Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Cassie Sullivan

First things first: we see the world through Cassie's eyes for more than half of the book. There's a strong sense that the entire world revolves around this sixteen-year-old girl. (For that reason, if we had to choose just one protagonist, it would be her instead of Ben.) Evan Walker, who is an alien, fell in love with Cassie. We don't yet know if their relationship will be enough to save humanity, but it certainly plops her in the center of all the action.

Ben "Zombie" Parish

As readers, we flit back and forth between Cassie and Ben's points of view. Ben spends most of the book training on a military base that is secretly controlled by aliens. As the head soldier in their child army, he's a VID (very important dude).

Once he figures out their deception, he remains a hero because he goes back to the base to save Sammy, who's like a brother to him. It's worth noting, however, is that Cassie went to rescue Sammy too—and she got there first.