How is Starr different from others who live in her neighborhood, and how is she different at school? How does it make her feel?

One of the central issues that Starr faces is a struggle with belonging. From the very beginning of the novel, Starr recognizes that her personality is two-sided. When she’s at Williamson, Starr worries that her classmates will think she’s “too ghetto.” She recognizes that being one of the few black students at the school makes her automatically “cool,” but at the same time she censors her own behavior to fit in. Back at home, however—as evidenced by how she feels at Big D’s party—people say that Starr thinks she’s “all that” and doesn’t hang out with them enough, because she attends Williamson. Because of this struggle, Starr is never truly able to be herself in any situation. As the novel progresses, however, Starr learns to embrace both sides of herself, and she brings both sides of her personality together along with friends from both of the spheres of her life.