One Whole and Perfect Day Characters

From Jo March to Katniss Everdeen, plucky, individualistic young women going through some pretty weird social situations to learn lessons about their identities is a staple of young adult literatur...

Let's be real here: At the beginning of this book, we didn't like Pop very much. After all, he threatened his grandson with an ax and he's a raging racist. Plus, according to Jessaline, "Everyone i...

Poor Lonnie gets a pretty bad rap in this book from a lot of people. Lily calls him "hopeless" (1.5), Pop says he's a "loony" (5.42), and Marigold describes him as "fragile" (12.22). And in a way,...

Marigold, Lily's mom, works as a psychologist at a day care center for the elderly, which can't be an easy job. She has to break up a lot of fights between senile people who think it's still the 19...

Going to grandma's house always means flowery scents, good cooking, and fun family time, and that's what you get with Lily's Nan, May. Or almost, anyway. Lily describes her as "a picture-book grann...

Who? If you don't know Oliver offhand, it's cool—his name only shows up a few times in the book. But as Lily and Lonnie's father, he still plays a significant role in where his family has ended u...

When it comes to Lonnie Samson, Clara is truly the woman behind the man. If she hadn't caught up with Lonnie after his disastrous encounter with his lit professor and told him not to take it person...

One Whole and Perfect Day has some really sad stories of broken families, but Rose's is probably the most tragic of all. When she was just starting college at the same university as Clara, her pare...

Clara's dad, Charlie, spends most of this book not being the easiest guy for Clara and Rose to live with. He's cold, distant, and militant, causing both his wife and daughter to feel at odds with h...

Daniel Steadman is kind of like Troy Bolton from High School Musical—he's popular and sexy, not to mention the school's star thespian. He's also our protagonist's crush, which makes him pretty im...

Ever feel pressured to participate in a school activity, take a particular class, or even choose a college major because it's what your parents want you to do? That's exactly what Jessaline, Clara'...

One Whole and Perfect Day is packed with abandoned children. Pop has rejected Lonnie, Clara feels cast out by her father, Rose's parents died when she was young, and even Lily feels like her mother...

At first, we know Sef only as Nan's "made-up friend" (1.7), but actually, Sef was a real person, May's best friend and protector at the orphanage where she spent her childhood. Sef was two years ol...

Tracy Gilman, the queen bee of Lily's group of school friends, is kind of an Australian Regina George. She's snotty, prissy, and downright mean. Seriously, she tells Lily she smells "like the water...