Zachary Barlow is the protagonist. The novel is told through his limited third-person perspective. He has brown-black hair the color of “burnt-toast,” like his father. At 12 years old, he still plays with action figures, a fact that his father looks down upon. Zach is highly self-conscious about his hobbies. He believes that if people at school knew how he spends his time, they’d bully him.

Through Zach, Black explores The Transition From Childhood to Adolescence. Zach is fearful of change. He’s recently had a growth spurt and has “almost reached his father’s height, with hands so big that catching a basketball was a lot easier and legs so long that he could jump nearly high enough to touch the net” (20). Last year, he struggled to keep up on the court; this year, he leads it. At school, his male peers treat him with newfound respect, and the girls, including Alice, giggle and whisper as he passes. However, Black shows how one’s external appearance doesn’t necessarily match with what’s inside. Zach, though popular and desired, wishes that things could go back to how they used to be.