Jade Butler

Jade is a high school junior as the novel opens. She is a black teenager from one of the poorer neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon, and she makes a lengthy bus ride each day to St. Francis, an elite school populated by wealthy students, most of whom are white. Jade feels out of place here, especially since most of her friends attend Northside High School, which is near Jade's home. Jade attends St. Francis on a scholarship. She feels pressure to do well because the school has provided a scholarship. She also feels that she must live up to the expectations of friends and family who believe in her.

One of Jade's biggest struggles at this point in her life is that she feels many people want to give her a helping hand but do not see her as a person with something to contribute. She is also...