Character Analysis
Mercy Falls 90210
Blonde curls. Killer shoes. A handbag Chihuahua. Isabel Culpeper is the Paris Hilton of Mercy Falls. However, Isabel didn't get to be queen of her high school on looks alone. Sam makes a good observation when he says, “You didn't claw your way to the top of the high school food chain without being able to read people” (43.68). While she might be able to play a bimbo on TV, Isabel is smart, resourceful, and loyal to her family.
Isabel has an image to uphold. She hides the fact that she cares behind smart-ass humor and sarcasm. (Not that we have any idea what that's like...) She utters one of the funniest lines in the book, saying “If [Sam's] turned into a wolf […] and he rips my face off, I'm having my family sue you” (50.55). But when she does find Sam, she drops everything to save his life. Face it, Isabel. You care.
She is entirely driven by trying to save her brother, Jack, who has been turned into a werewolf. One of the reasons she's so dedicated to him is that, well, no one else is. Her father would shoot him and her mother is “medicated out the wazoo” (43.84). This might be why she and Grace bond at the end of the book. They both have checked-out parents and they’ve both lost a loved one. We have to wonder if their friendship will keep going once Sam comes back into Grace's life.