Liz Buxbaum is the 17-year-old protagonist of the novel. She has curly red hair and is idealistic. She has a strong sense of fashion influenced by her mother, who she describes as similar to Doris Day. Liz has developed her mother’s sensibility into her own vintage style which others tease her for. After losing her mother at a young age, she cherishes their short time together, which was typically spent watching and obsessing over romantic movies. She believes that by keeping these romantic values alive, she is keeping her mother close to her.

This is mainly why she denies her growing feeling for Wes. She believes Wes is not the kind of guy her mother would want her to fall in love with. Instead, Liz believes her mother would want her to be with someone like Michael. Liz also tries to keep the memory of her mother alive by keeping her stepmother, Helena, at a distance. Helena is beautiful, funny, and cool, and although Liz likes her, she initially finds it difficult to truly bond with Helena. She feels that she would be betraying her mother if she were to do traditional mother-daughter things with Helena, like shopping for prom dresses.