Most of the characters in Facing Up are familiar character types. The protagonist, Dave Jacoby, is a conservative young man with a stable family life and parents he considers overprotective. A typical high school junior, Dave's main concerns as the story begins are girls, cars, and parties. A sympathetic hero, Dave is the only character in the story to show any real growth. Like most teen-agers, he is quick to lay blame, either on others or himself, when bad things happen. His major discovery is that, while one must take responsibility for one's actions, being an adult means learning to accept failure and go on living, and to live with the possibility that some events are accidents for which no one can be blamed.

Dave's friend Jep is a worldly and adventurous charmer. His parents are divorced, and he lives with his mother, who...