By: Annika Blackburn

Since the state of Illinois went on a stay-at-home-order, I’ve been reading more than usual. One of my favorite books that I’ve read during this time is Stargirl, which was written by: Jerry Spinelli and published in the year 2000. Even though it was introduced to the world almost twenty years ago, it is still a popular book today that was recently made into a movie. In the book, a strange, new girl comes to Mica High, where Leo Borlock goes as a Junior. He is the protagonist of the story. This very eccentric girl, Susan Caraway, apparently gave herself the name Stargirl when looking up at the night sky while walking through the Arizona desert. She captures the heart of Leo with a single look, even though it takes him quite a while to realize this. 

Stargirl became a cheerleader and cheered for both teams, not just her own. She wrote greeting cards for strangers and serenaded her fellow students with her ukelele in the cafeteria. At first, Leo was happy to be Stargirl’s boyfriend, the two of them just fit together somehow. But, his mood quickly changed when he realized that no one was speaking to him, or even looking his way like they used to. He knew that Stargirl’s wacky behavior had made her unpopular, but he didn’t know that would rub off on him too. Throughout the rest of the book, Leo battles with the longing to be with Stargirl and the need to be popular. Is there any way that he can change Stargirl? Make her more normal? 

I enjoyed reading about such a character and learning a powerful lesson about nonconformity. Stargirl is different from everyone else in the way that she doesn’t care about what everyone thinks of her. She only really cares about what her family and closest friends think. Since this mentality is quite unusual for a teenager, she is shunned. At first, Stargirl’s presence shocked everyone, but then people simply got tired and annoyed by her weird antics. Stargirl gave candy hearts to everyone on Valentine’s Day. She ran in the wrong direction at her school’s cross country meet. But most of all, people didn’t like how she cheered for the other team at basketball and football games. Her fellow students thought of her as a traitor to Mica High. 

As you can see, parts of this book are heart-breaking. But, don’t worry, there are bright spots and little bits of sunshine scattered throughout the novel to compensate. I would personally recommend this book to anyone looking for an emotional read. Stargirl taught me a valuable life lesson about individuality and selflessness. The same thing could happen for you.