Elena Gilbert

Elena Gilbert, older sister to Margaret Gilbert, is a high school age girl in her final year at Robert E Lee High School. At the start of the book we discover that she is being looked after by her Aunt and her Aunt's long term fiancee Robert, because her parents died many years ago before the story begins. This early loss has led Elena to become a determined, resilient and self-supporting person, often willful and independent-minded compared to many of her friends.

Elena is the undisputed queen of her high school in competition with Caroline, being the Homecoming Queen for this new year and the most attractive girl in the school in her year group's eyes. At the start of the novel, she moves from being a selfish, immature girl at the height of her social powers to a more responsible young woman by the end of...