Margie’s donuts represent community connection and love. Everyone in town enjoys Margie’s donuts, and they play a role in the lives and imaginations of many characters.

Stargirl meets Alvina at the donut shop and writes a poem about donuts and Alvina’s battle with the boys, capturing the emotional issues Alvina struggles with. Stargirl leaves donuts for Charlie as a way of letting him know someone in the living world is thinking about him. Donuts also connect Betty Lou to the world outside her door: Alvina delivers them, and Dootsie and Stargirl bring them inside. Donuts illustrate the girls’ compassion and help their friendships with Betty Lou and each other develop. Margie gives Stargirl a dozen donuts after the fire to “speed up [her] recovery” (217) showing how much she cares about Stargirl. Perry’s theft of the donuts reveals the bad-boy facet of his character, and, ultimately, his impoverished situation. By giving Neva a job at the donut shop, Margie reveals how the community cares for its members.

Margie’s donuts appear at every town festival, and Betty Lou even gives quarters of them out at Halloween. Donuts unite and represent the community. After the Solstice, Margie’s act of giving sunburst pins to everyone who buys a dozen donuts shows the same impulse: sharing love and togetherness.