Character Analysis
Alicia is the female love interest in Bobby's story, but that's not all she is. She's the person who gets him through his tough isolation, the one who understands what it's like to wake up one day and have your whole world change without your consent. After all, she's been through the same kind of shock.
Girl Interrupted
Alicia Van Dorn is living out her normal, popular girl life when she wakes up one day and finds that she's gone blind. She describes it to Bobby in the following way:
"…But in the morning… the morning was horrible. I knew I was awake, but it was like I was still asleep, or like I was lost inside this big dark… thing. But I knew I was home, in my own room. I could still hear the birds on the feeder outside, and I could feel the sun on my face at the window, feel the cold glass on my fingertips, but… I couldn't see anything." (13.40)
Because of this, Alicia feels like she's had to put her life on hold—and she resents it. She doesn't have the same social life that she used to, and all her dreams have been interrupted. She can't imagine going to college, getting a job, falling in love, or getting married… and these were things that she took for granted when she could see. Now her day-to-day life consists of listening to audio books, being stalked by her worried mother, and trying to make the best out of her new life.
Pent-up Anger
With such a bummer of a situation, it's no wonder that Alicia is constantly brimming with anger. She hates the fact that she's blind, and that people treat her differently because of her disability. In fact, she lashes out at Bobby quite a few times over it:
"Curious?" she says, and her right eyebrow lifts up. "You were curious about the little blind girl?" There's an edge to her voice. (10.26)
Alicia isn't angry at Bobby, per se—she's not even angry at her parents, although she lashes out at them, too—she's angry at the whole world and at her situation. She bristles when people mention her disability because it makes her feel vulnerable and different. Now that she doesn't have control over her own vision, Alicia takes control by keeping people at bay with her barbed words.
Bobby gently pushes through this barrier, though. When Alicia helps him with his covert mission at Sears, she thrills at how capable she feels afterward, how checked into her life. So though she freaks out when Bobby becomes visible again—it's got to be a little jarring for her since her sight definitely won't return—at the end, we think Alicia just might be ready to let him in her life for good anyway. She was there for him without missing a beat when he needed a friend most, and even though the world can see him again, he only has eyes for her.