Clay Dunbar

Clay is the second youngest of the Dunbar boys, and the main point of focus in the novel. He is extremely quiet and speaks only infrequently, even amongst his own brothers and with Carey Novac, whom he loves. Clay was the closest of the brothers to their mother, Penny, and is the most affected by her death. Because of this, he is also drawn to helping his father, Michael Dunbar, build his bridge — in the hopes of moving closer to his deceased mother by reconnecting with his estranged father.

Clay’s life after the death of his mother revolves around a routine of “training” — punishing running exercises around the Bernborough Park track, up cemetery hill, and up and down the stairwell of an abandoned building — and studying in school. He has developed strange and antisocial habits, such as sitting on the roof of the family home to...