Content Warning: This section of the guide contains references to mental health conditions, terminal illnesses, death by suicide, teenage pregnancy, and sexual abuse.

Ben Wolf is the protagonist and first-person narrator of the novel. He is 18 years old and is just beginning his senior year at Trout High School in Trout, Idaho when he learns that he has a terminal blood disease. Ben’s one-year prognosis shocks him but also inspires his journey toward Self-Discovery and Personal Growth in the Face of Adversity. At heart, Ben is a strong-willed, determined, and empathetic character. His prognosis only amplifies these positive character traits and encourages him to engage with his life in a thoughtful manner.

Ben’s family and home life dictate the way that he sees and understands himself. His mom lives with bipolar disorder, which complicates his dad’s, his brother’s, and his own sense of stability. As the eldest child, Ben sees himself as the strong protector. He devotes himself to his mom’s well-being and always wants to make her feel better even when he knows that his efforts to comfort her might have no lasting effect. Ben has also “loved [his] brother [Cody Wolf] without condition or consideration for more than seventeen years” (264).