Who is Vanessa Angela O'Reilly from Impulse and what is their importance?

VAnessa O'Reilly (Impulse) is Tony's love interest in this book, even though at the beginning of the book Tony thinks he's gay. She has also had a hard life. Her father is a soldier fighting in Afghanistan and as a result is not there for her. Her mother is a schizophrenic. She and her mother live with her grandparents.

She meets a boy at her school, who lies to her so he can have sex with her. She attempts to hold on to him by getting pregnant. It does not work and she ends up getting an abortion. This pushes her over the edge.

Vanessa, herself, is suffering from biopolar disease. It is this that causes her to cut herself and attempt suicide. Once she enters the program at Aspen she realizes that this is a treatable condition. She begins to like herself again.