Ashley Bennett

Ashley Bennett is the narrator and main character of the novel. She is 17 when the novel begins, and the final pages detail the events of her 18th birthday. Ashley spends the first 17 years of her life living an extremely sheltered existence. Her parents are extraordinarily wealthy and they have done everything they can to give Ashley the best possible life. She attends a prestigious private school, she lives in a mansion in the Los Angeles hills, and she never wants for anything.

She has three best friends who she has known since kindergarten: Courtney, Kimberly, and Heather. Although Kimberly is a mean girl who harbors racist sentiments, Ashley considers Kimberly her best friend. The girls do everything together and Ashley strives to feel like just one of the girls, but sometimes she feels uncomfortable around her friends because she is the only Black one.

Ashley loves her...