Star Girl

by Thelma Hatch Wyss

A Bannock Indian girl who wants to marry a star is taken to the Sky Kingdom of the Cheyennes where she becomes a respected medicine woman. Based on a legend of the Indians of Idaho.

Genres: Book Club, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction

141 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 1967

About the author

Thelma Hatch Wyss lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is married. She is the author of Here at the Scenic-Vu Motel, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults; Ten Miles from Winnemucca, a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Bank Street College Best Book of the Year; and on the McElderry list, Bear Dancer: The Story of a Ute Girl, which won the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association Regional Book Award and was on the New York Public Library's "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing" list. She has one married son with two children.

Reviews

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving it 4 stars - it was really enjoyable, and I liked that it was a story that took place entirely within Native communities (no interaction with Europeans) but I do wonder more about how this was researched and written by a white woman.

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fairly good book and it left you puzzled which was what i liked

[Courtney Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable short (took me less than 2 hours to read) telling a Native American legend--or a possible telling.

[Jocelyn White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Star Girl a decade ago in middle school, a time when I really needed to read such a story. This is a book that is underrated but should be read by all at some point. There is a lot to learn about originality, humanity and simple kindness. Star Girl was a character I wanted to be like, not because she was cool or could be held to some superficial standard, but because she was kindhearted and authentic.

[Aastha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stargirl is one of those books that bring out all your emotions. I think it would be one of the only books that still continues to shape my perspective of the world. It taught me how to pay attention to little things that are often overlooked in life. When Stargirl arrives at Mica High School she is immediately labeled as abnormal, yet it is evident that she's the only one who seems to know what life really is. Her journey truly inspires me.

[Mattéa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and quirky book about being yourself.

[Iyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!! Worth every minute!

[Madelyn Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that it was quite interesting because "Star Girl" is an actual name in the book not like a common name like Amelia or something.

[Izabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

the begging was boring but the middle and end was fun

[Falcon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a little confusing how it started. It was a great book it, showed lots of emotion. If you read the book and you think it leaves you hanging there is a second book.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for my tween daughter.

[Rachel]

From the triplets

[Kyla Bockholt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book but it was a little confusing at the end.

[Jessica glitterfeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
S T A R G I R L

[Leanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for upper elementary students or class read aloud.

[Suzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read many times as a youth and never forgot it!

[Lori Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating this book based on how much I loved when I first read it in 2nd or 3rd grade. I remembered the title, and finally got my hands on a copy and reread it for the memories.

[Connor Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star girl is a great book about a boy who is trying to fit in and he finds this girl who is standing out. He falls in love with her and she always brings light wherever she goes. Somehow everything falls into place when she is around.
I would recommend this book to anyone. I think everyone should read it, because it is okay to be yourself and stand out. It is great to be happy and have hope and that is what this book brings to life.
-cheesiness
-love

[Jose Salazar-Reyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book “Star girl” is my favorite book till this day. This book is what got me into reading, and what I love about it the most is that it’s unforeseeable. The main character is Star girl and she’s a new student going in as a junior. She’s not your ordinary junior, she’s unique in so many ways, she sings happy birthday to everyone with her flute, she brings her rat to school, she’s wears these crazy outfits, she doesn’t fit in any of society’s circles. This guy somehow starts to catch feelings & later I’m the story has to decide if he wants to be with star girl and be left out and have no one talk to him or choose the normal junior life. I can relate to the guy who always has to make tough decisions. If you read this book I promise you, you won’t be disappointed. Star girl is my favorite book.

[Lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book! Just graduating from high school a couple of years ago, this book really hit home sometimes.
The story took place at Mica High School. Just like most schools, there was a new girl! A girl that seemed very different. She said her name was Stargirl Caraway. Stargirl dresses different, plays a ukulele during lunch and even has a pet rat. Kevin and Leo are best friends and they discuss this girl all the time. Watching her and trying to figure her out. Other students think that this girl was put here by administration to try and raise school spirit. She seems to know a lot of things about a lot of the students and none of them can figure out how she knows stuff. Like for example, their birthdays. She sings happy birthday to different students during lunch. So she has the whole school talking. Leo and Kevin want to put her on the school news so they can find out her secrets that they believe she has. Instead of trying to get to know Stargirl, everyone just wants to watch her and talk about how odd she is and talk about how she doesn't fit in. At their school everyone does pretty much the same thing and dresses the same way so all the students just think she is weird without even getting to know her. She does end up making a friend and even makes herself a cheerleader and cheers at a game at one point. Everyone just likes to watch her entertainment but none of them want to be her friend. Once she becomes a cheerleader, because she did so well, that was kind of the turning point in the story. She became very popular all the sudden. She was on the cheer team so now everyone wanted to be her friend and Leo was falling for her. Leo and others get to know her and realize she is a very good person. However at one point she takes her kind heart too far and makes others mad and upset with her. So then her popularity goes down hill. Leo wants her to change and be "a normal girl" and that does not really work for her either. No one understands her kindness that she really does have. They don't get to know her well enough and just turn away from her. Stargirl lets out that she and Leo are in love and that makes students not want him around and things just getting worse. She tries too hard to be different then what she believes and she just isn't the person she needs to be. Stargirl ends up leaving for good one night. Leo gets advice from Archie, an older man, and he shares some things he knew about Stargirl to help Leo understand why she left. The school ends up making a club because of her kind heart and to join you have to do nice things for someone, just like she always did. No one really knows where she went but at the end of the story, once they are older, Leo has something happen to him that makes him for sure that Stargirl is still around. I don't want to give away the ending.
One thing I learned from reading this book is that I better make sure I always get to know people. This poor girl was so kind and went through so much just because no one wanted to take the time to get to know her. Most everyone just wanted to judge her on how she dressed and how she acted. They did that just because no one from their school did stuff like her. That didn't make her wrong it just made me think she was more interesting.

[Destiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is truly amazing. I highly recommend it.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jerry Spinelli wrote a book about an unconventional girl who becomes a new student at Mica High. This girl came to be known to her fellow pupils as Stargirl or Star Girl, and her story appears to be something of a cautionary tale about how fickle popularity can be.

That book is NOT this book.

According to the foreword, Star Girl by Thelma Hatch Wyss is a fairy tale inspired by a legend told by the Bannock Indians of Idaho. The Bannock legend appears to be very short on detail but includes the intriguing circumstance of a girl who disappeared into the sky.

In Wyss's novel, a Bannock maiden named Star Girl has a rich life with her loving family among their people. Star Girl is especially close to her cousin Only Child.

But on a fateful night, Only Child tells Star Girl that she will marry Star Girl's brother one day. Star Girl, who is gazing up at the night sky, replies that she will marry a certain star she sees in the sky.

In the next chapter, Star Girl finds an impossibly tall tree which she climbs until she arrives in the Land of the Sky. At some point along the way, she loses her memory and winds up making a new life among the people who live in the Land of the Sky. She becomes apprenticed to their wise woman who begins teaching Star Girl the medicinal uses of the local plants.

In addition to the unusual premise, the book is interesting to read for its depiction of the way of life of the Bannock and Cheyenne Indians and for the wealth of herbalist information.

The illustrations by John Pimlott are top notch and include some drawings of the various plants that Star Girl is learning to use.

The story is simple and straightforward, and it will contain no surprising twists for anyone except very young children. I read a library copy once when I was quite young, and something about the story stuck with me. Decades later I finally tracked down a copy through an out of print service. I had to pay a premium price for it, but I don't regret a penny.

It's a shame that this book has been forgotten, but perhaps one day it will get the reprint it deserves.

[Caroline Ginn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. It’s all about trying to fit in if you are new at school, as well as trying to stand out and be yourself. Star Girl is a new student attending a school called Mica High. The story is told in the perspective of Leo, an 11th grader, who falls in love with Star Girl. She is different than all of his friends, and he has a hard time accepting her differences. Star Girl is absolutely inspiring. I love her eccentric personality, and everything about her is unique. The book shows how quickly high schoolers can turn on their friends as well. It's blunt and beautiful. Overall, I loved the whole thing.

[Jace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stargirl who home schooled until 10th grade comes to Mica highschool. Stargirl is weird girl as she carries ukulele and sings to people. She also wear unusual clothes to school, but she captures Leo's heart in one smile. At first, everyone hates Stargirl then they start to like her but again, they hate her. I read this book twice. Once in the English class and during this summer break. Even though I read this book twice, there are still some things that I don't understand. This book makes me think a lot and I really like that part. Stargirl's inordinate actions not only makes me laugh but think as well.

[Peter]

I real like star girl because I think Star girl is not like other student in the school. She has her own style and she do not care about what other people think, but she care about other people. She have other people information. My favorite part of the book is that at the last people were start to like she and even follow her style.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good book, a easy quick read. Kinda boring. I'm getting kind of sick of books of when a guy falls madly in love with a girl, and then she either disappears or dies. This is the third one of them I've read in the last month haha but still it was pretty good

[Hippiegirl97 · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was sooo cute!
i can really relate to Star girl!

[Atali · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! I read it very young. I recomend it to any one!!!!

[Sarah Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a very different book. you get to see how many people view the world in other peoples eyes. and its a fun and funny book. and an easy read.

[Dena]

Jody Book