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Lisa Shilling

She is sixteen years old, pretty and popular, and a born leader. She begins the novel at the top of her school's social hierarchy and everyone assumes she will succeed. Her parents are distant and uninvolved in her life and her little sister is very reserved. Her behavior frightens and confuses her friends and throughout the novel she continues to spiral downward. She knows she is suffering from mental illness and unsuccessfully tries to engage her parents' concern throughout the novel.

Betsy Goodman

The narrator of the novel, she becomes close friends with three other girls. Her thoughts and impressions are interwoven in the narrative story of another girl's mental illness. She is fifteen years old, intelligent, and well-adjusted to life. She enjoys school and likes being with her friends. She lives with her traditional family. She describes herself as average looking, five foot four inches...

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