Book Vs. Movie: Stargirl

Welcome to the first entry in my books versus movies series! I am so excited about this series, my wheels have been turning and I’ve been getting my lineup of stories ready.
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The first comparison I have is the book Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and the film Stargirl (2020).

A Little Background on The Story:

Stargirl is a contemporary young adult novel that was published in 2000. Despite it being written in the early 2000s the story and setting remain pretty timeless making it a great choice to adapt to a film.

Stargirl is told from the perspective of Leo, a Junior at Mica High in the fictional town of Mica, Arizona. He loves filmmaking and produces a show called Hot Seat with his best friend Kevin.

Stargirl is a strange girl who shows up at Mica High at the beginning of the school year, she dresses weirdly, sings happy birthday to people in the cafeteria, brings her pet rat to school, and does intentional acts of kindness for strangers.

She shows Leo special attention and he isn’t sure how he feels about it. At first, the students at Mica hate Stargirl, but when she helps boost school spirit she becomes a bit of a celebrity.

But then something happens that makes Stargirl become a hated figure once again, and Leo urges her to be more normal.
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This story is about the power of kindness and nonconformity, and why being yourself is the very best person you can be.

What Makes the Book Work:

Stargirl is a pretty slim book and it doesn’t deal with overly dark or heavy themes like other books of the same genre. I think the thing that really sets this book apart from others is the whimsy that’s woven through it. It stands out because it’s not trying to hide anything, it’s just the story of a boy who meets a girl who is different and sees the world as the magical place that it is.

One thing I loved about the book is the setting. Stargirl is set in Arizona and Spinelli does a great job of describing the desert, it makes you fall in love with the desert. 

Character-wise, we focus primarily on Leo and Stargirl, there are other characters in the book but the story is primarily about these two character’s relationship and how they both help each other find themselves. In many cases though, Leo is just the eyes through which we see Stargirl and her story. Stargirl is the character with the real depth, the way she dresses and acts stand out so much and the unashamed way she talks about her feelings makes her seem like a real girl.

Another thing that is so great about this book is the little details Spinelli writes in, there are little mentions and little descriptions that add so much character to the story.

What About The Movie?

I had no idea what to expect going into this film. I knew it was starring Grace VanderWaal (winner of America’s Got Talent in 2016), and that it had ukulele music and that was all I knew. 

The movie stars Graham Verchane as Leo, and Grace VanderWaal as Stargirl. Personally, I think the casting was incredible. 

As a whole the movie was good, the main story points were in there and both the acting and writing were really good.

One thing I had been hoping for in the movie was for it to make me fall in love with the desert as much as the book did, but it fell short in this area. There was only one scene in the desert and it didn’t accomplish what I had been hoping it would accomplish.

The music in the film was good, although I have questions about the decision to make the film a Jukebox Musical (a film that uses recognizable songs instead of original music). I also didn’t understand the decision to make Leo sing, it just doesn’t really fit his character. I understand having Stargirl sing because that is something she does in the book (and VanderWaal is primarily a singer). Except for “Be True to Your School”, most of the songs seemed out of place.
    
Story-wise, it was pretty good, there were some changes, but they weren’t angering. For example, in the film Leo’s Dad has passed away, and Stargirl’s Dad isn’t in the picture. I think the change worked in Leo’s case, giving him more emotional depth, but for Stargirl, it seemed a bit unnecessary. 

Also, the tension between Stargirl and Hillary was less extreme in the film. I don’t think was a bad choice, but I’m not sure if it was a good one either. I don’t know, that’s up to you.

Another change that seemed unnecessary was the addition of two extra friends in Leo's circle. A kid who is always eating (like dude are you okay?), and a girl who's only purpose seems to be dancing with another girl at the winter ball, (that's pretty much the only progressive content in the movie though, and it's easy to miss.)

​*** Don’t read past this if you want to avoid spoilers ***

One change I loved has to do with porcupine neckties. In the book, Leo has a porcupine necktie and gets one later on (it is later revealed that Stargirl was the one who gave it to him.) In the movie, every year on his birthday, Leo finds a porcupine necktie on his doorstep. I thought this was really sweet and gave Leo and Stargirl a deeper connection.

In the book Archie is a big player in the story, he’s a mentor to both Stargirl and Leo, but in the movie (played by Giancarlo Esposito) he doesn’t do a lot, just tells Leo little things about Stargirl. I don’t think this was a bad choice, but it would have been nice to see him a little more.

A huge climax in the story is when Leo asks Stargirl why she can’t be more like everyone else, then she shows up at school dressed like everyone else and tells him that her name is Susan. In the book she goes far into being a normal girl, but not quite so much in the movie. She’s still very much the same person. I think one reason this may have happened was due to the fact that Stargirl wasn’t as “weird” in the movie as she is in the book. She seems like someone who just wears bright colors and is nice to people. That’s not super weird. In the book, weirdness practically exudes out of her, so when she changes into Susan, it feels odd and dramatic.
    
What am I saying? Stargirl (the character) needed to be weirder

The thing about Stargirl (the book) that really gives it its depth is that at the end, Stargirl leaves and we never know if Leo ever sees her again. In the movie it almost seemed like that wasn’t going to happen. Leo goes to the winter ball and he and Stargirl almost make up (and he sings a random cover of Cars’ “Just What I Needed”), but indeed, Stargirl still disappears into the night (and my heart is crushed). I think they handled the ending really well and I think that redeemed the parts of the movie I didn’t like

So What’s The Final Verdict? 

In this case, the book was better. But the movie was still really good and would be a great watch if you love Stargirl or don’t want to read the book. I definitely got the Stargirl vibe from the movie, so I think it did its job in that respect. But if you want to learn something, be thrilled, and crushed, and be challenged to find yourself, read the book.

What Do YOU Think?

Do you agree with my judgement? Do you have other opinions? Have you read the book or seen the movie? Let me know your thoughts and opinions in the comments!

Belle Thomas

​Belle is the writer behind An Old Fashioned Girl. She is passionate about Jesus, good books, and living a beautiful life.