Nyle Sumner

The main character, Nyle, is a thirteen-year-old girl who is orphaned and living with her grandmother on a sheep farm just outside of what used to be Cookshire. Nyle describes herself as "thorny," but she is also wise. In the first controversy with Ripley Powers and his dog, Tyrus, Ripley warns Nyle to back off her anger after Tyrus kills one of her ewes. Nyle knows that it is best to cool down and not "mess with the likes of Ripley Powers" because he is too big and too strong. Despite knowing better, Nyle is tempted to fight him, but her friend Muncie pulls her back. Nyle realizes that it is probably best not to fight.

When Nyle allows herself to remember her father, the reader learns why she and her mother came to live with Nyle's grandparents. Nyle comments that her father was the first to...