Billie Jo

Billie Jo is a thirteen-year-old girl and the narrator of the story. She lives in Oklahoma during the dust bowl and blames herself for the accident that burns her and her Ma. She is a thoughtful, emotional, caring girl with a talent on the piano. She has a way with young children and anxiously awaits the birth of her brother, who dies before she can know him. She wishes that there were a way out of the dust-worn world she inhabits. She thinks about it a lot, and she sees other people getting to leave, but not her. When she finally takes the risk and leaves, she realizes it isn't what she wants after all. She realizes how tied to the land she is and how important her family and community are to her.

Ma

Although Ma is alive only partway through the book, she is always...