Protagonist

Character Role Analysis

Cadence Sinclair Eastman

Cadence starts and ends the book talking about herself, and the events that unfold are her story. She takes us inside her head—literally—by telling us about her migraines, and that they're the result of an accident. What was the accident? Well, that's the plot.

Before we learn the truth, though, we learn just how bad the physical pain is. Among the descriptions of her headaches is this passage: "A giant wields a rusty saw. He gloats and hums as he works, slicing through my forehead and into the mind behind it" (41.1). Yeah, Cadence's head isn't a very nice place to be—but at the same time, we definitely want to know what how it got that way.