Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual harassment, emotional abuse, and death.

James, the novel’s narrator and protagonist, is a complex, round character. She is initially characterized through her relationship with her twin Johnny, emphasizing the close bond between the two siblings. They are twins, which is one reason they were so close while growing up together. James feels connected to Johnny even when they are physically separated; she can sense his feelings, fears, and motivations. She observes that “[he] was there the first time [her] heart beat” (17), and she does not think that even his death can break their bond. However, the novel gradually reveals that their relationship, although close, was not always healthy, developing the theme of Fraught Family Relationships. Johnny was volatile and controlling, and their relationship was co-dependent. 

James is also characterized by her complicated relationship to the places she lives in—San Francisco and Six Rivers—highlighting The Impact of Place on Identity. As a teenager, she desperately wanted to leave Six Rivers and make a life for herself in San Francisco’s fine arts world. She defined success as her ability to escape the life that her mother found so stifling.