Emily Williams
Ms. Sheridan/ Ms. Bourque
Freshman English Level I
MLA Summer Reading Essay
2 October 2015
Falling Deeply and Madly:
In Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, the theme that love can change a person for the better though the qualities of passion, intensity, and learning experiences is shown. Leo is a highschool student in a small town, where all of a sudden everything changes in his home and school life. Stargirl is nothing like the school had ever seen, and it intrigued Leo immensely. She was what Leo considered “a bendable light” (107). Once they caught each other's eyes, they were hopelessly, endlessly in love. Leo was able to forget about the rest of society and indulge in the feelings of love, and Stargirl was able to change the way he saw the world in a positive way. during their relationship. Passion is the overwhelming feeling Leo feels when he sees Stargirl. He described his feelings as ¨two weeks before, I had found out she knew my name and now I was loopy with love. I was floating” (Spinelli 85). Leo was filled with such overwhelming love and passion for Stargirl at the beginning of their relationship, he was not himself. Most of his…show more content… These intense feelings are driven by passion, as well as being with someone new. For Leo, his first kiss with Stargirl was a very intense experience: “And then the last remaining space between our lips was gone and I was headlong into her eyes, right there on Palo Verde after dinner” (125). With Leo, having a girlfriend like Stargirl, or even a girlfriend in general, was out of his comfort zone by large distances. His feelings about her were unremitting and strong, “But then I would see her smile and take a swan dive into her eyes, and every bad moment would be gone” (128). Leo and Stargirl brought out the intensity in each other through everything they did while together, their love being the most intense thing of