48 pages • 1 hour read
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Debbie is the main character of the novel. She is 14 years old and lives in Seldem with her mother Helen and her sister Chrisanne. Debbie is a thoughtful, introspective character transitioning from childhood into adulthood. While she loves her family and her friends, Debbie is tired of her monotonous small-town life. Her desperation for “something different [to] happen” to her is inspired by her longing to “be[come] a different person” (3). As an adolescent, Debbie is still coming of age and seeking new ways to express herself and experience the world.
Debbie is a dynamic character, who changes over the course of the novel. Her relationships with her neighborhood friends, her weekend job at Mrs. Bruning’s house, her crushes on Dan and Peter, her driving lessons, and her private explorations of ephemera from her mother’s past are vital aspects of her Journey Towards Self-Discovery. She has deep conversations that help her process her questions and emotions. She takes adventures with her friends which give her perspective on her insular life in Middle America. By the novel’s end, Debbie doesn’t transform into an unrecognizable person. However, she does learn to accept who she is in the present.