Sara is an 11-year-old Pakistani American middle school student with a strong talent for art. After transferring from a private Islamic school to a public school due to family financial issues, she feels isolated and tries to blend in to avoid racist remarks from her peers. She is fiercely protective of her mother but feels frustrated by the family's debt and her mother's reluctance to study for the US citizenship test.

Elizabeth is an 11-year-old Jewish American student whose mother immigrated from England. She joins the after-school cooking club to learn how to prepare meals, as her grieving mother relies entirely on frozen dinners. She feels caught between cultures and struggles to understand the shifting dynamics of her friendship with her childhood best friend.

Sara's mother runs a catering business and teaches an after-school cooking club to help pay off business loans. She faces disrespect from her students with calm resilience. Though she has lived in the United States for decades, she procrastinates studying for her citizenship test due to financial stress and daily exhaustion.

Maddy is Elizabeth's lifelong best friend who begins pulling away to spend time with a more popular social circle. Strongly influenced by her conservative parents, she repeats racist and xenophobic comments toward Sara and Mrs. Hameed. Her changing behavior forces a rift in her traditional friendship with Elizabeth.

Stephanie is a popular, blonde middle schooler who runs her own cupcake baking business. While Elizabeth initially views her as a superficial rival who stole her best friend, Stephanie holds unexpected depths. She uses her baking profits for charity and possesses a strong moral compass regarding how others should be treated.

Elizabeth's mother is a British immigrant experiencing severe depression following the recent death of her own mother. She relies on frozen meals, neglects household chores, and frequently calls her sister in London, sparking Elizabeth's fear that she might move back to England permanently instead of taking her US citizenship test.

Sara's father is a strict but loving parent who worries deeply about his family's financial stability. He shares a love of cricket and occasionally offers Sara gentle stories from his own childhood to help her manage her feelings of cultural isolation in her new environment.

Elizabeth's father is frequently away on business trips, leaving the family to manage on their own. While he is affectionate and supportive of Elizabeth's religious education, he often avoids confronting his wife's worsening mental health or adjusting his demanding work schedule.

Rabia is Sara's best friend from her previous school, Iqra Academy. She wears a hijab and shares Sara's cultural background, standing as a reminder of the comfortable familiarity and community that Sara desperately misses at her new public middle school.

Justin is Elizabeth's energetic younger brother who plays soccer. He brings moments of levity to the Shainmark household and enjoys spending time with the Hameed family when the opportunity arises.

David is Elizabeth's observant older brother. He recognizes the family's unhealthy habit of avoiding conflict and steps up to help clean and manage the house during their mother's depressive episodes.

The school's family and consumer sciences teacher who allows the cooking club to use her classroom. She is fiercely protective of her kitchen equipment and harbors unfair, preemptive suspicions about Mrs. Hameed based on past experiences with other instructors.

Sara's middle school art teacher. She recognizes Sara's artistic talent and asks her to design the banner for the upcoming International Festival, offering a safe space in her classroom when Sara needs to avoid her peers.

Elizabeth's paternal grandmother who visits the family for the holidays. She serves as a crucial confidante for Elizabeth, listening to her concerns about her parents' mental health and promising to encourage them to seek professional help.

Mrs. Shainmark's sister who lives in London. Following their mother's death, she manages the family affairs in England and frequently calls, serving as a constant reminder of the life Mrs. Shainmark left behind.

A classmate of Elizabeth and Sara who also attends Hebrew school with Elizabeth. He is a casual presence in their daily school life, occasionally sitting with them at lunch.

Maddy's father is a conservative man who frequently makes prejudiced, racist, and antisemitic comments. His worldview heavily influences Maddy's early behavior and creates friction with the other adults in the community.