![]() Leo chooses normalcy over star stuff, but looking back as an adult he finds Stargirl’s presence in a hundred different ways in his own and in his former classmates’ lives. ![]() So is the demon of conformity, a teen monster of what’s normal, a demon no less hideous because it’s so well internalized in us all. The desert-old bones, flowering cactus, scented silence-is a living presence here. She loves him enough to try to fit in, but when that fails spectacularly, she illuminates the spring school dance like a Roman candle and disappears. Leo’s in love with her, but finds that if he’s with her, he’s shunned, too. No one will touch her or speak to her-or applaud her success when she wins a state speech tournament. She’s so threatening to the regular ways of her fellows that she’s shunned. But Stargirl even cheers for the opposing team. ![]() She sings “Happy Birthday” to classmates in the lunchroom, props a small glass vase with a daisy on her desk each class, and reenergizes the cheerleading squad with her boundless enthusiasm. Formerly home-schooled, Stargirl comes to their Arizona high school with a pet rat and a ukulele, wild clothes and amazing habits. Eleventh-grader Leo Borlock cannot quite believe the new student who calls herself Stargirl. ![]() Newbery-winning Spinelli spins a magical and heartbreaking tale from the stuff of high school. ![]()
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