Turner is the novel’s 13-year-old protagonist. Schmidt to explores coming-of-age issues through Turner as he grapples with the expectations placed on him by others, which are often at odds with what he believes to be right and authentic. For example, in his early fistfight with Willis Hurd, Turner reflects that “he had enjoyed hitting Willis, minister’s son or not” (28). The tension between what is expected of Turner as the son of a pastor and what he thinks, feels, and believes is a key component of Schmidt’s book. This tension is summarized with Turner’s wry observation that “I am not my own […] but belong body and soul to every parishioner in Phippsburg who might have a word to say about me to my father” (42). This struggle between what authority figures demand and Turner’s own identity is a common theme in coming-of-age stories.

One of the ways that Turner undergoes change or transformation—known as a character arc––is his initial desire to “light out for the Territories” (8, 15, 41, 56) being replaced by a desire to make Phippsburg his home. The phrase “light out for the Territories” refers to areas that the U.S. held as territories rather than recognized states at the time.