Vee Sky

Character Analysis

Vee is Nora's BFF. The two are so close that Nora says, "there is an invisible thread that ties us together; both of us swear that tie began long before birth. Both of us swear it will continue to hold for the rest of our lives" (1.22). While that description would suggest it's all friendship bracelets and skipping through meadows hand-in-hand, Nora and Vee's friendship is actually tested and transformed by the events of the book.

Blonds Have More Fun

Nora and Vee are the "opposites attract" kind of friends. In fact, Nora calls Vee her "un-twin" (1.22) because they are opposites in so many ways. While Nora is a tight-laced and straight-edged brunette, Vee is a more outgoing, fun-loving, devil-may-care, walking, talking example of a blond having more fun.

Without Vee, we get the sense that Nora would be holed up in the library or at home studying 24/7. The crazier ideas in the book—such as sneaking into the school office to get a look at Patch's confidential record and dressing in disguise to get information about Patch from his coworkers—are Vee's. They're dumb ideas that bring drama; however, they also bring excitement to Nora's otherwise uptight existence.

Betrayal

As fun as Vee is, she's a bit reckless and selfish, and she allows her entertainment-seeking side to get in the way of common sense and good judgment, even to the point of compromising her and Nora's safety. For example, Vee thinks going on a camping trip with Jules and Elliot over spring break sounds like a great idea, even when Nora tells Vee that she has a bad feeling about these two and that Elliot has physically threatened her. Check out Vee's super casual response:

"What do you mean he 'physically' threatened?"

"He dragged me out of the front door and shoved me against the house."

"But he was drunk, right?"

"Does it matter?" [Nora] snapped. (20.40-43)

Um, Vee? If a guy physically or verbally assaults your best friend, you don't stick up for him. Sisters before misters, yo. Continuing to hang out with Elliot and Jules even after this incident is a pretty big violation of the girl code and it leads to some pretty legit strain on Vee and Nora's friendship.

To be totally fair to Vee, she is under Jules's influence, and he has very strong powers of manipulation. However, the fact that Vee can be so easily manipulated to turn on her friend suggests weak moral character.

We get proof that Vee is made of weaker stuff than Nora in the book's climax. When Nora, Vee, Jules, Elliot, and Patch are all locked in the school, Nora finds Vee so they can both escape. When the two girls encounter Jules in a hallway, Nora tells Vee to run and call the police, leaving her behind.

Yes, someone needs to go call for help, but Vee jumps at the opportunity to escape immediately, without even the tiniest protest against leaving Nora alone in an obviously dangerous situation: "Vee dropped my hand and ran. Her footsteps faded depressingly fast" (29.31). We totally get that Vee is scared out of her mind, but we also can't help but notice that she readily abandons her best friend in a moment of mortal danger.

BFFUBGITW (Best Friends Forever Unless Boys Get In The Way)

Vee apologizes sincerely at the end of the novel, but there is the sense that Nora and Vee's friendship will never quite be the same. Nora even thinks to herself

This is where it got sticky. Vee was my best friend, and we lived by the motto No Secrets. But some things are just impossible to explain. The fact that Patch was a fallen-turned-guardian angel topped the list. Directly below it was the fact that I'd jumped off a rafter and died, but was still alive today. (30.66)

It seems that Patch is now center stage in Nora's life instead of Vee. Like Vee, Nora is also guilty of putting a guy first, even though her situation with Patch and her feelings for him are more complicated than Vee's feelings for Jules ever were.