Blandine Watkins

Blandine Watkins is the main character of the novel. Blandine’s given name is Tiffany. Tiffany spends the majority of her childhood in foster care. When she is 17, she is living with Wayne and Stella, the best foster parents she has had throughout her time in the system. She attends St. Philomena, “the only private high school in Vacca Vale” (86). At St. Philomena, she is one of the top students, and receives a scholarship. When she is in her junior year, however, she becomes involved with the school music teacher, James Yager. Their relationship begins as a mentorship inspired by Tiffany’s involvement in the school play. Then, not long after Tiffany agrees to babysit for James’s two girls, she and James have sex while his family is away on vacation. The experience makes Tiffany feel a new sort of elation. She tells James that he...