Every once in a while, a book comes along that slaps you in the face and says, "Hey, you! Wake up!" Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is that kind of a book. It ought to be read by every middle school student.

The Basic Plot

Susan (self-proclaimed "Stargirl") Caraway breezes into Mica High, and the school's comfortable, group mentality slowly disintegrates under her spell. Her total disregard for all that is conventional, her infectious good nature, and her sincere caring for everyone amazes, impresses, and eventually wins-over the whole school, even Hillary, The Most Popular Girl In The School. 

Much of the book is about Stargirl's relationship with Leo--who loves Stargirl but wishes she were more "normal." Stargirl loves Leo, too--enough to shed her unconventional personality and become like Evelyn Everybody, the personification of conformity. Eventually realizing she has betrayed herself, Susan gives up conformity and returns to her true Stargirl self even though Leo rejects her for it. And, in the end, Leo is the one who has regrets--not Stargirl.

What's It Really About?

The heart of the book, the main theme of Stargirl, is the study of group conformity versus individuality--the dynamics of the relationships between those who conform and those who do not. Jerry Spinelli has faithfully captured the dynamics of relationships in the usual high school student body and has made it painfully obvious how mean, ruthless, and hurtful students can be to each other as well as how strong the magnet of conformity is among students. Events in Stargirl crescendo from mumblings of distrust into flourishing individualism at the school and then diminuendo back into the same old humdrum after Stargirl leaves.

But some remnants of Stargirl's effervescence remain even after her departure, signaling that some change is possible. And it's very important to note that some years later Leo feels regret at rejecting Stargirl's nonconformity and at having conformed himself. Love was there to be had, but he let it pass by because he was too weak to stand away from the group. The message is clear that individualism is preferable to conformity. Every middle school student, in fact anyone who reads Stargirl, should wake up and take to heart Leo's regrets.

Stargirl In Action

Stargirl challenges us all to be better people, to do that which is good and kind, just and right, and to go beyond that which is expected, regardless of the social consequences. Read this book. Have your students read it. Start a Stargirl Sunflower Club at your school. The world can never have too many random acts of kindness; the world can never have too many Stargirls!