StargirlBy: Jerry Spinelli

Aimee GuayReading-Roche

Period 3Thurs, May 11, 2012

BiographyJerry Spinelli was born on February 1st, 1941 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He has written Stargirl, Crash, Knots in My Yo-yo String, and many others. I enjoy his books very much.

Jerry became a writer at age 16, after he wrote a poem that got published in the newspaper. He first wanted to write adult books, but later chose to write for kids, when his grownup books were rejected by publishers. His first published children’s book was Space Station Seventh Grade. Again, he wanted it to be a novel for adults, but since the main character was 13, it was published as a kids’ book. Spinelli wrote many other books also, all of which for kids. The book Stargirl was even made into a movie in 2009.

Jerry was an amazing man. He served in the Navy, married, and had six kids. He is an interesting and talented person.

Summary In the book Stargirl , an unusual new girl shows up at school. She wears long flowing skirts and overalls. She is very different and calls herself Stargirl. At first, no one wants anything to do with the interesting teen, then people start to like her. They admire her singing and ukulele playing. They start to do what she does, but then something happens that makes them change their mind. She becomes a cheerleader for basketball, but she cheers for both teams, so when Mica High (her school) looses an important game, they blame her. They start shunning her and Leo ( the main character/Stargirl’s boyfriend). This goes on for quite a while. Leo wonders if it will ever stop. What do you think happens next? Do you think the shunning will stop? Will something change to make the story a little bit different? Read Stargirl to find out!

Characters Leo- the main character and narrator of the book. He is a Junior at Mica

High in Arizona, and is a pretty normal kid. He is kind of Stargirl’s boyfriend The book doesn’t really give a description, but if I had to guess I would say he is about normal height and weight.

Stargirl- the out-of-the-ordinary new girl. She is a Sophomore. She has sandy colored hair and freckles. She wears long skirts and other unusual clothes. She is a generous person. Her real name is Susan but she likes to make up her own names.

Hillari- the popular mean girl. She is a Junior. She is very against Stargirl and is convinced that she is “fake” and that this unusual, spunky personality cannot be real.

Supporting Characters Kevin- Leo’s best friend. He is a Junior also. He is an average teen with a

great sense of humor. He likes to fool around a lot. Archie- a friend of the teens. He is a scientist and like to teach them

new facts. He also likes to teach them important lessons about life and friendship. He is an old man with an interesting personality.

Dori- one of Stargirl’s only friends during the shunning. She is always by Stargirl’s side, helping her out.

Stargirl’s parents- a very normal couple. They are supporting of Stargirl and her different ways of life. They are kind and loving. They are good parents to Stargirl.

Main Characters

Breakdown of Plot

Introduction: Stargirl comes to Mica High School in Arizona. People do not know what to make of her. Stargirl sings to people on their birthdays. Stargirl meets Leo.

Rising Action: Stargirl becomes a cheerleader. Stargirl speaks in a contest and wins. Stargirl roots for both teams as a cheerleader. Stargirl and Leo become closer to each other. Stargirl changes to try to become more popular

Climax:Everyone except Dori shuns Leo and Stargirl.

Falling Action: Stargirl goes to an oral speaking contest and wins. The school has a dance for all the students. Things start to change a little.

Conclusion: Some people start to accept Stargirl again. Leo finds out about all of Stargirl’s little secrets like how she knows it is someone’s birthday and more.

New VocabularyTitters- n. nervous laughs; Accustomed to seeing stiff,

mortified contestants, the audience responded with nervous titters. Pg.119

Blithely- adv. of a happy lighthearted character; She went straight to the food line, smiling blithely. Pg.25

Impromptu- adj. made, done, or formed on or as if on the spur of a moment; Then, impromptu, he reached out and stroked the nose of Cinnamon, who was perched on Stargirl’s shoulder. Pg.47

Raucous- adj. boisterously disorderly and loud; Our once-raucous fans were stunned into silence, and that’s when it happened. Pg.55

Mesquite- n. any of several spiny trees or shrubs; Hair blew in a faint, smoky smell of mesquite. Pg.116

Movie Characters

Leo played by Zac Efron.

Stargirl played by Lindsey Lohan.

Hillari played by Hayden Panettiere

Movie Actors Continued

Kevin played by Channing Tatum

Archie played by Gene Hackman

Dori played by Vanessa Hudgens

Stargirl’s parents played by Diane Lane and Daniel Craig

Soundtrack TunesI chose this song for the part of the book where Stargirl takes Leo to her enchanted place in the desert. She tells Leo to “erase himself” and start over. That is why I chose this song for this book.

On the first part of the journey I was looking at all the life There were plants and birds and rocks and things There was sand and hills and rings The first thing I met was a fly with a buzz And the sky with no clouds The heat was hot and the ground was dry But the air was full of sound I've been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain La, la ... After two days in the desert sun My skin began to turn red After three days in the desert fun I was looking at a river bed And the story it told of a river that flowed Made me sad to think it was dead You see I've been through the desert on a horse with no name It felt good to be out of the rain In the desert you can remember your name 'Cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain La, la ... Etc.

“A Horse With No Name”

Final Rating

My final rating for Stargirl would probably be a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. I gave it this because I really enjoyed most of the book, but some parts were a little slow. I liked how well they described the personalities and I thought the book was really interesting, and it also shows you it is okay to be different.

Other Recommendations

Other Books By Jerry Spinelli: Crash

Other Books Like This: A Mango Shaped Space Rules Out Of My Mind