Character Analysis
Alex Arrington
Torey's BFF is full of spunk and clownish behavior, but is a supercomputer brainiac in disguise. Alex is pretty shallow and easily persuaded into thinking certain things, especially by gossip. He dates Renee (the school gossip) and readily believes that Torey has something to do with murdering Chris Creed despite, you know, supposedly being his good friend.
Bo Richardson
This kid is nuts, but is totally a big teddy bear. He looks out for everyone smaller or weaker than him, protects people, and tries to do good things. But he also mouths off to everyone, breaks into people's houses, slashes tires, and gets arrested a lot. He is Ali's boyfriend and is blamed for murdering Chris although he has nothing at all to do with his disappearance. And while Bo doesn't really change at all—he's still the same tough but loving guy at the end—he definitely helps open Torey's eyes to the value that social outcasts possess.
Dr. Fahdi
Torey's psychologist helps him make sense of the messed up stuff that happened to him, and also to overcome the effects of PTSD. He gets bonus points, too, for being the person who tells Torey to write down his story, which is pretty much the entirety of the book we just read.
Isabella (and her Psychic Aunt)
Isabella is Chris's made-up girlfriend. She does exist, and lives in Margate, but she was never as tight with Chris as he believed, and instead she just humored him because he seemed so needy. She is nineteen, artsy, weird, and smokes, and her aunt is the psychic that tells Torey about finding a dead body in the woods alone.
Leandra
Torey's girlfriend is h-o-t, but has an ice-cold mouth: she is a major gossip, and although she doesn't want to be mean, she undeniably is. Leandra goes to a super-conservative church, which only adds to the hypocrisy of how nasty she is to others. Though Torey tells her she is a hypocrite, Leandra only responds with anger, failing to look critically at herself and change.
Mr. and Mrs. Adams
Torey's mom is a lawyer, which comes in handy when Torey gets into trouble with the law, and she's also a patient parent who listens to her son, and is willing to help out Ali and Bo when they're in binds, too. Though she is wary of Bo at first, Mrs. Adams sees through his tough exterior quickly. For his part, Mr. Adams is in the background of the book, and is merely supportive but absent.
Mr. and Mrs. Creed
Mrs. Creed mother is basically a drill sergeant who just happens to have children, and the rigidness with which she runs her household is a big part of the reason Chris is long gone. She is so over-protective, controlling, unrealistic, and domineering that she gives Chris and his brothers no chance at developing any sense of identity without her in it. She is loud, commanding, passionate, and angry; refuses her sons any privacy; and also refuses to acknowledge that perhaps life was hard for Chris at school.
As for Mr. Creed, well, he just follows along, hanging in the background. He is a professor and is responsible for Chris's big vocabulary that kids tease him about, though he doesn't ever seem to bust out his academic chops to stand up for his kids.
Mrs. McDermott and Albert the Pig
Mrs. McDermott is Ali's mom, and man is she out of it. She's an addict, which clouds her judgment, prompting her to do things like sleep with lots of men and cheat on her husband. While Ali, Torey, and Greg are at the house one day, she has super loud sex with her new boyfriend, Albert, who wants them all to hear them, and while Torey just sits idly by, uncomfortable with the situation, when Bo shows up, he puts an end to this totally inappropriate behavior in no time. And when he does, something starts to shift in Torey.
Mrs. McDermott ends up going to a rehab center in Florida and leaving her kids with the Adamses, which causes some drama with Leandra, but also fosters a closeness between Torey and Ali that helps Torey abandon his mean-spirited popular friends in favor of the kinder outcasts.
Police Chief Bowen
This man is hardcore, but a little crooked. He is Renee's dad and has been an authority in town for a very long time. He likes Torey and wants him to lie about Bo making the call, especially since he cannot stand Bo because of Bo's open disrespect for him and the other officers. Bowen wants to find something to put Bo away on, some charge, and is rough with Bo. He also gets caught in an affair with Mrs. McDermott and beats Bo up when he finds out Bo told Renee about his indiscretion. Then he resigns his post and leaves his family.
Renee Bowen
Renee is a real witch in a non-magical sense. She is pretty heartless and gossips about everyone, even if they were her friend a week before (ahem, Torey). She is the Chief of Police's daughter, so when she decides to twist a joke Bo and Torey made about killing Creed into a "real" confession, she gets them into major trouble. Just walk away, Renee.
Reverend Harmon
This is Torey's pastor and the dude who tells him that Jesus being depicted in a loincloth isn't really a lie.
Ryan Bowen and the Kyle Twins
Ryan is a friend of Torey's, and Renee's brother. He and the twins show up every now and then, particularly as part of Torey's band, and then gossip or heckle Torey about his life. They are pretty flat characters, and basically just more teens to fill out the story.