Valerie is a sixteen-year-old student returning to Garvin High School six months after a tragic school shooting perpetrated by her boyfriend. Before the tragedy, she felt alienated by her parents' constant fighting and relentless bullying at school, adopting a darker persona to cope. She helped create a "hate list" as an outlet for her anger, which inadvertently became the blueprint for the shooting. Now, she faces physical recovery from a gunshot wound and intense social isolation as she attempts to get through her senior year.

Nick is Valerie's deceased boyfriend and the perpetrator of the Garvin High School shooting. Before the tragedy, he is an intelligent, Shakespeare-reading outsider from a lower-income neighborhood who suffers relentless bullying from popular students. He forms an intense, isolating bond with Valerie, sharing a mutual resentment of their tormentors. His inability to cope with his anger and humiliation ultimately manifests in a horrific act of violence.

Jenny is Valerie and Frankie's mother, a woman who tries to maintain the appearance of a perfect family despite a crumbling marriage. She frequently criticizes Valerie's appearance and choices, struggling to understand her daughter's darker persona. Following the shooting, she is consumed by guilt and fear, worrying that she is responsible for raising a child who helped create a hit list and fearing Valerie might commit future violence.

Ted is a successful lawyer and the father of Valerie and Frankie. He often uses his demanding career as an escape from his unhappy marriage and tense household. He is quick to jump to conclusions regarding Valerie's involvement in the shooting and readily cooperates with the police against her. Emotionally distant, he prioritizes his own comfort over providing stability for his traumatized family.

Jessica is the most popular girl at Garvin High School and the student council president. Before the shooting, she frequently bullies less popular students, including Valerie, whom she dubbed "Sister Death." However, her perspective changes dramatically after Valerie takes a bullet to save her life. She returns to school attempting to use her second chance to foster unity, though she struggles with nightmares and her own guilt.

Frankie is Valerie's fourteen-year-old younger brother. Unlike his sister, he fits in well at school, hangs out with a popular crowd, and plays sports. Despite their differing social circles and the chaos in their home, he attempts to manage a typical teenage life while dealing with the fallout of his sister's notoriety.

Morris Kline is a beloved chemistry teacher and track coach at Garvin High. Known for his selflessness, he once stopped to help a student with a flat tire while dressed in formal wear. During the shooting, he uses his own body to shield terrified students and refuses to reveal the location of a colleague to the shooter, sacrificing his own life.

Jack Angerson is the principal of Garvin High School. He is a traditional administrator focused on maintaining the school's public image and suppressing any signs of conflict. Rather than addressing the systemic issues of bullying that contributed to the shooting, he prefers to enforce rigid rules and promote a sanitized narrative of school unity to the press.

Stacey is Valerie's former best friend. Before the tragedy, the two were inseparable, sharing clothes, secrets, and a mutual status as outsiders. However, Stacey is highly susceptible to peer pressure and prioritizes her own social survival. She distances herself from Valerie after the shooting, even providing the police with damaging statements to protect herself from association.

Duce is Stacey's boyfriend and was Nick Levil's closest friend. He shares Nick's intelligence and dark humor, as well as his resentment toward the school's popular crowd. In the aftermath of the shooting, he remains fiercely protective of Nick's memory and frequently visits his grave, directing his anger at Valerie for seemingly abandoning her affection for their deceased friend.

Christy is a popular, athletic student and the captain of the Garvin High softball team. She is also a relentless bully who has tormented Valerie since elementary school, earning herself a top spot on the hate list. The shooting ends her athletic career when she sustains a stomach wound. Following her recovery, she leans on her religious family and attempts to move past her history of hostility.

Dr. Hieler is Valerie's outpatient therapist. Unlike the rigid institutional doctors Valerie previously encountered, he uses humor, patience, and a comfortable office environment to disarm her defenses. He validates her trauma without claiming to fully understand it, giving her control over their sessions and helping her redirect her anger into positive creative outlets.

Dr. Dentley is the in-patient psychiatrist at the local hospital. He employs a traditional, clinical approach to therapy that relies heavily on textbooks and medication. His rigid methods alienate Valerie, who learns to suppress her true feelings and feed him the answers he wants to hear to secure her release.

Mrs. Tate is the school guidance counselor at Garvin High. She is a well-intentioned but sometimes naive woman who struggles to handle the emotional magnitude of the school shooting. She tries to help Valerie adjust to the return to school by discussing college brochures, unintentionally minimizing the immense trauma Valerie is processing.

Mrs. Tennille is a strict, authoritarian teacher at Garvin High who frequently clashed with Nick and Valerie. Her harsh disciplinary style placed her on the hate list and made her a target during the shooting. She survives only because another teacher sacrifices himself to hide her location, leaving her visibly burdened by survivor's guilt.

Jeremy is a derelict in his twenties who neglects his responsibilities and abuses drugs and alcohol. He serves as a toxic influence on Nick, introducing him to weapons and fostering his violent impulses. Valerie notes that Nick adopts a harder, more selfish persona whenever he associates with Jeremy.

Angela is a local reporter who covers the Garvin High shooting. She writes sensationalized articles that often align with the school administration's sanitized version of events. She views the tragedy primarily as a news story to be packaged and sold, showing little interest in the ongoing suffering of the actual students involved.

Bea is an eccentric, brightly dressed artist who runs a local craft store and offers painting classes. She possesses a wise, unconventional outlook on life that immediately disarms Valerie. Through her classes, she teaches Valerie how to process her anger and trauma using color and canvas, becoming an unexpected source of healing.

Ginny is a student who survives the shooting but sustains a severe gunshot wound to her face, requiring multiple reconstructive surgeries. Once considered beautiful, she struggles immensely with her altered appearance and the lasting psychological trauma. Despite her suffering, she demonstrates profound grace by recognizing the bullying Nick endured and defending Valerie to the police.

Chris is a popular student at Garvin High who relentlessly bullies Nick. He frequently humiliates Nick in public, such as smashing gum into his food or attacking his vehicle, actions that fuel Nick's intense hatred and ultimate violent retaliation.