35 pages • 1 hour read
Stargazing
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Chapters 5-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary
At school the next day, Moon approaches the boy who called Vivian stupid and punches him several times. She is pulled away by her teacher as the boy sits crying on the ground. As Moon leaves for the office, she hands Vivian a tooth that came out of the boy’s mouth. Vivian stares at it, stunned. Christine sits with her friends at lunch and one of them mentions that the rumors about Moon turned out to be true. Christine ponders this and wonders if there’s something more going on.
That night, she finds Moon in the yard that they share and asks her about her dad. Moon explains that her dad died in a motorcycle accident when she was six, and shows Christine a picture. Moon’s dad had a wild spirit like her, which Moon prides herself on. She admits that she will have to attend weekly counselling sessions after the incident at school and wonders how it could possibly help. Looking up at the stars, Moon reveals an intimate secret about herself to Christine. She tells Christine that she is a “celestial being” and that her home is in the stars. The beings that she drew are her friends, which she sometimes sees in visions, and she hopes one day soon they will take her home.
Christine listens without judgment. When Moon asks her to play a song on her violin, Christine plays a musical version of the poem about the man longing for home. The scene is illustrated with a split panel followed by a splash page. The split panel shows the girls’ world and moon alongside the poet’s world and moon. Both are dark and blue, but the moons look slightly different. The splash page which follows shows the girls’ moon overtaking the sky (108).
Chapter 6 Summary
Christine and Moon practice their dance steps and the next day doodle versions of themselves in their outfits. Later that night, Christine’s father sees her painted toenails and lectures her about Moon. He tells Christine that she shouldn’t copy Moon and that she should stay on her own path. Christine goes over to Moon’s house, planning to study for a math test, but the girls end up watching a movie instead. When Christine gets her test back, she stares in shock at her C grade while Moon celebrates a rare B. Christine decides to join an extracurricular math class and distances herself from Moon, suddenly too busy to rehearse. When Moon hangs out with another classmate named Madison and invites her to join the dance group, Christine doesn’t know how to feel.
At Madison’s birthday party, Moon gets Madison a ticket to a K-pop convention that Christine had declined the day before. When everyone rushes off to see Madison’s new bike in the garage, Christine stays at the dining table and opens Moon’s notebook. She leaves it open on the page containing a drawing of Moon and Mr. Pennypacker holding hands. When the group of kids returns, they find it and begin teasing Moon. Moon reacts with violence, punching the girl who led the taunting, and is told to stand away from the group. Suddenly, Moon stares blankly into the sky before fainting on the concrete.
Chapters 5-6 Analysis
These chapters portray The Challenge of Forming an Identity. Moon feels out of place in the world and tries to fit in with Christine’s friend group and family. This goes awry after Moon attacks the boy who insulted Vivian. Though Christine was initially judgmental about Moon before getting to know her, she doesn’t disappear from Moon’s life. Instead, she seems to understand the intention behind Moon’s actions and looks past the mistake to see the person.
Moon’s attack on the boy leads to a heart-to-heart between Christine and Moon. Moon tells Christine about her father and reveals more about her thoughts of space and home, which Christine still does not judge. In seeing a picture of Moon’s father, Christine understands where Moon gets her wilder side and lust for life. One of Moon’s key flaws is her tendency to lash out physically, but Christine forgives this and sees potential in Moon to grow as a person. Through Christine, the novel emphasizes the value of empathy.
The girls again relate over their shared sense of loneliness in a crowded world. Christine plays her violin for Moon, reciting the poem about the lonely scholar. This is a moment of wisdom and mutual understanding. The expansiveness of the girls’ moon, rendered in illustration, highlights the power of their friendship.
Christine and Moon experience conflict when Christine gets a low grade on a math test after watching a movie with Moon instead of studying. Despite her changes, Christine is still hard-working and studious, and is deeply bothered by getting a C. When Moon finds other people to hang out with, Christine reacts with jealousy and intentionally embarrasses Moon. In this way, the novel shows how even good people are flawed. Christine is empathic and doesn’t judge Moon for her beliefs about being from space, yet she is capable of causing hurt.
It is a low point for Christine in the story, and Moon once again lashes out. Although the conflict hurts Moon, it leads to the seizure that reveals her serious and life-threatening condition. Moon’s brain tumor is hinted at throughout the novel through her visions, but no one, not even Moon, is aware of what is causing them.
While Moon and Christine are distanced from one another, they often stare at each other through their shared yard. This shows how they are both apart and near.
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