Hattie is a shy, quiet, skinny girl on the verge of turning 12. Adults describe Hattie as “responsible” and “industrious,” and Hattie is a great help around the boardinghouse: cooking, cleaning, and serving elderly Miss Hagerty’s breakfast. Hattie even helps the shopkeepers of her beloved small town. Summer is Hattie’s favorite time of the year because she can fill her days with the safe, familiar routines she loves and not worry about socially stressful situations like public speaking or dealing with mean girls like Nancy and Janet. Hattie spends her time painting with her dad, chatting with Miss Hagerty, reading her library books, and taking her daily walk into town. Hattie is content to watch the world go by from her front porch.

But sometimes Hattie gets lonely. Until Adam and Leila come into her life, Hattie only has one friend her own age—Betsy. Hattie identifies with Adam’s social awkwardness and sense of difference. She feels that she, like Adam, is “a visiting alien” (58) in the world. Hattie worries, in fact, that she is a little too much like Adam. She thinks she knows Adam’s thoughts and desires. Thanks to Hattie’s empathetic, perceptive nature, she is one of the few characters who takes Adam seriously and interacts with him authentically.