How to Make Friends with the Dark

June is Tiger’s mother. Her death is the inciting incident in the book and the main conflict that Tiger deals with. June is a loving albeit overprotective parent. For all of Tiger’s life, she has assumed that June is the only family she has. Tiger’s best friend, Cake, is the only other person they have allowed into their inner circle. June’s desire to keep Tiger close at all times prevents Tiger from expanding her social circle. June shields Tiger, and thus herself as well, from pain of any kind, which prevents both of them from experiencing a range of things.

June’s tendency toward overprotectiveness stems from the trauma June herself experienced as a child. She lost her parents at a young age and was moved around a lot, unwanted by relatives. June overcompensates for the lack of love she had while growing up by showering Tiger with it, and she lets her anxiety about losing a loved one dictate how closely she controls Tiger. Even her secrecy about her childhood and Tiger’s father stems from a desire to protect Tiger. However, this has disastrous consequences, both in the short and long term. At the start of the novel, Tiger is beginning to resent her mother’s overbearing attitude. Further, following June’s death, Tiger is left with no way of contacting her father or any other family, and she thus ends up in foster care.

June passes away early in the novel and is presented largely through Tiger’s memories of her. These memories are clouded by grief, guilt, and regret. However, as Tiger meets Shayna, more secondhand details emerge about June, painting a picture of a whole and flawed human being. June made mistakes and was scarred by her past, but she ultimately only wanted the best for her daughter, whom she loved immensely.

Cake is Tiger’s best and only friend at the start of the novel; she and Tiger have known each other for years. Cake is a loyal and caring friend. Her distress at Tiger’s situation is what convinces Karen to break protocol and allow Tiger to stay with Cake for one night, before being taken into foster care. Following June’s death, Cake continually makes attempts to check in on her grieving friend and help in whatever way she can. She is close enough to Tiger that she is able to talk her out of thoughts of self-harm and suicide. Cake is loyal to the point of being self-sacrificing—she almost gives up on going to a prestigious music camp for Tiger’s sake, and she has already done this once in the past.

Despite Cake’s caring nature and her attempts to be there for Tiger, some distance creeps into the friends’ relationship following June’s death. However, this is of no fault of Cake’s; rather, it is a function of Cake having to bear the burden of being Tiger’s entire social support. She falls short of this tall expectation. Tiger comes to resent that Cake has no experience with a parent’s death or the loss of a home and that Cake can move on with her life while Tiger is stuck in her grief. Tiger finds this especially difficult as Cake is her only friend. However, things lighten up between the friends once Tiger finds other people to share her grief with, and their relationship emerges as strong as ever.

Shayna is Tiger’s 20-year-old half-sister. They share a father, Dustin Franklin. Dustin and June had an affair while Dustin was married to Shayna’s mother, which broke up Shayna’s family.

Shayna is scrappy, smart, and confident. Although barely older than Tiger, Shayna arrives to take care of a sister she has never met before. She is able to sort out some of their immediate problems, like the dirty water in the house, and she begins to sell some jams and jellies to generate immediate income, helped by her natural friendliness and charm.

Shayna is also a loyal and protective sister. Despite the resentment she feels about June breaking up her family, she is willing to care for Tiger upon Dustin’s request because Tiger is family. She is extremely committed to this role as well, defending and protecting Tiger first at school and then with Ray. During her short disappearance from Tiger’s life, Shayna ensures she has everything taken care of to provide Tiger with a stable home.

Although Tiger initially thinks Shayna is immature and frivolous, Shayna comes to display maturity and depth of character informed by the difficult life experiences she has undergone herself. She witnessed her father’s alcoholism firsthand and was tasked with taking care of him; she then struggles with alcoholism herself, along with an abusive relationship. However, she rises above these experiences and takes the necessary steps to fix and move on from these problems. By the end of the book, Shayna comes to be Tiger’s rock, providing her with the stable, loving family base she needs.

Thaddeus is a friend Tiger makes while she is in foster care. Thaddeus has been in foster care since he was a child, and he was eventually adopted by LaLa, whose home Tiger is placed in. Thaddeus has had a difficult and traumatic life, so he understands Tiger’s pain about her mother’s death and her displacement. His character is an example of how some families can be hurtful and living with them can be traumatic. Simultaneously, his story highlights the positive forces and good-hearted people who exist even within the foster care system.

Despite the troubled life he has had, Thaddeus is a gentle and caring person. He feels a sense of responsibility toward his younger sister, and the idea of saving her from the difficult childhood he had is a big motivating factor in his life. It gives him the strength to visit home, and it also gives him a sense of purpose to work toward, not unlike Shayna. Thaddeus is caring and sensitive with Tiger, checking in on her even after she leaves LaLa’s and visiting her in the group home she eventually finds herself in. The two remain friends even after Tiger moves out of foster care.