Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli Review

Stargirl was the original Manic Pixie Dream Girl. 

I picked this up purely out of curiosity because it’s a classic in middle school (sometimes required) reading, and because Jack Edwards reviewed it as part of reading Taylor Swift's recommendations. My hopes weren’t extremely high, but after painfully reading it in its entirety, I have come to the conclusion that it is an insult to children’s intelligence and standards for storytelling everywhere. I’m just grateful I didn’t read it in middle school because it would have put me off reading forever, and I likely wouldn’t be here today.

Stargirl is comprised of shallow caricatures of high school dynamics, students, and social settings, making me wonder if Spinelli even tried to be accurate or believable while writing and researching for this. I would one day like to unpack why high school settings are used in media and books for young audiences, because from my experience, 99% of the time they are not even realistic and their sole purpose seems to be to scare younger children of what is to come later in life and bait them into fitting themselves into the stereotypes of popular kids, band kids, geeks, etc. While I may just be a hater and proving the point of the entire book's happy go-lucky, love everyone message correct, I cannot bring myself to care especially after the torture that was reading this in its asinine entirety. The flimsy message is clearly conveyed and valid, but the delivery is lacking. There is also not a single likable character which makes it difficult to sympathize with the supposedly deep and impactful lesson the book is trying to impart regarding bullying and “being yourself" as there is no motivation to root for the main characters or sympathize with them. Stargirl is utterly tone deaf and obnoxious: at one point she showed up to a stranger's funeral to socialize and didn’t understand why their loved ones got mad and offended at her actions. She also stalks and collects pictures of children to make albums for their parents, which would more realistically result in a restraining order rather than an emotionally charged thank you. Leo is impressionable and wishy washy, and the high school population is vapid and haughty. The story comes off as ridiculous, self important and overly obvious with what it was trying to say, ultimately leading to a corny and one dimensional waste of paper and ink. 

I would like to bring up how the bully shoves chewed up gum into her ears to avoid listening to music Stargirl was dancing to at a high school dance they were congregated at. I want reparations for having to endure that image while reading with no warning. The writing style and descriptions aren't half bad, but even that couldn’t save it. Perhaps adult readers aren’t supposed to take the contents literally and view it through metaphorical lenses, but I couldn’t move past the ridiculously and poorly constructed plot and story as a while, especially knowing how prevalent it is and how much fame it has garnered throughout the years. I am also questioning Taylor Swift’s taste in literature. But I am not so self absorbed to realize that if some children out there or whoever found some meaning in it, who am I to judge.