Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Reviewed by KeriRatings
Content Ratings based on a 0-5 scale where
0 = no objectionable content and
5 = an excessive or disturbing level of content
LANGUAGE
VIOLENCE
SEXUAL CONTENT
ADULT THEMES
Ratings Explanation
Language: One use of the name of deity. Some name calling and belittling. One girl, Hillary, says that Stargirl’s parents are witches or brain-dead vegetables in a hospital. She also belittles Stargirl in front of a group of other students, calling her goofy, crazy and tells her to go back where she came from.
Violence: Hillary holds Stargirls rat from a high balcony and threatens to drop it. She also slaps Star Girls face in an attempt provoke her to fight back. A tomato is thrown at Star Girl from fans at a basketball game when she continues to cheer for the opposing team.
Sexual Content: Leo describes the miracle of summer when someone “leaves in June looking like a little girl and returns in September as a full-bodied woman”. Leo and Stargirl’s first kiss is described as follows: “the last remaining space between our lips was gone… that was no saint kissing me.”
Adult Themes: The whole story revolves around social ethics dealing with individuality versus conformity. The characters must decide which is most important and to what extent they are willing to defend their position.
Synopsis
When a mysterious young girl moves to Mica, Arizona, she turns the local high school upside down. Stargirl, as she calls herself, “laughed when there was no joke. She danced when there was no music. She had no friends, yet she was the friendliest person in school”. Leo, a fellow student, is fascinated with Stargirl but never expects to actually like her. This relationship forces Leo to take a good look at himself and his relationship to others. Stargirl teaches him about true humanity and the importance of the individual, while bringing unity to their small community.
Spinelli did a great job in helping the reader rethink the importance of the individual. While reading, I experienced many of the same soul-searching questions that Leo had. In the end, I was left feeling a greater desire to look out for my neighbors and not be so quick to judge others. A great book to read and discuss with pre-teens and older.
©2009 The Literate Mother