A lesson in being yourself

If you have ever the new kid in a big school, this book is for you.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli is about a homeschooled girl who attends high school for the first time. Everyone is buzzing about the new girl, wondering who and how she may be. The students at Mica High School are surprised to see the kind of person she is. Her clothes are different from others, and she carries a pet rat in her backpack.

Leo and Kevin, two of her classmates who happen to be in a local cable television program, want to interview Stargirl for the hot seat after seeing her performance in the lunchroom when she pulled out her ukulele and started to perform in front of everyone.

After a few days going back and forth about whether or not to interview Stargirl, Kevin comes to a realization that Leo might just be in love with her, but he wasn’t completely sure. She does several things that draw attention to her, including as dancing around with the marching band during football games. This causes students like Hillari Kimble to think she may be doing things like this just to get attention as the new girl.

Leo and Kevin dig deeper into Stargirl, still wanting to interview her, and they use as many resources as they can to figure her out. Leo ends up interviewing her, which allows them to spend time together outside of school and discover that they have mutual feelings for each other.

Later in the book, Leo tells Stargirl that people don’t like her because she dresses and acts differently, so she changes herself. Her name changes to Susan, her clothes change, she leaves her pet rat at home, and she starts wearing makeup like her classmates. Despite all the adaptations, people still do not talk to her or become friends with her.

This book is a good lesson if you read it. It proves that you don’t have to change for other people because it won’t change them. It would be a good book for any student feeling left out.