Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying.

Sammy is the novel’s main character. The 13-year-old is “kind of skinny” and often sports a ponytail and high-top sneakers (30). Sammy courageously chooses to investigate the robberies even though this places her at risk of the police discovering her illegal living situation, and the cleverness and resourcefulness that allow her to evade detection by her nosy neighbor also help her catch the thief. Although the amateur sleuth is highly perceptive and intelligent, she is often impulsive. The novel’s subplot entails Sammy’s struggles with her seventh-grade bully, and she doesn’t realize that she’s in “some pretty serious trouble” for punching Heather until the vice principal brings her to his office (35). Sammy’s rash decisions add to the novel’s suspense and make her a round character with flaws as well as strengths. Sammy’s cleverness, courage, and resourcefulness serve her function as a mystery novel’s protagonist, but her impulsive actions often create problems for her.

As the protagonist and narrator, Sammy guides the novel’s plot, tone, and thematic meaning. Her curiosity leads her to witness the crime that serves as the inciting incident, and the rest of the story follows her efforts to identify the thief using