Compare and contrast the characters Stargirl and Leo.

Leo and Stargirl end up being boyfriend and girlfriend, so a reader would assume that they have quite a bit in common with each other and that is why they are attracted to each other. I think that is a pretty good assumption. Leo and Stargirl are not a case of "opposites attract" and, in fact, are fairly similar. They are both are a little bit odd. Keep in mind that Leo likes porcupine ties. That's not something a typical high school boy is going admit to liking. He's a bit quirky; that is what attracts him to Stargirl and Stargirl to him.

Both Leo and Stargirl are also empathetic and loving people. They care for the feelings of others. Stargirl does her random acts of kindness, she cheers for both teams, and she has no problem wishing anybody and everybody a happy birthday. She loves other people unconditionally. Leo isn't necessarily as generous in his love for other people, but he does care for others' feelings. It's why he tries to keep Stargirl out of the Hot Seat for so long. He wants to protect her.

As for differences, Leo cares more about what other people think about him than Stargirl does. Stargirl doesn't care what anyone thinks about her other than Leo. It is why she tries to change for Leo but ultimately chooses to be herself. Leo likes the notion of being himself, but he likes fitting in far more, and that is why he tries to change Stargirl into something that she is not.

What do Leo and Stargirl have in common?

One trait that Leo and Stargirl both share is their confidence in their unique individuality. Granted, Stargirl is way more comfortable and confident in being her own person than Leo is. He is still much more affected by peer pressure, but readers do get to see how Leo has confidence in himself liking things that are considered weird or not trendy. For example, he likes porcupine ties:

When I was little, my uncle Pete had a necktie with a porcupine painted on it. I thought that necktie was just about the neatest thing in the world. . . . I loved that porcupine tie so much that I decided to start a collection.

Both Leo and Stargirl are capable of loving people by accepting the other person's actions or personality. Again, Stargirl is better at this than Leo. It's why she is able to kiss Hillari after being slapped. Leo shows his ability to love people regardless of their quirkiness by being friends with Stargirl and Archie. Archie is basically the neighborhood goof, but that doesn't stop Leo from talking to him and seeking his advice. The love of people and goodness that Leo and Stargirl share is also demonstrated in their missions of random acts of kindness.

What is Leo's first connection to Stargirl?

Leo's first connection to Stargirl happens before the events that are narrated in the book. When the book begins, readers are told that Leo thinks that his uncle's porcupine tie is just about the greatest thing in the world. When Leo and his family had to move to Arizona, Leo's uncle gave him the tie. This prompted Leo to begin collecting porcupine ties. Unfortunately, his collection never grew.

On Leo's fourteenth birthday, his mother called the local paper in order to have a short feature about Leo. It mentioned the porcupine tie collecting hobby, and a few days later, an anonymous gift was at his front door. The gift was another porcupine tie. Leo will discover years later that the gift was given to him by Stargirl. He learns about her and her random acts of kindness, and Leo figures out that Stargirl gifted him with a random act of kindness on his birthday all those years ago. This means that Leo's first connection to Stargirl happened on his fourteenth birthday. Fortunately, by the time that Leo learns this information, he is already smitten with Stargirl and her adorable quirks, so he does not find it creepy that she has known about him for years.