The Missing Half

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of sexual violence, rape, substance use, addiction, cursing, and death.

Nic is the protagonist and first-person point-of-view narrator of the novel. She is 24 years old and works at Funland, a local play and events center in Mishawaka, Indiana. Seven years ago, she lost her sister Kasey when it was believed that she was kidnapped. Since then, she has struggled to maintain a stable life and likely would have lost her job if not for her father’s best friend, Brad, who manages Funland.

Nic’s life is largely defined by the difficulties that she has faced since the disappearance of Kasey, exemplifying the theme of The Lasting Effects of Trauma and Grief. Even before Kasey’s disappearance, she misused alcohol, often partying and staying out all night as a teenager. Just before the events of the novel, she got a DWI, which has added financial stress to her life. Although she attends Alcoholics Anonymous as a part of her recovery, she relapses throughout the novel, often when she is upset or distressed by the facts of Kasey’s case. Over the course of the novel, Nic continues to grapple with the loss of her sister and a subsequent lack of direction in her life.