek and leaves.