08.30.08
Stargirl
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
I promised a review of this book in my recent reading post, and here it is.
I loved this book very much. I have to say that right away. I had heard about it for a while and knew that Jerry Spinelli was a good writer, but never really thought that I would be interested in the story. Maybe because the only other people I knew who did read it were very reluctant and struggling readers in middle school! I was evidently wrong because I read the book in one sitting (this was back when I could lounge by the pool for the afternoon) and couldn’t put it down. It was one of those books that I was sad to see end. (The good news is that there is a sequel.)
So, enough about me, let me actually tell you about the book. In this novel by Jerry Spinelli, we meet Leo, a 16 year old high school junior. He had been a transfer student to the school, but made friends and fit in nicely at the start of the book. A new student, Stargirl, comes to Leo’s high school and she is unlike anyone that the rest of the school has seen before. The other students are uncertain of her, then they are enamored and inspired by her, and then she is ostracised. Through all of this, Leo develops a special place in his heart for Stargirl. As she becomes a part of his life, and he learns to live and love the way she does (doing such unusual things as playing the ukelale and singing “Happy Birthday” to people she doesn’t know, having a pet rat, and keeping fresh flowers on her desk in school), and he struggles with issues of conformity and popularity.
I felt a certain connection with the character Stargirl as I read the story and imagine that anyone who has ever truly cared for someone else, or put someone else’s happiness before their own will connect with her as well. She is a free spirit, and is her own person. She finds joy in making others happy and expects nothing in return from them. However, she also wants to be happy herself (how can anyone blame her?), and when the pressures of being new to the high school, the reality of being different from everyone else, and her feelings for Leo become too much for her, everything changes and comes crashing down.
I won’t give away too much more about the book because it is a wonderful story. I think that the story of Stargirl is ultimately an inspiring and uplifting one. I hope that reading this book will help open the eyes and the minds of people who might become so consumed by their own personal issues that they do not know how to be compassionate for others. Stargirl’s example of selflessness and caring is one that I think we should all follow…in our own special way.
~Melissa 
Title: Stargirl
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Publisher/Date: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2000
ISBN: 0-679-88637-0
08.04.08
“If you want others to be happy…”
“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”
- Dalai Lama, 1935-present
It is a seemingly simple statement with straightforward advice, but it is also one that many of us have such a hard time implementing. In the quest for our own happiness, I think that we too easily forget the happiness of others. This becomes a problem because if we live in a world where everyone is only concerned about themselves, their own personal gains at the expense of others, and separate or competing interests from those around them, then it doesn’t seem likely that anyone could ever be happy.
However, when we try to understand the people around us more, and feel empathy towards them or show tolerance even when we do not understand fully why they do the things that they do, then suddenly our own lives improve because our lives are no longer consumed with getting angry at the driver who cut us off on the highway, resenting the boss whom we believe treated us unfairly, or complaining about the woman holding up the line at the grocery store. If we understand that other people may have a bad day from time to time and that our reaction to them has the power to change not only our experiences, but their experience, and the experiences of all the other people who they come into contact with for the rest of that day, then our own happiness is inevitable. We can enjoy our trips in the car, be proud of our careers, and be happy about our purchases in a store. It is a small difference for each of us to make, but it has a very large return.
If we each do these things consistently and genuinely, then it doesn’t seem likely that anyone could ever be unhappy. ~ Melissa
