Alice “Lindy” Lindgren Blackwell

Alice Blackwell is the main character and narrator of this novel. She is the daughter of Dorothy and Phillip Lindgren and granddaughter of Emilie Lindgren. She is an only child who grew up with her parents and grandmother all living in the same house. Alice seems to be closer to her grandmother than either of her parents. It is her grandmother who instills in Alice her love of reading.

When she is a senior in high school, Alice has a car wreck in which a boy in her class, one on whom she has a crush, is killed. The wreck is Alice’s fault. She lives her life in an attempt to make up for this terrible accident. She believes that the good things that happen to her are a sign that she has been forgiven while the bad things are punishment for what she...