Stargirl: Chapter 26–More Than Stars

by Jerry Spinelli
Stargirl Caraway lives life on her own terms, but when she moves to a new town her unique personality rubs others the wrong way. As the school year goes on, Stargirl is torn between staying true to herself and fitting in.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Porcupine Necktie–Chapter 7, Chapters 8–15, Chapters 16–25, Chapter 26–More Than Stars

Here are links to other works by Jerry Spinelli: Maniac Magee, Milkweed
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. gawk
    look with amazement
    I gawked as students swarmed past. She made a clownish grin.
  2. sullen
    showing a brooding ill humor
    The laughing stopped, and from that moment on she did a perfect imitation of a sullen, pout-lipped teenager.
  3. zeal
    excessive fervor to do something or accomplish some end
    In my mind’s eye, I pictured her aiming her incredible zeal and energy exclusively at the Electrons.
  4. random
    lacking any definite plan or order or purpose
    The arriving students were milling about, some roaming at random, some in clusters, but as I approached, there seemed to be a distinct clearing around the palmetto.
  5. motto
    a favorite saying of a sect or political group
    “Why wait to feel great? Celebrate now, that’s my motto.”
  6. smug
    marked by excessive complacency or self-satisfaction
    She gave me her smug face, which promptly disappeared as she thrust up her arms and yelped, “They’re going to love me!”
  7. pantomime
    a performance using gestures and movements without words
    She snapped a needle from a cactus and with the slapstick pantomime of a circus clown pretended to pick her teeth with it.
  8. fossil
    the remains of a plant or animal from a past geological age
    He says when a mockingbird sings, for all we know it’s pitching fossils into the air.
  9. mishmash
    a random assortment of things
    It was a jumble, it was a mishmash, and somehow she pulled it all together, somehow she threaded every different thing through the voice of a solitary mockingbird singing in the desert.
  10. modest
    limited in size or scope
    When Susan finished, the four of us managed a modest cheer, but that was about it.
  11. sprightly
    full of spirit and vitality
    She did a sprightly pirouette, a curtsy, waved her hand in a window-washer motion, and said, “Hi.”
  12. preamble
    a preliminary introduction, as to a statute or constitution
    She did not begin, at least not in the usual sense. There was no ringing preamble.
  13. subside
    wear off or die down
    The murmur subsided as it occurred to them that this was it and they were missing it.
  14. dwindle
    become smaller or lose substance
    And the English language dwindled to a single word, repeated over and over: “Congratulations!”
  15. mesmerize
    attract strongly, as if with a magnet
    It called her speech “mesmerizing, hypnotic, mysteriously touching.”
  16. caravan
    a procession traveling together in single file
    We headed for home in a two-car caravan.
  17. outskirts
    area relatively far from the center, as of a city or town
    When we hit the outskirts of town, she turned to me and said, “Do I look okay?”
  18. gravitate
    move toward
    It was May and our Hot Seats were over for the year, but on some days we still gravitated to the studio after school.
  19. disparage
    express a negative opinion of
    Classrooms, hallways, courtyard, lunchroom—everywhere I went I heard her disparaged, mocked, slurred.
  20. castanets
    pair of hollow pieces of wood or bone made to click together
    Stargirl was doing her best imitation of a flamenco; the click of castanets came through the windowpane.
  21. torrent
    an overwhelming number or amount
    Perched on my bike in the distance, I remember looking up and seeing the torrent of stars we call the Milky Way.
  22. improvise
    perform without preparation
    Stargirl began to improvise. She flung her arms to a make-believe crowd like a celebrity on parade. She waggled her fingers at the stars. She churned her fists like an egg-beater.
  23. vaudeville
    a genre of variety show with songs, comic acts, etc.
    The three hops of the bunny became three struts of a vaudeville vamp.
  24. raucous
    unpleasantly loud and harsh
    The laughing and yelping made a raucous counterpoint to the metronomic tock-tock-tock of the bunny’s never-ending hop.
  25. silhouette
    a filled-in drawing of the outline of an object
    Once, in the light of the quarter moon, they appeared in silhouette on a domed, distant green, like figures dancing in someone’s dream.
  26. saunter
    walk leisurely and with no apparent aim
    A boy dashed wildly into the darkness; he sauntered back, his blue jacket over his shoulder, laughing.
  27. clench
    squeeze together tightly
    Hillari Kimble stalked along the fence, clenching and unclenching her fists.
  28. stampede
    act, usually en masse, hurriedly or on an impulse
    A hundred kids—only Hillari Kimble stayed behind—turned and raced down eight tennis courts, pastel skirts flapping like stampeding flamingos.
  29. collide
    crash together with violent impact
    Guy Greco struck the downbeat three final times—hop-hop-hop—and the two lines collided at the gate in a frenzy of hugs and shrieks and kisses.
  30. flinch
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    Those nearby saw in Hillari’s shoulders and eyes a flinching: she was waiting to be struck in reply.
  31. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    And in fact, when Stargirl finally moved, Hillari winced and shut her eyes.
  32. vamoose
    leave suddenly
    “She didn’t even finish out the school year.”
    “No.”
    “Just... vamoosed.”
  33. wry
    humorously sarcastic or mocking
    He looked at me for a long time, his smile wry, his eyes twinkling.
  34. primordial
    having existed from the beginning
    They supplied the ingredients that became us, the primordial elements. We are star stuff, yes?
  35. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
    He shook his head with a wistful sadness.
  36. squabble
    argue over petty things
    I saw the pictures she had taken that day: Peter squabbling with the little girls over his beloved banana roadster.
  37. mull
    reflect deeply on a subject
    He said these things with a sly grin, knowing they would confound me as I mulled them until our next meeting.
  38. stratum
    one of several parallel layers of material
    He said he was sorry he did not have the energy to return Barney to his original stratum in South Dakota.
  39. lark
    any carefree episode
    At the last reunion several classmates, for a lark, lined up, hands to waists, and hopped around the putting green for a few minutes, but it wasn’t the same.
  40. baffle
    be a mystery or bewildering to
    But something from that season has resurfaced in recent years that baffles fans from other schools.
Created on Tue Mar 03 20:15:12 EST 2015 (updated Tue Jul 17 10:00:21 EDT 2018)

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