I'd Like to Tell You- Stargirl

Dear Leo,
Why? In high school it is said that we are shaped for who we are going to be later. All through life people are in different, personal phases. These are our own and what make us different. Love should not stand in the way of this and neither should your lack of self esteem. You met a wonderful, brilliant, shining girl and tried to hid her light under a basket (metaphorically). Even the Christian Bible says "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it is hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light (Luke 11:33)." Stargirls only come into your life once. Treat it like a sign, a sign that you should learn to open your closed mind and start to see beauty and hope. Even though I can understand where you're coming from, wanting Stargirl to be normal. But what is "normal"? Is it what we make ourselves think? An unattainable standard that we are all trying to reach in our lives? Promising ourselves that it will make us happy? Let her lead you for a while and let her show you her normal. And PLEASE don't repress her smile and booming laugh. Some people are so full of life they can contain it until it starts to pour over, and when it does others should be there to catch some of it for themselves.

The Bildungsroman- Looking For Alaska by John Green

Looking  for Alaska is seemingly an adventure of the young adolescent named Miles Halter or "Pudge" as many called him. One significant theme of the book is finding a way out of the "labyrinth" that we are trapped in throughout our lives. Like any good coming-of-age story Miles is very dramatic and lacking in confidence. The word bildungsroman is a German word describing when a young character develops, morally and intellectually. Looking for Alaska is a good example of this growth and maturity the character receives. An example of Miles growing is even the fact that he was brave enough at sixteen to leave his parents in search for something he didn't even know that he would ever find. Even from the beginning of the book Miles Halter is a captivating and well-formed character, you can easily tell he has some figuring out and growing up to do. The most traumatic thing you can go through is the grief of death and loosing those you love. When Miles hears of Alaska's death it is absolutely crushing. The feelings of it all being your fault and not knowing if things are ever going to be "normal" again. Both Miles and his friend chip went through this with the death of their best friend Alaska. A regularly playing theme throughout the book is the idea that no matter what we go through, we must always try to find our way to a better self, though that can be the toughest thing in the world.

Similes and Metaphors in Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

In Stargirl there are many, many similes and metaphors that really bring life to the story and its characters. One example of a simile that fully encapsulates what the author meant is when the narrator says "...and her eyes were the biggest I had ever seen, like deer's eyes caught in the headlights (Page 9)." If this sentence had been a metaphor the portrait that the reader would've gotten would be quite different. Another memorable simile is "And then the world was free to flow into me like water into an empty bowl (Page 92)." Because the author used a simile here, the reader can easily understand how the character felt. My personal favorite simile in the book is when the narrator is describing an awkward situation and says "From the moment we arrived  at school the next day, the atmosphere bristled like cactus paddles (Page 133)." The reader can really grasp that feeling of the energy at school being prickly and uncomfortable. There are also many metaphors in Stargirl. The metaphors within it convey even intenser emotion and feeling to the reader than do similes. One strong metaphor in the book is when the narrator says "In school I was a yellow balloon, smiling and lazy, floating above the classrooms (Page 17)". The reader can easily grasp what the character was feeling through this descriptive metaphor. In my opinion metaphors are more effective, for when you say you "are" something it has a stronger effect than saying you're "like" something. For example if I say "Look I'm like an eagle!" it is not portrayed and strongly as "Look I'm an eagle!!", which makes it sound like I truly believe I could be.
                   ~S