Emma is a rising fifth grader with red hair who is transitioning from years of homeschooling to attending Lakeview Elementary public school. She is deeply connected to nature and spends her free time kayaking, hiking, or helping her father with wildlife rescues. Feeling lonely and left behind since her older brother started high school, she enters public school with a rigid checklist for finding an ideal best friend. Her anxious desire to fit in often clashes with her authentic personality.

Owen is Emma's brother, four years her senior, who recently transitioned from homeschooling to public high school. He is highly active in his new environment, participating in soccer and theater. Despite his busy schedule, he remains highly attentive to his sister, giving her painted rocks with inspirational messages to help her adjust to the changes in her life.

Jack is a literal-minded fifth grader who loves building complex Lego models, collecting raffle tickets, and reciting encyclopedic facts about animals. He experiences sensory processing issues that make loud environments and physical contact with live animals overwhelming, often causing him to display physical tics. He speaks honestly and without pretense, ignoring the social hierarchies that obsess his classmates.

Lapi is a small, domesticated pet rabbit with a honey-gold coat, a brown nose, and brown front paws. Rescued by Emma and her father when the animal shelters are closed, he quickly becomes a comforting fixture in Emma's bedroom. Emma names him short for "Monsieur Lapin," the clever rabbit from her grandfather's folklore stories.

Leah is a fifth-grade student with short blonde hair and bright blue glasses. A vegetarian who is securely positioned in a popular social circle, she represents everything Emma envisions in an ideal public-school best friend. She is casually polite but generally unaware of the social anxiety she provokes in others.

Iris is a fifth grader who wears her brown hair pulled back with a green headband. She is intensely loyal to her lifelong best friend, Leah, and views any new social additions as a direct threat to her status. This protectiveness causes her to act defensively toward Emma.

Gabe is Emma and Owen's father. He works as a Maine Game Warden, enforcing local hunting and fishing laws and frequently responding to wildlife rescue calls. He is practical about animals but softens enough to let Emma temporarily keep a rescued pet rabbit overnight.

She is the supportive matriarch of the family who managed Emma and Owen's homeschooling for years. She provides structure in the household, setting rules about pets in bedrooms, while gently pushing Emma to give public school a fair chance when early difficulties arise.

Emma and Owen's late French-Canadian grandfather from Quebec. During summer farm visits, he entertained the children with folklore featuring clever animals with French names, most notably the trickster Monsieur Lapin. His stories continue to provide Emma with a sense of security and courage.

Emma and Owen's late French-Canadian grandmother who lived on a farm in Quebec. She represents the children's strong Franco-American heritage and their idyllic, rural childhood memories.

The fifth-grade teacher at Lakeview Elementary. She sets a positive, welcoming tone in her classroom and gently corrects Emma when she forgets standard public-school procedures, like raising her hand before speaking.

A teacher's assistant in Ms. Hutton's fifth-grade classroom. While she is available to help the entire class, her specific focus is keeping Jack on task, which she manages using subtle physical cues like a spinning finger motion.

An awkward student at Lakeview Elementary who joins Jack at what Emma internally labels the "Leftovers Table" during lunch. He represents the socially isolated students that Emma fears being grouped with.