Spectacular Things

Mia Lowe is one of the novel’s two protagonists. The older sister of Cricket and the daughter of Liz, Mia is characterized by responsibility, adaptability, and selflessness. Mia’s willingness to sacrifice for her family is shaped by her mother’s portrayal of her namesake, Mia Hamm: “what people don’t realize is that Mia Hamm was also the ultimate team player […] She sacrificed so much of her own glory to lift up the entire team” (63). Mia strives to live up to this expectation and becomes the Most Valuable Player of the family, the rock that holds it together.

Throughout her life, Mia’s actions are motivated by love for her family. This is often manifested by self-denial, though eventually Mia learns to express love through self-advocacy and self-care, as when Oliver and Betty depend on her surviving chronic kidney disease. As a teenager, Mia gives up soccer, a sport she loves, to help the family and support Cricket’s own soccer aspirations. Mia does so because she recognizes “the inextricable braid between love and sacrifice” (64). This is reinforced by her realization, in the wake of her mother’s death, that supporting others is her talent and that she sees Sacrifice as an Act of Love.

Mia’s adolescence is shaped by an internal identity crisis. The knowledge that Liz gave up a promising soccer career to give birth to her fills Mia with guilt: “The worst thing Mia ever did in her life was exist, and she’s been trying to make up for it ever since” (70). Her self-effacing behavior is partly a response to this guilt, at attempt to make up for Liz’s disappointments. However, the novel does not portray this as a tragedy, but as What the Pursuit of Greatness Requires. The personal dreams Mia sacrifices—attending Yale, for example—she eventually views as unimportant compared to what really makes life extraordinary: family, community, and love.

Mia’s grief over Liz’s death, her fear of becoming a mother without her own mother’s guidance, and her subsequent interactions with Liz’s spirit illustrate The Profound Bond Between Mothers, Daughters, and Sisters.

Liz Lowe is Mia and Cricket’s mother. With a larger than life personality and fascinating arc, she can almost claim protagonist status, but her function in the novel is to inform and shape her daughters’ stories as a parent and mentor.

The child of wealthy but aloof parents, Liz becomes a soccer phenomenon, endures a predatory relationship and teen pregnancy, sacrifices her soccer dream to be a mother, molds her daughters into strong and resilient women, tragically dies young , and remains as a spiritual presence in her daughters’ lives.

Liz approaches life with passion, determination, optimism, and boundless energy. She’s described as “young and beautiful and magnetic” and as a “go-getter with something to prove and a desire to learn” (41). These traits, which she passes on to her daughters, significantly develop the thematic portrayal of What the Pursuit of Greatness Requires. Liz’s pursuit of greatness—and its outcome—reinforces one of the lessons Mia and Cricket must learn: that greatness lies not in fame or accolades, but rather in overcoming adversity and loving unconditionally. Liz’s flaws—she’s always late, is superstitious, and rarely cries—make her complex without detracting from her sympathetic characterization. This allows readers to forgive her one real mistake: Her naivety about Q predatory nature leads her to keep a hurtful secret from her children until redeems herself by addressing conflict rather than avoiding it.

Liz is motivated by two main goals: fulfilling her unrealized dream of soccer stardom through her daughters; and being a loving, supportive mother who teachers her daughters how to harness their potential and achieve their own dreams. Liz is also driven by her unsuccessful efforts to gain her parents’ attention and affection. As a mother, she recognizes in Mia “what she’s yearned for all her life: the promise of unconditional love” (42). This recognition suggests Liz made the right choice when she gave up her planned soccer career to focus on raising her daughters, a fact that characterizes Sacrifice as an Act of Love.

Liz’s continued appearances to Mia and Cricket after her death demonstrates The Profound Bond Between Mothers, Daughters, and Sisters. The nature of her presence is somewhat ambiguous. Cricket stops seeing Liz after falling out with Mia, when she’s filled with guilt and shame. This suggests that Liz’s spirit is an aspect of the sisters’ psychological longing for her mother and a way for them to process their grief. Reunited at the end of the novel, Mia and Cricket both see Liz barefoot on the beach, symbolizing the newly reforged bonds of family. Liz’s spiritual appearances endorse the message that loved ones are never truly gone.

Oliver is Cricket’s soccer coach and later Mia’s husband. Chapters that focus on Cricket refer to him as Coach, while chapters that center Mia call him Oliver, emphasizing his dual roles in the sisters’ lives as mentor for one and romantic interest for the other. Oliver is portrayed as talented but humble, ambitious but fair, reliable, supportive, kind, inspiring, and good looking. Apart from his temporary resentment about coaching girls, Oliver is a fairly idealized character whose likability adds to the novel’s optimistic mood and avoids detracting from Mia and Cricket’s stories.

Oliver shares the Lowes’ passion for soccer. He’s motivated by the opportunity that coaching provides to recognize, cultivate, and encourage potential. In other words, he finds joy in inspiring others. As Cricket’s coach, he’s a reliable source of support off the field as well, showing up when she and Mia have to meet with a lawyer after Liz’s death or when they narrowly avoid a bad car crash. Oliver motivates Cricket and reinforces the attributes that help her succeed, including her drive and perseverance. He shapes her understanding of What the Pursuit of Greatness Requires by stressing the importance of responsibility and sacrifice.

Oliver functions as a foil to Q; unlike Liz’s predatory coach, Oliver is extremely concerned not to overstep the boundaries that being a coach places on relationships. He worries a romance with Mia will somehow betray the trust he’s established with Cricket, influenced by a reckoning against abuse that is occurring throughout women’s sports at the time. Oliver’s response demonstrates his sense of accountability and his respect for women. Oliver’s relationships with the Lowes and his insights into their relationships with each other help reveal The Profound Bond Between Mothers, Daughters, and Sisters. He’s supportive of Mia and Cricket as they grieve Liz’s death. Because he knew and admired Liz, he’s able to share the burden of their grief and help them process the loss by honoring Liz’s memory. Oliver also helps Mia recognize the need to forgive Cricket.

Sloane Jackson is a talented soccer player who becomes Cricket’s best friend and her competition for the starting goalkeeper position on the Women’s National Team. Their friendship is unique: It’s defined by an acknowledged rivalry and an agreement not only to remain friends despite that rivalry, but also to help each other improve as competitors. Sloane’s true intentions and her loyalty to the friendship aren’t always apparent, blurring the line between ally and antagonist. Ultimately she proves herself an ally and takes on the role of love interest for Cricket.

Sloane’s family wealth has given her significant advantages in her athletic success, which illuminates, by comparison, how hard Cricket has had to work to achieve her goals. Sloane is supremely confident, verging on arrogant, but she harbors insecurities that she expresses through passive-aggressive bullying like having Cricket sleep in her over-the-top, intimidating trophy room. Sloane can also be incredibly thoughtful, generous, and loyal; especially after gaining insight, through therapy, into the ways privilege and insecurity have caused her to hurt Cricket.

Sloane’s friendship and love are noteworthy for several reasons. As a source of competition, she pushes Cricket to be her best, thus helping her achieve her dreams. As someone who loves soccer as much as Cricket does and shares her drive, she helps Cricket feel seen and demonstrates the uniquely deep kind of bond that can be formed in team sports.