Character Analysis
The world of Why We Broke Up is one in which adults only barely exist. The one who's most fleshed out is Min's mother, who occasionally makes an appearance so Min can be annoyed with her. She's a "snoop for [Min's] secrets" (2.1), according to Min, but it seems as though Min actually has a lot of autonomy, given that she leaves home early and stays out late with relative impunity. While Min thinks parents just don't understand, her mother seems to have pretty good intuition: She knows Min is going to sleep with Ed before Min even makes a conscious decision.
Ed and Joan Slaterton's mother has even less of a presence; she's only ever mentioned as a way to note her absence. Ed never really goes into details, but his mother is clearly sick with something serious. She's always behind closed doors or off at a place Ed refers to obliquely as the Center, presumably to receive some sort of treatment.
Min and Ed both live in a world of absent fathers. The only adult male worth noting is Ambrose, the guy who runs Willows, the flower shop that's the scene of Ed and Min's final showdown. Like every other adult in the novel, his character is so flat as to be almost non-existent, except for the fact that he inadvertently delivers two stinging revelations: Ed has been cheating on Min, and Lottie Carson is dead.