Claire McKenzie is the seventeen-year-old protagonist of the novel. She's described as being moderately pretty, thin, and with long hair that has grown back beautifully since she left chemo in middle school. At the opening of the novel, Claire McKenzie is happy in her life. She's been in leukemia remission for a few years, and has managed to keep her past illness a secret from many of her schoolmates, allowing her to skyrocket in popularity to the cool crowd. Claire has just lost a bunch of weight, secured a spot on the cheerleading squad, and snagged a hot boyfriend from the Fish Frat. Claire's perfect life is rattled by the introduction of a new kid at school, Lani Garver, an androgynous and puzzling teenager. Although Lani is ousted by the rest of the cool kids, Claire feels strangely drawn to him, particularly after he takes her to a special hospital in Philadelphia where she can get her blood tested for a leukemia relapse without her parents knowing or worrying. Halfway through the novel, Claire is forced to rethink all her friendships when a strange incident involving Lani and the most popular guy in school, Tony Clementi, takes place. Everyone has a different version of the events, and Claire must decide which friend to believe. Soon, Claire learns that her friends have been lying, or conveniently forgetting crucial details about the incident and Claire realizes that it was Tony who assaulted Lani, not the other way around. At the end of the novel, Claire is forced to come to terms with many things: her friendships, her relationships with family, her own mortality, and the idea that angels may live amongst us.
