Elisha, frequently called Ellie, is a fifteen-year-old Jewish girl living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The youngest of her siblings, she spends much of her time in a quiet, spacious apartment with her parents. She has recently started attending the prestigious Percy Academy, where a chance hallway collision sparks her interest in a new transfer student. As she develops feelings for him, Elisha begins questioning the implicit racial biases of her family and her wealthy community.

Jeremiah, known as Miah, is a sixteen-year-old Black teenager from Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The only child of successful, separated parents, he transfers from Brooklyn Tech to the predominantly white Percy Academy at his father's urging. He plays basketball and enjoys a deep, almost poetic connection with the sport. Thoughtful and observant, Jeremiah constantly considers how his skin color affects how the world perceives him and wonders how he fits into his new environment.

Marion is Elisha's mother and the wife of a successful Manhattan doctor. During Elisha's childhood, Marion periodically left the family unannounced to handle personal stress, creating a lasting emotional distance between her and her youngest daughter. She now attempts to build a closer relationship with Elisha, regularly asking about school and boys, though her efforts are often met with defensive resistance.

Nelia is Jeremiah's mother and a successful author. Following her separation from her husband, she shares custody of Jeremiah and maintains a warm, communicative household in Brooklyn. She teaches her son to take pride in his identity and treats his new friends with immediate, gracious hospitality when they visit.

Norman is Jeremiah's father and an accomplished filmmaker. Following his divorce from Nelia, he lives separately but remains active in his son's life. He has candid conversations with Jeremiah about race and offers cautionary advice about moving through predominantly white neighborhoods, passing down lessons about survival and identity.

Anne is Elisha's older sister who lives in San Francisco with her partner, Stacey. Because of the age gap and physical distance, Elisha often views Anne as an older, wiser confidant. Anne provides a sounding board for Elisha's complex feelings regarding love, though Anne also harbors protective worries about the societal challenges Elisha might face.

Carlton is Jeremiah's friend from his neighborhood and his former high school, Brooklyn Tech. Because Carlton has a Black father and a white mother, Jeremiah looks to him for practical perspective on interracial dating and how society reacts to it.

Elisha's father is a doctor who lives on the Upper West Side with his wife, Marion, and his youngest daughter. He maintains a quiet but steady presence in the household, enjoying a long-standing tradition of reading the newspaper with Elisha and showing casual acceptance of her new friends.

Rayshon is one of the few other Black students on the Percy Academy basketball team. He befriends Jeremiah early in the school year, forming a small, protective social circle among the predominantly white student body.

Peter is a white student on the Percy basketball team who creates quiet tension with Jeremiah. He frequently adopts affected speech and boasts about his father securing jobs for other teammates, highlighting the class differences at the academy.