Leo and Kevin ask the advice of Archie Brubaker, a retired paleontologist who mentors the kids of Mica. Soon after, the head cheerleader invites Stargirl to join the squad. Leo, however, decides there’s something wonderfully real about her, though he can’t pinpoint what it is.Ī few weeks later, Stargirl shows up at the Mica High football game and thrills the normally dull crowd by dancing around the field. Mica High is “not exactly a hotbed of nonconformity,” and Stargirl’s ways continue to baffle the other kids. Stargirl also brings her pet rat, Cinnamon, to school and has an unsettling habit of greeting strangers in the hallways. Over the coming days, Stargirl’s strange outfits-and her habit of serenading kids in the lunchroom-lead to speculations that she’s a fake. They make plans to interview Stargirl on Hot Seat, the student TV show they co-created. Leo’s best friend, Kevin, tells him that Stargirl was homeschooled until recently. Stargirl wears flowing dresses and carries a ukulele on her back. On Leo’s first day of 11th grade, all of Mica High is whispering about a new 10th-grade girl named Stargirl Caraway. A few days later, Leo receives a package containing another porcupine necktie. His collection is mentioned in a small newspaper feature on Leo’s 14th birthday.

As a newcomer to Mica, Arizona, Leo decided to start a porcupine necktie collection. When Leo Borlock was a little boy, his uncle gave him a porcupine necktie.

Stargirl spinelli