Leo Borlock was curious and very intrigued about this new student at Mica High. Stargirl (not her real name. lol) was new to Mica High during eleventh grade. She got everyone's attention right away with her quirkiness and ukulele-playing. To the other students, it seems that Stargirl is out of this world. While Leo may not get why the other students are making such a big fuss over the new girl, he develops some sort of obsession over her.
Even if Leo initially thought Stargirl was weird and was actually annoyed with her weirdness, I already had an inkling that it's more than annoyance over the girl. Why else would he spend so much of his time poring over her. He already found her interesting, it's just that he can't admit it to himself yet that he's greatly intrigued of her mystique.
Everyone loved Stargirl when she first came to Mica High. She was a novelty to them. But like all novelty ideas, the popularity eventually wanes. Hillari Kimble used to be the only one publicly known to be Stargirl's hater but after that basketball incident, everyone followed suit. Lemmings. Bah.
While reading the book, I kept asking myself, "what if I were a student in Mica High, would I treat her the same as did the rest of the student population?" Well, I do find her weird. She sings "Happy Birthday" to everyone on their birthdays, has a pet rat sitting on her shoulder and she minds everyone's business. Hmm.. doesn't sound so weird right now. But still, I find myself saying "what's wrong with you!!!" out loud. However, I do not think she deserved the shunning. It was way too harsh for the other students to treat her that way just because she acts that way which I think because she cares too much. But I think I wouldn't hate someone just because the most popular girl hates her or because the entire school does; I will dislike someone for my own reasons and sometimes that reason is I don't like her curly hair. True story, btw.
I expected more from Leo. At first, yes, he did find Stargirl very bizarre but when he finally sorted out his feelings and realized that he like likes her, he should have defended her. Then again this is high school where there is a need to fit in, to do what the other kids think is cool. There was this time when Leo went to Stargirl's room and found a wagon with pebbles- the more pebbles, the happier she is. There was this time when Stargirl tried to be the normal girl Leo wanted her to be and during those time when Leo went back in her room, he only saw three pebbles in the wagon. That was sad. And even is Stargirl already compromised her individuality, the student population still shunned her. To Stargirl, she was oblivious to everyone's shunning and I guess what affected her more was Leo's inability to love her in spite of what everybody thought. Apparently, what everybody thought mattered more to him than his love for her.
I do think that Hillari Kimble hated Stargirl because Stargirl was becoming more popular than her. The girl didn't do her any wrong, it's just that she can't take the fact that someone's becoming more popular. You know naman how the social hierarchy in high school is (or any social hierarchy, actually)- people in power would do anything even if that means harming another in their pursuit of staying in power. Hillari may have won when she successfully tuned everyone against Stargirl but during the Ocotillo ball which is the culminating activity of the schoolyear, Stargirl somehow managed to steal, albeit not on purpose, the spotlight which enraged her. Apparently, some people don't know how to share.
It's a sad story actually.
Good thing there's a sequel to this book so we can find out what ever happened to Stargirl.
As we approached each other, the noise and the students around us
melted away and we were utterly alone, passing, smiling,
holding each other's eyes, floors and walls gone,
two people in a universe of space and stars.
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