Hannah "Dex" Dexter

Hannah is a junior in high school when the novel begins. She has no real friends, no real direction, and no real sense of self. She is mystified by the death of Craig, who she always pegged as nothing more than a dumb jock, and bullied by his girlfriend, Nikki Drummond.

She has obsessive, all-consuming relationships with her friends. When she meets Lacey, Lacey becomes her whole life. When she becomes friends with Nikki, Nikki takes over the role for her. Her relationship with her mother is distant. She had formerly been close with her father, but his secret relationship with Lacey ruins their relationship.

Dex is the most mutable character of the novel. She changes from Hannah to Dex when she meets Lacey, turning from a nobody into a grunge girl who dresses and acts just as Lacey does. When Lacey leaves, Dex starts hanging...