50 pages 1 hour read

Lisa Graff

Lost in the Sun

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2015

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Trent Zimmerman

Trent is a 12-year-old boy who is recovering from the traumatic death of a peer, for which he feels responsible. Six months prior to the novel’s start, Trent joined a hockey game and hit a puck into a teammate’s chest, killing him. It was an accident, and the boy, Jared Richards, had a heart condition no one knew about. Trent’s primary conflict throughout the novel stems from the overwhelming guilt he feels about Jared’s death.

As the school year begins, Trent finds himself alienated by his former sports friends, at odds with his father, and struggling against his teachers, like Ms. Emerson and Mr. Gorman. Trent acts out in response to a “fire in [his] body” (11)—the rage he feels as a response to his guilt and trauma. Additionally, Trent responds to his trauma and anxiety by drawing pictures in his Book of Thoughts—pictures of Jared still alive or of him dying in various other ways that would mean Trent isn’t responsible. These drawings show how desperate Trent is for relief from the guilt that plagues him.

Trent finds distraction in his unlikely friendship with Fallon Little, a girl in his grade who has a large, jagged scar down her face.

Related Titles

By Lisa Graff

Study Guide

logo

Absolutely Almost

Lisa Graff

Absolutely Almost

Lisa Graff

Study Guide

logo

A Tangle of Knots

Lisa Graff

A Tangle of Knots

Lisa Graff

Study Guide

logo

The Great Treehouse War

Lisa Graff

The Great Treehouse War

Lisa Graff