Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Stargirl (Stargirl, Bk 1)

Stargirl (Stargirl, Bk 1)
skywriter319 avatar reviewed on + 784 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3


At Mica High School in Mica, Arizona, things are quiet and uneventful. Everyone dresses alike. Everyone thinks alike. No one does anything that their neighbor wouldn't do.

Until Stargirl comes along.

Homeschooled for years, Stargirl defies categorization. She wears long, flowing pioneer dresses daily, intermingled with outrageous costumes. She serenades people with her ukulele at lunch on their birthdays. She brings her pet rat Cinnamon to school. She looks strangers in the eye. She dances to no music and seems to understand something about life that her classmates do not. Mica students aren't sure what to do with her, and she goes from being interesting to admired to shunned and finally ostracized.

Leo Borlock was perfectly happy with his generic Mica life. Then, against his will, he finds himself falling for Stargirl. The two share an incredible, eye-opening romance. In their own little world, everything is perfect and magical. But when they have to face their critical classmates, what will happen to their relationship?

This is by far Jerry Spinelli's best novel. It is a beautifully written story about nonconformity and the seeds of magic and quirkiness that we all possess, though we may not realize it. Readers will wish that they were friends with Stargirl. I was unsatisfied with the ending, but I understand why Spinelli would have ended the novel in that way. There is nothing I would change about this extremely touching and timeless story. I recommend this to everyone, regardless of their age.