Ariel

Ariel Pearson (also known as Casey Baxter) is one of two narrators in the novel. Tall, thin, and pretty, seventeen year-old Ariel is very kind and compassionate despite her difficult relationship with her father, Mark. Having been on the road since she was three, she is always seeking to please her father. By pleasing him, she avoids his wrath.

Ariel is seeking her own identity. Life becomes even more complicated when Ariel is attracted to a boy named Gabe and her friend, Monica. Ariel spends much of the novel wondering if she is a lesbian.

When Maya (Ariel's mother) enters Ariel’s life after fifteen years of being absent, Ariel is stunned because she has been manipulated by her father into believing that Maya never cared about her. In reality, Ariel's father kidnapped Ariel all those years ago. He and Ariel have lived life on the run to...