Jody is LaVaughn's fifteen-year-old love interest. He is described as beautiful with silky eyes and a swimmer's physique. Like all the other characters in the novel, Jody is not given any further physical description as it might identify his race. In all her novels, Wolff makes an effort to keep the race of her characters unidentified so that more readers can identify with their journeys. When dealing with families living in the slums, it also prevents racism or stereotypes from clouding the reader's vision. A few years ago, Jody's mother hoped to give him a better life by moving him away from the slums into a "real" house in a better school district. Unfortunately, she couldn't afford the rent and a few years later, had to return to the ghetto. When Jody returned, he had a new interest in swimming and showed promise. He was working hard to improve his athletic skills in the hopes of earning a college scholarship. Throughout the novel, Jody is nothing but kind to LaVaughn, which only fuels her romantic imaginations. Everyone around Jody, except for LaVaughn, seems to realize that Jody is gay, although this is never explicitly stated in the text. It's unclear whether Jody is comfortable with his sexuality or if he's hiding it from his family and friends. At the end of the novel, Jody shows up, uninvited, to LaVaughn's birthday party in an act of friendship and true platonic love for his dear friend.
