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1'''Warning: Unmarked spoilers ahead!'''
2
3[[foldercontrol]]
4
5!Students
6
7[[folder:Melinda Sordino]]
8!Melinda Sordino
9The protagonist, a high school freshman who's been branded as a social outcast due to calling the police during a party in the summer where she had been raped.
10------
11* AuthorAvatar: As the novel was based on Creator/LaurieAnderson's personal experiences of having been raped as a teenager and the trauma she faced, Melinda is naturally this.
12* BreakTheCutie: Starts off already broken and much of the story is dedicated to her attempts at recovering.
13* BrokenBird: She was once a cheerful and sociable straight-B student before the rape. Afterward, she becomes withdrawn and miserable, her academic performance suffering as a result. Making it worse is that she refuses to fully acknowledge what has happened to her due to her guilt.
14* TheCassandra: When she tries to tell her former friend Rachel about Andy's sinister intentions, Rachel [[CassandraTruth doesn't believe her]].
15* CharacterDevelopment: Over the course of the book, Melinda eventually finds the strength to open up, reveal her dark secret, accept what has happened to her, and is slowly able to start recovering from her trauma.
16* DeadpanSnarker: Very much so.
17** StepfordSnarker: A large part of her dark sarcasm stems from her emotional pain and trauma.
18* GoodVictimsBadVictims: A self-inflicted example. Part of what hampers Melinda's ability to recover and move on is her refusal to fully acknowledge what happened to her on that fateful night because she blames herself for not being able to see straight away that Andy was taking advantage of her (never mind that she was barely 14 years old at the time and was [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy more than a bit tipsy]] on top of that).
19* NiceGirl: Despite her prickly demeanor, Melinda is ultimately a compassionate person.
20* PerpetualFrowner: She pretty much never smiles. Understandable given her circumstances.
21* TheQuietOne: After the rape, she becomes withdrawn and barely speaks to anyone.
22* SelfHarm: Her lip-biting. In a few instances, she makes herself bleed doing this. She also marks up her arms a few times.
23* TheStoic: Big time, to the point of seeing how long she can go without speaking.
24* TroubledTeen: Starts off 9th grade depressed and angry, outcast from her peers due to calling the cops at a WildTeenParty, and soon enough, stops speaking entirely. It's later revealed she was raped at that same party.
25* WithFriendsLikeThese: Rachel abandoned her after she called the police to the end of summer party. Heather also takes advantage of Melinda's talents in order to get noticed by the popular clique of girls, and ultimately drops her like a hot potato when she had reached her goal.
26[[/folder]]
27
28[[folder:Andy Evans]]
29!Andy Evans
30Melinda's rapist, a popular jock at Merryweather High.
31----
32* BigBad: Being Melinda's rapist and a serial sexual predator.
33* DirtyCoward: He only goes after girls he thinks can't defend themselves. When he's caught in the act by a group of athletes who can certainly overpower him, he becomes a pleading wreck. He also has no idea how to react as soon as Melinda shows the ability to fight back against him.
34* EvilIsPetty: He will occasionally taunt girls he assaulted in the hallway.
35* EyeScream: In the movie, Melinda fights him off in the finale by throwing paint cleaner in his eyes.
36* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon: He's a good looking athlete with male model features and a reprehensible sexual predator.
37* FauxAffablyEvil: Puts on the front of a BigManOnCampus to hide his sinister intentions.
38* ForTheEvulz: He clearly enjoys the fear that he instills into Melinda as she has to see him every day, making it his goal of reminding her about what he had done to her.
39* HandsomeLech: Notorious for sleeping around with several girls. However, the further that we get into the novel, it is revealed that he is not just that.
40* HateSink: He's an unrepentant predator who takes advantage of his good looks and superficial charm to get what he wants while escaping culpability.
41* InsaneTrollLogic: In the climax, when he corners Melinda in the janitor's closet, Andy tries to claim that all of the other girls he had assaulted and/or harassed were practically asking for it, so, therefore, he is not a rapist. This is sadly truth in television and how many real-life rapists and predators justify their actions.
42* ItsAllAboutMe: He isn't happy when Rachel calls him out as a predator in front of everyone during prom and claims that he could get any girl he wants to sleep with him willingly as a feeble attempt at dispelling Melinda's accusations.
43* JerkJock: A ''very'' dark example.
44* KarmaHoudini: Downplayed. It's revealed in the sequel ''Catalyst'' that while at most he got a slap on the wrist (and no jail time) for what he had done to Melinda as well as to other girls, he was still made to register as a sex offender and the assault is permanently on his record, and everyone knows about what he's done to his victims, so he didn't get off ''completely'' scot-free.
45* LackOfEmpathy: He never expresses even the slightest remorse for his crimes or gives an impression that he sees the women he goes after as anything more than existing for his pleasure.
46* NeverMyFault: He attacks Melinda for ruining his reputation. He never considers if maybe it was his own fault for, you know, being a rapist.
47* PaperTiger: Despite being an athlete and in good shape, he's totally useless in a fight against anyone who can defend themselves against him.
48* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: While there are plenty of bullies and other assorted jerks at Merryweather High, he's the worst of the bunch. Indeed, when Rachel publicly called him out for his predatory behavior at the prom in full view of several people, that was the first blow to his reputation.
49* {{Sadist}}: He enjoys sexually assaulting girls and tormenting them afterwards.
50* SerialRapist: The BathroomStallGraffiti in the girls' restroom reveals that Melinda wasn't Andy's first victim, nor would she have been the last.
51* SlasherSmile: Sported one while raping Melinda at the party.
52* TheSociopath: He starts off as seemingly just another typical JerkJock who bullies Melinda for no apparent reason, but it is later revealed that he had a prolific history of sexually assaulting and raping high school girls, and refuses to view it as rape rather instead attempting to convince himself that he was free to have any girl he wanted. It’s heavily implied that he has a full-blown addiction to rape and assault, to the point where he’s incapable of interacting with girls in a non-sexual way. He also uses his superficial charm to get away with it and has absolutely no remorse nor does he even think what he's done is wrong, convincing himself that they wanted it and acting like ''he's'' the victim when Melinda exposes his true nature.
53* TeensAreMonsters: While most of the adolescents bully Melinda, Andy is ultimately the worst that the school has to offer.
54* VillainousBreakdown: Angrily confronts Melinda in the janitor's closet and attempts to rape her again out of revenge for ruining his reputation.
55[[/folder]]
56
57[[folder:Heather]]
58!Heather
59The new girl at school who befriends Melinda briefly.
60---------
61* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: She wanted to be part of the popular clique, but when she gets her wish, it turns out it wasn't as great as she thought it would be.
62* BitchInSheepsClothing: She seems like a friendly person, but is really a manipulative and self-serving backstabber.
63* TheBGrade: Her grades slip to B's when she's stuck having to do all the menial "gopher" jobs for the Marthas.
64* EntitledBitch: Despite dropping Melinda the moment things were looking up for her, Heather ''still'' felt that Melinda would help her with the prom decorations by trying to appeal to her friendship with her. Needless to say, Melinda refuses.
65* FalseFriend: While it was never that genuine to begin with and only came about due to convenient circumstances, she initially began as Melinda's only friend due to being the new girl at school (and thus, had no knowledge of the police call Melinda made), but she had bigger aspirations. When the opportunity to become part of a more popular clique reared its head, she jumps at the chance and severs her ties with Melinda.
66* KickTheDog: To permanently break off her friendship with Melinda once she's gotten in with the Marthas, she gives back the friendship necklace that Melinda got her, inside a Valentine's Day card.
67-->'''Card:''' Thanks for understanding. You're the sweetest! Good luck!!!
68* LaserGuidedKarma: Ditching Melinda as soon as The Marthas invite her to join their clique comes back to bite her in the ass when she's assigned to do the decorations for the upcoming prom and due to extenuating circumstances, has no one around to help. She tries to get Melinda on board, but Melinda refuses to help her, thus leaving Heather alone to do the decorating. Unsurprisingly, she does a terrible job with the decorations, leading to her being kicked out of the clique and subsequently taking Melinda's place on the social ladder of being the most hated student at school.
69* NewTransferStudent: She's the new girl at Merryweather High.
70* SocialClimber: Wants to be popular and cool.
71* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Disappeared from the final chapter of the novel, most due to her hiding out at home to avoid getting torn apart by her schoolmates for the embarrassingly bad job she did at the prom decorations.
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Rachel Bruin]]
75!Rachel Bruin
76Melinda's former best friend.
77-----
78* AmbiguousSituation: While the epilogue reveals that Rachel called and left Melinda a message to apologize to her, it is uncertain as to whether or not Melinda would forgive her, let alone on whether or not they can rekindle their friendship.
79* DoNotCallMePaul: Tries to change her name to "Rachelle" because it sounds more sophisticated.
80* FalseFriend: Knew Melinda for years, only to disassociate herself with her when Melinda called the police.
81* ForeignCultureFetish: Once high school starts, she hangs out with the European exchange students, tries to speak French more (as well as being shown planning out a trip to Paris for summer vacation), and starts going out with a boy from Portugal after breaking up with Andy.
82* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: She has this when she realizes that Melinda was telling the truth when Andy makes her uncomfortable with his hot and heavy behavior at the prom.
83* TookALevelInJerkass: Once high school starts and she begins hanging out with the European exchange students, she becomes arrogant and insufferable. Ivy even disparagingly calls her a bitch while venting about her to Melinda.
84[[/folder]]
85
86[[folder:Ivy]]
87Another former friend of Melinda's who joined the artists' clique.
88------------
89* AmbiguousSituation: It's not clear exactly what her relationship with Melinda was before the fateful party, especially since she wasn't there when Melinda called the police, as it's not spelled out if she was avoiding Melinda because she's unpopular or if they were friends and drifted apart. Given the friendly interactions that she has with Melinda later on, as well as her distaste for Rachel's increasingly haughty attitude, it's possibly the former.
90* MeaningfulAppearance: Wears multiple colored Sharpies in her bun as a reflection of her artistic personality.
91* NiceGirl: As we find out later on.
92* TrueCompanions: Later in the story, when she and Melinda begin genuinely rebuilding their friendship, especially in comparison to Melinda's relationships with [[WeUsedToBeFriends Rachel]] and [[FalseFriend Heather]].
93[[/folder]]
94
95[[folder:Nicole]]
96Another former member of Melinda's old clique of friends, the Plain Janes, who became a jock.
97------------
98* AmbiguousSituation: Like Ivy, it isn't really clear as to whether she was avoiding Melinda because the latter is a social outcast or if she was avoiding her due to being wrapped up in her own life.
99* BigDamnHeroes: Is the one to break the closet door down with her teammates to find Andy trying to rape Melinda in the climax.
100* DefeatMeansFriendship: A downplayed example during her and Melinda's tennis match - although Melinda lost, it was a close game and Melinda earns Nicole's respect as a result.
101* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: She seems to be admired by other girls for her athletic prowess.
102* LovableJock: Is a tough and competitive athlete, but is otherwise a good person.
103* OddFriendship: The best way to describe her friendship with Melinda later on.
104* PassionateSportsGirl: She's good at sports, displaying a talent for tennis and lacrosse.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:David Petrakis]]
108!David Petrakis
109Melinda's classmate and lab partner. He's one of the few people that don't ostracize her.
110-------
111* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's a nice guy but he's hardly a doormat. When Mr. Neck goes off on a xenophobic rant in the middle of class, David is among those who are not afraid to stand up against this.
112* ImpliedLoveInterest: Vaguely implied. It's more prominent in the book, with [[ShipTease a few cute moments]] on Valentine's Day and a mention that David watches her when he thinks she doesn't notice. For rather understandable reasons, though, it never really goes anywhere beyond a friendship.
113* NiceGuy: He's one of the few people who are actually nice to Melinda from the start and doesn't care about what happened at the party.
114* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Gives Melinda a pep-talk after her attempt to get some extra credit in Social Studies class goes badly, encouraging her to speak up for herself.
115[[/folder]]
116
117[[folder:The Marthas]]
118!The Marthas
119A group of girls at Melinda's school who follow everything related to Martha Stewart. The three senior members are named Meg, Emily, and Siobhan. Heather joins them later on but quickly sees that membership isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
120-----
121* {{Alpha Bitch}}es: They're pretty popular but are not very nice.
122* BitchInSheepsClothing: The way Melinda perceives them. Going by their treatment of Heather, she wasn't entirely off the mark, as they appear nice, friendly, and charitable, but are actually pretty mean.
123* GirlPosse: An all-female clique of rich girls.
124* VillainWithGoodPublicity: They are all pretty catty and cruel but their charity work and helping out on projects gives them a good image.
125[[/folder]]
126
127!Adults
128[[folder:Mr. Freeman]]
129!Mr. Freeman
130Melinda's dramatic and eccentric art teacher.
131----------
132* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Downplayed but he's quite eccentric.
133* CoolTeacher: For the most part, he plays this role to Melinda, as he lets her be herself in his class, but, generally, he regards his students as people and so treats them as such.
134* TheConfidant: To Melinda, later on.
135* HippieTeacher: This is more apparent in the movie but the way he teaches his class makes him this.
136* NiceGuy: Without a doubt, as he's one of the few teachers that genuinely get through to Melinda.
137* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Some art teachers (and students) might be put off by Melinda's art projects but he's more accepting and patient with her, encouraging her to open up and letting her trauma out.
138[[/folder]]
139
140[[folder:Mr. Neck]]
141!Mr. Neck
142Melinda's history and social studies teacher.
143--------
144* {{Jerkass}}: Less so than the other characters but he's one for his politics and how he teaches his class.
145* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He expresses sincere concern for Melinda after Andy's second attack, showing he's not totally heartless.
146* PetTheDog: Despite their adversarial relationship, he expresses genuine concern for Melinda in the finale, even using her first name for the first time in the film.
147* PoliticallyMotivatedTeacher: Much of his lessons tend to involve some of his own personal politics and biases. It's clear he doesn't much care for immigration and he's quick to shoe-horn them into his lessons.
148* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: "Villain" may be putting it on strong, but his xenophobic viewpoints are hardly savory.
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Hairwoman]]
152!Hairwoman
153Melinda's English teacher whose hair covers her face.
154--------
155* CoolTeacher: She tries to be this but she fails and her students find her boring or annoying at best.
156* EyesOutOfSight: It can be inferred that she has these, as the reason she's called "Hairwoman" is that her hair covers her face.
157* TheFaceless: Well, she has a face, her hair just covers it.
158* ImportantHaircut: In the chapter aptly titled "Hairwoman No More", she cuts it short and gets new glasses as well. Melinda even wonders if she had some big lifestyle change to prompt this.
159* NoNameGiven: She's only called "Hairwoman".
160* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotDidactic: InUniverse, she is obsessed with every little possible symbol that can be found in ''Literature/TheScarletLetter''.
161[[/folder]]
162
163[[folder:Ms Keen]]
164!Ms. Keen
165Melinda's Biology teacher.
166--------
167* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: In the sense that she's one of the few teachers that get through to Melinda, though not directly.
168[[/folder]]
169
170[[folder:Principal Principal]]
171The principal of Melinda's school
172-------
173* AdultsAreUseless: He means well but is clueless as to how to reach out and help his students.
174* NoNameGiven: His first name isn't said and we can assume "Principal" is his last name.
175[[/folder]]
176
177[[folder:The Guidance Counselor]]
178The guidance counselor who tries to help Melinda with her trauma.
179-------
180* AdultsAreUseless: Downplayed. She can see that something is wrong with Melinda, but because she's a guidance counselor and not a therapist, she can't really be effective.
181* NoNameGiven: She's referred to by her job title.
182* NotQuiteTheRightThing: She tries to help and can see that something is seriously troubling Melinda, but she doesn't quite have the ability to help a student with problems like Melinda's.
183[[/folder]]
184
185[[folder:Mom and Dad]]
186Melinda's parents.
187------
188* AdultsAreUseless: PlayedWith - Melinda certainly seems to think so, as they haven't gotten their daughter any help since her rape and Mom thinks that Melinda's behavior is a cry for ''attention'', not necessarily ''help'', while Dad sort of gets the idea. However, their "uselessness" is also kind of justified if only because Melinda never told them what happened.
189* AwfulWeddedLife: Their marriage isn't a happy one, however, this is mostly due to the strain of not knowing how to help their daughter and the differing natures of their jobs. As Melinda [[HealTheCutie starts to slowly improve and come to grips with her problems]], the strain comes off a bit and their relationship seems to get better.
190* ParentsAsPeople: They do care about their daughter but, due to their obliviousness, they don't really see that Melinda needs help.
191* UnnamedParent: Besides their last name, their first names aren't given. In the movie, the mother is named Joyce and supplementary materials name the father Jack.
192* WhenYouComingHomeDad: Mom works a lot and is often busy at her job managing a clothing store, while Dad sells insurance and has a somewhat more flexible schedule.
193[[/folder]]

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