The Intruder

Eleanor is one of the novel’s primary characters. She later informs Casey that she goes by the nickname Nell, but Casey primarily refers to her as Eleanor throughout the narrative. Eleanor is the mysterious intruder who appears at Casey’s cabin at the start of the novel. Her character is a literary device (and genre trope) used to incite narrative conflict and mystery. Because Casey does not know who she is or where she came from—Eleanor refuses to answer the majority of her questions—Eleanor remains an enigma throughout much of the novel.

Furthermore, Eleanor poses a threat to Casey’s well-being because everything about her is unsettling or concerning. Her clothes are covered in blood, and her backpack is dripping blood. She is carrying a knife she won’t let go of even while eating. She tells Casey a threatening story wherein she suggests murdering Casey. She takes Casey’s gun and ties Casey up. She also has a notebook filled with sketches of mutilated women on her person. These behaviors make Eleanor a figure of danger and intensify the narrative mood while Casey waits out the storm.

Eleanor’s character subverts the mysterious intruder trope because she is a child. Everything about Eleanor tells Casey that she should fear her. However, she is emaciated, covered in bruises and scars, and scared to sleep alone. These aspects of her character cast her as a scared innocent in need of guidance and care. Casey lets her into her house and agrees to spend time with her because she feels responsible for Eleanor’s safety. She tries gaining her trust so she can help the police find her parents and tends to her injuries while considering how she might place a call to child protective services. Eleanor thus defies the model intruder, as she is a lost, lonely, and hurting child.

Eleanor is a dynamic character because she changes as a result of her relationships with Casey and Lee. She is reluctant to trust Casey throughout the novel but eventually comes to rely on her. She initially sees Lee as the cause of all her pain but later accepts him as her new father figure. With Casey’s and Lee’s help, Eleanor starts to confront the trauma she suffered at her mother Jolene’s hand. Her abusive circumstances closely resemble Casey’s, which makes Casey the ultimate archetypal guide for her. Eleanor ends up staying in the woods with her found family and starting her life over again.

Anton Peterson is another of the novel’s primary characters. He features heavily in Ella’s chapters. In the early portions of Ella’s storyline, Anton is an antagonist. He bullies Ella like all of their peers, particularly berating her for looking dirty and smelling bad. Ella sees him as a troublemaker—often encountering him in the principal’s office—but tries her best to ignore his jabs. One day, she saves him from another bully named Devin, and the two become fast friends thereafter.

Anton is a complex character. He initially appears to be a one-dimensional bully with no capacity for sympathy. After Ella saves him from Devin in the park, Anton reveals himself to be sympathetic and capable of change. He apologizes for hurting Ella and doesn’t judge her when she agrees to let him into her house to clean up after the fight. He opens up about his own abusive father and invites her to his house. The two start spending all of their time together and develop a close connection. Anton falls for Ella because she is smart, pretty, and gutsy. She refuses to let other people undermine her and has a soft spot for Anton.

Anton and Ella help one another through the difficulties of Navigating the Effects of Psychological Trauma. Because Ella has come to rely on Anton for emotional stability, she is devastated when he is sent to juvenile detention for attacking their classmate Brittany Carter. Anton was her only friend, and without him, she has no one. The narrative later reveals that the two maintain contact via letter-writing but eventually fall out of touch.

Anton’s character resurfaces in the Epilogue. In yet another plot twist, the narrative reveals that Anton is in fact Eleanor’s biological father. Years after he and Ella were friends, Anton killed his abusive father and was incarcerated. He remains in prison in the narrative present but has requested that his brother Brad (now going by the name Lee Traynor) tell everyone that he’s dead. Lee keeps his promise and does not tell Eleanor her father is alive, nor does he tell Casey that her childhood friend has tasked him with looking out for her. Anton and Ella (now going by the name Casey) don’t get a happy ending, but Anton’s desire to care for Ella withstands the test of time.

Desiree is a secondary character. She is Ella’s mom, and thus Casey’s mom, too. She is another of the novel’s antagonists. Throughout Ella’s chapters, Desiree neglects, berates, and abuses her daughter. She is a person who hoards; her mental illness precludes her from maintaining a healthy and orderly home life or caring for Ella. She is also an unhappy character whose dissatisfaction manifests as aggression and violence. She punishes Ella for minor missteps by burning her arms with cigarettes or filling her room with rotten trash. She also has a habit of locking Ella in a closet when she goes out on dates.

Her behavior creates a dangerous environment for her daughter. Ella becomes so entrapped by her mother’s abuse that she ends up killing her in a house fire. In the narrative present, Ella (now going by the name Casey) admits that she regrets her crime because she could have asked for help. At the same time, she still has no tolerance for child abusers, which is why she takes justice into her own hands and kills Jolene on Eleanor’s behalf.