Stargirl: Chapter 17 Summary & Analysis

Two weeks ago, Leo didn’t think Stargirl knew his name, but now he’s “loopy with love.” At school, he avoids lunch, feeling self-conscious about everyone’s stares. After school, he and Stargirl find each other, and Stargirl offers to take Leo to an “enchanted place.” They walk miles into the desert, holding hands through town and not caring who sees. Leo realizes she’s taking him to the same place he’d followed her to before. Stargirl teases him that he was stalking her then because he was in love with her.

Leo observes that a newcomer to the Sonoran Desert is always surprised by what looks at first like a barren wasteland. First seeing the majestic saguaro cacti, soon one begins to notice many others—everything from “porcupiny yucca” to “the tall, sky-reaching tendrils of the ocotillo” against the backdrop of the lavender Maricopa mountains.

As they walk along, Stargirl tells Leo that he’s shy, and Leo’s awkward responses make her laugh delightfully. When they reach the “enchanted place,” Leo doesn’t see anything unusual about it. It’s an ordinary spot with a scraggly cactus and some tumbleweed. But Stargirl says the scenery she has in mind is different. They sit on the ground. Stargirl says they have to do as close to “nothing” as possible, stilling the commotion produced by their minds and senses. There’s no single technique for this. She likes to picture herself being erased by a big pink eraser until she feels like she’s one with the landscape. They sit silently together. Leo is distracted and restless, envying Stargirl’s ability to comfortably sit still. But after a while, holding Cinnamon, he feels a greater peace and silence than he’s ever experienced before. Eventually, he and Stargirl leave the spot, holding hands and not speaking.