Latasha is a fifth-grade student dealing with her parents' recent separation. She worries constantly about her place in the classroom social hierarchy and resents adults who obscure the truth to protect her. She acts out against her mother's attempts to treat her like a baby and feels a confusing attraction to an older boy at school. She often relies on small routines to feel a sense of control.

Rodney is a quiet, timid fifth-grade student who struggles academically and athletically. He faces intense pressure from his aspirational, middle-class parents to embody traditional masculine toughness. To cope with his isolation and feelings of inadequacy, he shoplifts candy from a local store and strikes up an unlikely connection with an outcast classmate. He possesses a preternatural awareness of danger.

Octavia is a dark-skinned girl who endures cruel teasing from her fifth-grade classmates. She lives with her single mother and finds comfort in a few close neighborhood friends. She possesses a sharp wit and a strong sense of independence, quickly recognizing the fictions adults create to hide unpleasant truths. Her confidence often baffles her wealthier peers.

Jashante is an older student in the fifth grade who lives in the local housing projects. He earns money selling car air fresheners at the West End Mall and uses his earnings to help his mother. He masks his lower economic status with bravado and playground dominance, though he acts much gentler in quieter settings away from his peers.

Monica is a popular transplant from Chicago who commands attention at Oglethorpe Elementary School. She maintains her social dominance by excluding other girls and mocking those she considers beneath her class status. She wears designer jeans and frequently spreads rumors about her classmates.

Mrs. Grier is a second-grade teacher at Oglethorpe Elementary School with old-fashioned manners and silver-white hair. She grew up in a large sharecropping family in Alabama before moving to Atlanta. She provides guidance and emotional support to students who need a quiet refuge during the chaotic school day, offering snacks and practical advice.

Delvis is a neighborhood boy who acts as a protective older brother figure to his friends. He walks to school with his younger siblings, expressing suspicion toward white authority figures while trying to project an image of masculine toughness. He believes girls have an easier time navigating the dangers of their city.

Uncle Kenny is a man struggling with heroin addiction who previously moved to Atlanta from Macon to look for work. His substance abuse caused a rift in his family, eventually leading to homelessness and separation from his relatives.

Tayari is a student in Mr. Harrell's fifth-grade class whose mother serves as the PTA president. She sits somewhere in the middle of the classroom social hierarchy. Her mother's strict rules regarding adult supervision occasionally cause friction with the more popular girls in school, leading to temporary social isolation.

Dolores is a payroll supervisor who tries to maintain a sense of normalcy for her daughters during a marital separation. She treats her older daughter like a young child by insisting on styling her hair with plastic barrettes and monitoring her social activities. She frequently uses food to resolve emotional conflicts.

Charles is a father originally from Alabama who leaves his family temporarily before moving back home to ensure their safety. He attempts to protect his daughters by installing burglar bars and setting strict curfews. He carries historical memories of racial violence that influence his pessimistic worldview.

DeShaun is an eight-year-old girl who still speaks in a babyish tone when frightened. She relies heavily on her older sister for comfort when their parents are absent or arguing, seeking reassurance about neighborhood dangers.

Claude is a body shop owner originally from Louisiana who believes in strict discipline and hard labor. He regularly uses severe physical punishment to enforce his expectations of toughness on his son. He holds deep resentment toward his own strict upbringing but replicates it in his parenting.

Beverly is a homemaker from Chicago who values outward appearances and social status above all else. She focuses her attention on constructing elaborate school projects using designer shoeboxes while remaining emotionally distant and oblivious to her son's distress.

Patricia is the younger sister in the Green family who receives constant praise for her excellent report cards. Her parents openly favor her over her older brother, showering her with attention and academic help.

Yvonne is a hardworking single mother who works the graveyard shift at the Sunbeam Factory to support her daughter. She creates small fictions to protect her child from harsh realities, refusing to acknowledge dangers directly. She fiercely guards her family's independence while grappling with the necessity of asking for help.

Ray is a college professor living in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He pays child support but rarely visits his oldest daughter, occasionally sending ill-fitting clothes and school supplies during brief summer visits to his hometown.

Mr. Harrell is a stern fifth-grade teacher at Oglethorpe Elementary School. He displays clear favoritism toward well-behaved, popular students while treating struggling students with thinly veiled contempt and public humiliation.

Mrs. Lewis is the proprietor of a local market near the elementary school. She enforces strict rules about leaving backpacks at the door but occasionally shows leniency toward children she deems respectable, unknowingly allowing them to shoplift.

Leon is a poor student at Oglethorpe Elementary School who uses a trash bag as a raincoat. He attaches himself to other children to benefit from their shoplifting exploits, using his loud personality to distract store owners.

Miss Viola is a mother living in the local housing projects who struggles to keep track of her teenage son's whereabouts. Her emotional stability deteriorates drastically when tragedy strikes her family.

Miss Darlene is a factory worker on the graveyard shift and a close neighbor to the Fuller family. She freely offers unsolicited advice regarding the neighborhood children and frequently intervenes in domestic disputes.

Cinque is a bold fifth-grade student who openly questions authority figures. He points out racial disparities in local news coverage and boldly accuses law enforcement of complicity in neighborhood crimes.

Officer Brown is a white police officer from the Atlanta Police Department who attempts to reassure anxious elementary school students. He struggles to maintain control of the classroom when students challenge his narrative.