Bettina Ballentyne

When the novel opens, Bettina Ballentyne is a ten-year-old girl. She is the daughter of a chocolate heiress, Babs Ballentyne, of Ballentyne Chocolate. Bettina describes herself as being thin, but not a pretty child and she doesn't have good hair. Bettina considers herself the direct opposite of her mother.

Bettina is continuously looking for her mother's approval throughout the novel. She never knows what kind of mood Babs is going to be in, so Bettina always seems to be walking on eggshells. Bettina tends to act the way she thinks her mother wants her to act rather than trying to be her own person.

Even after Bettina inherits all of her mother's money, she chooses to live as if she is not a millionaire. While she does use the money to buy and decorate an apartment when she is an adult, Bettina also takes on a low-paying...