Foil

Character Role Analysis

Billy Miller and Emma Sparks

At the beginning of the book, Billy and Emma can be pretty similar. They both tease one another and figure anything is fair game.

But by the end of the book, these two characters have taken seriously different paths. Emma still acts like a mean showoff, just like on day one. Yet it's as if Billy is a brand new kid. Instead of teasing Emma, he just keeps his angry thoughts to himself. And that comparison lets us know that one character has done a wee bit more growing than the other. (Hint: it's Billy.)