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Title: Stargirl (Readers Circle)
ISBN: 0440416779
Author:
Jerry Spinelli
Publicate Date: 2004-05-11
Publish: 2004-05-11
List Price: $6.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Mass Market Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $2.75
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $2.84
Amazon Merchant Price: $6.99
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| Customer Review: |
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1: 5 Stars for Stargirl
**SPOILERS**
An absolutely amazing book. I remember reading it when I was younger and I didn't really understand it all that well. Reading it a few years later, it's so much better. I still hate and always will hate the ending, because Stargirl reads (although I guess Love, Stargirl gives me some hope that it might all be okay, that's next on my reading list!), but still. I think everyone should be a star person. Stargirl is the person everyone should strive to be, the ultimate non-judging good. I love her character to death, she's just great. Leo, on the other hand, was such a nuisance. Come ON, he should have loved her for what she was, and it seemed like he did, until he began his little crusade to change her. Susan's not Stargirl. Susan's just...wrong. He shouldn't have done that. That was a truly bitter ending, and I wish things had ended on a high-note (like maybe she could have delivered the necktie in person).
It's such a true book though. So yeah, maybe none of us have Stargirls in our schools, but don't we wish we did? I know I do. It does illustrate that whole high school popularity contest very well, and I don't think it was exaggerated one bit.
The writing itself was gorgeous. It was detailed, but not so detailed that it was long-winded and b-o-r-i-n-g, it was actually detailed and kept my interest, which is ridiculously hard for a book to do. The descriptions themselves were magical, as was the dialogue. Great book, again, except for the ending. Can't wait to read Love, Stargirl!
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2: Not Very Believable
Maybe this story was supposed to be written in this manner (more metaphorically speaking), but I don't know how anyone could literally believe it.
First of all, when Stargirl does actions like dancing in the rain during school hours (class time), especially when students can see that she's doing it (distracting to classes too), I don't see how school officials or authoritative figures would not take any action. Ditching class is usually grounds for at least a detention.
Also, by a lot of her actions, like going off-topic about totally random things (not the normal type of things to go off-topic in at a class), one would think Stargirl is autistic. No, really. See for yourself. (Or, don't... as this book isn't really worth anyone's time unless a small child needs a lesson about individuality and even then, I would find another story to explain it.) Also, it is quite rude to interrupt a teacher and a class which is in session to say ABSOLUTE NONSENSE. It may be "unique," but it is also undeniably stupid and quite obnoxious. There are much better ways to be unique and show one's individuality without bringing a rat to school, ditching class to dance in the rain, talking nonsense (really, nonsense) during class, and more.
If you want to teach a child about individuality, get him or her into hobbies, read stories to them that will inspire them, show them artwork, but really, please don't show them this book. The character shows the kind of individuality, which is... stupid. Normally I dislike calling books (which I usually consider works of art in themselves) stupid, but this one sadly deserves such a criticism.
There are other parts of the book that also... just don't make any sense. The main character Leo makes it clear at the beginning of the book that he is a Junior in High School, and then he speaks of what his classmates started saying about Stargirl in his (get ready for this) GEOMETRY class. Really? No... really?!?! Geometry is a Freshman class, and sometimes a Sophomore class, but a JUNIOR class? Please.
Also, the book tried to make it known that no one but Stargirl has individualism, but again, please. I attended an 18 person high school graduating class for 2 of my years of high school, and a 2000 person school for the other 2 years. Even the 18 person school had individualism. People had different interests, spoke their minds about issues, had intellectual debates, etc. Our bad, for not leaving a teacher in the dust to dance in the rain or not carrying small rodents in our bags, but I would say we had pretty damned good individualism. Religiously, politically, interest-wise, etc. And the 2000 person school. Hell yes! Of course there were cliques, but even within cliques people had different music tastes, and of course there was even more individualism than that. From people in non-cliques, and more. Basically, I did not buy that this book was trying to tell me that everyone at Mica Area High School was supposed to be not individualistic and pretty much, the same human being until... Stargirl arrived.
Of course there are other unrealistic, silly, and well, lame, parts of the book, but I hope what I have written so far in this review has done the job in convincing you to NOT read this book.
If I saved anyone any time in their life, this review was completely, and utterly worth it.
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3: Stargirl gets 5 stars!
I would highly recommend the book Stargirl. It is an interesting book that you just want to keep reading. Stargirl is about a high school student. She is very different and is just her self she doesn't worry about what other people think. She is unlike most high school kids who want to fit in. She is liked and also unliked by her high school. People just don't know how to react to her. She is so different and almost unreal. This intriguing book will hold your attention. I never wanted to put this book down. It is a book that many people could relate to about the high school struggle to just be yourself. I would definitely give 5 stars to Stargirl. :)
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4: Just Terrible, Worst book ever
This book was seriously one of the most terrible books I have ever read. It took me 3 months to get through this obnoxious and annoying story about this weird stalker named Stargirl. This book is very unrealistic, and most of the things in this book were just plain stupid. I cant believe my school made me read this tall tale about a alien girl and her pet rat. To make this book even the slightest bit better, I suggest that Mr. Spinelli should start completely over and write about a whole different subject. Like if she was like a ninja or something, that would be pretty awesome. Any thing other than that is shallow and pedantic. Congratulations "Stargirl" on being the worst book ever written.
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5: Courtesy of Mother Daughter Book Club.com
When my oldest daughter was in fifth grade, we read Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli in our mother-daughter book club. The girls all liked it, but they couldn't really identify well with the issues brought up in the book: What does it mean to be popular in school, can you find friends who accept you for who you are even when you're different from the mainstream, are you strong enough to go against the popular mindset by befriending someone who is different?
The moms on the other hand, got the issues exactly. We remembered all too well the days of junior high and high school when you're not only trying to determine who you are, but also realizing that who you choose to hang out with is a reflection of that. We thought the book was excellently done, and that we had maybe read it when our girls were too young.
This book is recommended on Amazon for ages 10 - 14, but I'm more inclined to agree with the age recommendation by Publisher's Weekly, which is 12 and up.
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