The Beasties has three principal characters: Doug, the narrator and the main character; Charlotte, Doug's sister; and Fingers, a member of the "family," that is, a beastie. Doug usually plays baseball and hangs out with his decidedly weird friend, Al. As his character evolves, it turns out that he has a strong family loyalty and feels responsible for his sister's welfare; it also turns out that he is none-toobright and perhaps not well read enough ("I didn't read much," he says) to write the narrative with which he is credited. Furthermore, he screams too much, punctuating many scenes with his shrieks.

According to Doug, "Colette spent a lot of time alone reading, and she was pretty gullible." He is fifteen years old, and she is ten years old, and typical of many such older brothers he not only feels protective of his younger sister...