Characters

Stargirl Caraway

She is the protagonist in the novel, and she is a tenth grader who has been homeschooled. Stargirl with sandy brown hair, freckles across her nose, and her distinctive large eyes dresses herself in various clothes of all kind and always carries a pet rat named Cinnamon in a bag decorated with a large sun flower and an Ukulele to play and sing on people’s birthdays regardless of whether they are her friends or not. She is so sensitive to other’s emotions that when even her opponents lose a game, she feels sad and cries for them. However, she doesn’t care of any gossips concerning her. Her enjoyment is to make people happy, and she does things unselfishly but doesn’t want anything in return. She lives with an ordinary family. Additionally she changes her names when she gets tired of being somebody else and looks for another name. Her real name is Susan and has changed her for a few times.

Leo Borlock

He is the narrator in this novel. He faces dilemma when he realizes people are ignoring stargirl as well. He is mentally weak and a sense other’s feelings and suffers anxiety. However, an average looking high school guy learns from her how to concentrate and be true to himself. He and Kevin play Hot Seat, a cable interview program, together. His dream is to become……

Kevin Quinlan

He is Leo’s best friend and a bright student who is always honest about his opinion. He is not as sensitive as Leo and doesn’t have much anxiety to either. His dream is to become a comical talk show host.

Archibald Hapwood

He is sixty-five years old and was retired university paleontology professor who lives near Stargirl’s high school. After his retirement, he lost his wife and determined to have informal class for children and called it as “Loyal Order of The Stone Bone.” His hobby is to collect and study (animal/human) bones; a skull he calls Barney is one of the most precious thing he had. In addition, an old scientist who also speaks Spanish admires an old giant cactus which he calls “Senor Saguaro.” He indirectly gives great advice to anyone who needs help.

Hillari Kimble

She is the antagonist who is inconsiderate and greedy who is famous for her claims. She thinks she is better than others and can have whatever she wants. Yet she has a boy friend who is the most popular boy named Wayne Parr in the school.

Wayne Parr

He is Hillari’s prized boy friend, although he has the gorgeous face and is popular, he doesn’t do anything: he doesn’t join sports clubs, doesn’t have A for his grade. Moreover, his dream is to become a model of Gentlemen’s Quarterly Magazine.

Dori Dilson

She is a ninth grader who is faithful friend of Stargirl. They eat lunch together. She always carries a pile of large notebook filled with poems. She once got really mad at her when she tried to confront for Leo’s sake. Also, she doesn’t get influenced by what people are saying like Stargirl.

Theme

Even though Leo wanted to cheer Stargirl and enjoyed what she had taught him, when everyone turned away from her and Leo who also was involved in the treatment because he was her boy friend, he couldn’t come at the pressure and couldn’t spend time with her. As a result, even Leo who truly loved her conformed to get the conformity. It shows that the society of teenagers requires people to be in accordance with one another. At first, students in Mica High School seemed to have fun watching her behavior, but once they noticed it was unusual, everything turned upside down. They didn’t accept her actions or anything at all. It represents the complex circumstances that all the teenagers would face. People tend to look at others’ external appearance in order to evaluate them. It suggests we only need to look at their personalities. If we were able to focus on their traits and value each other, the situation or society would go much better and smoother. Also, this fact gives us the chance to reconsider how we behave at school.

Conversely, Stargirl and Dori had kept their unique characteristics. Most of teenagers tend to listen to gossips, but they didn’t pay any attentions to it. They worked on everything what they wanted to without caring what people think generally. They had kept and lived their own ways. It confirms if people could step over the surface where people usually stop doing something (since they are embarrassed),they will feel at ease and their lives will be more enjoyable.

Setting

This story doesn’t indicate an exact date as to when it takes place. Most parts of the novel describe a year while Stargirl goes to Mica High School. Additionally, from the point of view from Leo, the novel begins when he is about 12 years old and concludes when he is an adult just after graduated the college. Lots of places are used since it includes the beauty in nature. Yet nearly all the scenes occur in Mica High School where she goes; especially in the lunch room, hall way, football field or basket ball court. A desert which she calls an “Enchanted Place” is also one of the settings. It was explained as her favorite place where she visits often and relaxes. Moreover, all the facts happened in Mica, Arizona and it is expected to be a small town where the people that live there of the lives are middle class. The novel shows the society and reveals that Stargirls’ parents have standard jobs.

Conflicts

Leo has to choose whether he values his friends more than Stargirl as he couldn’t withstand being ignored by people. He ultimately couldn’t decide which he appreciated more, so he asks Stargirl to rethink to her characteristics and try to be like everyone else in the school. First, she puts all of her efforts into changing herself, but it doesn't last long.

Furthermore , after Stargirl cheered her opponents on the basketball game as a cheerleader, everyone felt irritated and was oblivious to her even though they first liked her uniqueness, and she was popular. Hillari has been always making some meanness. At the graduation party, some people were amazed of her beauty and danced with her and enjoyed the party. It shows some people opened up to her. However, Hillari slapped her and complained that she ruins everything. The relationship with Hillari remained the same; she still hated Stargirl. At the reunion, students talked about her all the time which indicates that her good deeds still remain in their heart.

Plot Summary

On the first day of the school, students are whispering about a new girl named Stargirl Caraway who has been homeschooled. They differentiate her due to her behavior. She sings Happy Birthday with an ukulele to people who they are not aware of each other and also carries her pet rat in her bag with a picture of sunflower on it. Hillari Kimble states that she is a plant and not real that comes to the school to polish the school spirit. Leo Borlock and Kevin Quilan were fascinated with Stargirl. They have a disagreement about putting her on the Hot Sear, a local cable television program, since Leo who feels it’s going to cause a problem refuse to do it, but Kevin who thinks it’s going to be etremely popular wants to produce it. Eventually, they undertake the show but it is ended with failure. Although many people avoid Stargirl, she makes a friend named Dori Dilson, a ninth-grader who is an unpopular girl. They sit together during lunch while others hav fun watching her actions. At a school football game, she cheers the players even though she is distracting the game and the judge is warning her. She gets everyone’s attention and takes an offer to become a cheerleader. They abruptly begin to play ukulele and buy rats. As Leo and Stargirl are getting to know each other, he discovers her kindness that she gives a random person a gift he or her wants by getting information from newspapers or bulletin boards.
However, her conduct leads to worse again. She sings Happy Birthday on Hilari’s birthday even though she said not to. During the football game,she cheers the losing opponents. Only few people know that Leo and Stargirl was a couple. As she put a poster saying that Leo loves Stargirl, he begins to be excluded along with her. Then he tries to hide his love for her from his friends. He requests her to become normal. She changed rapidly as he sees her every day (she also changed her name to Susan which is her actual name), but it doesn’t last long. Few weeks later, she participates in the oral presentation contest which she gets the first place, and she gives a lecture called “I Might Have Heard a Moa.” Leo doesn’t invite Stargirl to the Ocotillo Ball. Yet she goes there with Dori, and Leo watches it from the outside of the school. Students are surprised by Stargirl who dresses beautifully and amazingly gorgeous. Several boys dance with her ,and the prom ends in graceful mood. Despite that, Hillari comes and slappes her saying she ruins everything. After that, no one sees her again. Fifteen years later, Leo goes to see Archie who is a great advisor for him and for children. He shows Leo Stargirl’s secret office where there are maps, photo albums containing pictures and stories about her friends including Hillari’s.

The conclusion describes the latest news about the characters that Kevin became an insurance salesman; also the high school has a club called Sunflowers where you have to promise to do something nice for someone every day to join it.

Criticism

Criticism
~A point of view from a middle school teacher~

I think this novel is a perfect example that describes teenagers’ school lives. Early teenagers who are in the process of becoming mature people distinguish that they think they are odd. Stargirl was separated by people just because of their personal opinions. They also care too much about gossips. As a result, some people who want to be friend with people who are labeled as different cannot talk to them since they are afraid and or scared of being discriminated like Leo. I think it is not true that being popular is good. Stargirl and Dori had done that they really wanted to do even though they are considered as awkward. If they always worry about others feelings, they might not be able to do what they truly want to do. The story tells you that you have many choices to go.

However, there are some points that I wanted to fix. It doesn’t explain much about how it turned the relationship between Stargirl and Hillari after Stargirl vanished. I could see that Hillari was always complaining and being so mean to her, but it lacks of details that it is unclear why she hated Stargirl. It is significant scene to tell how to deal with these conflicts. Also, the ending is incomplete. No one could het where she is and why she left from everyone. Even if author wants to consider about it by ourselves, it should indicates as least her feelings when she disappeared since the story is about Stargirl.