The protagonist and narrator of Notes from the Midnight Driver, Alex is an awkward teenage boy struggling through the aftermath of his parents’ divorce. Alex is primarily characterized as sarcastic, caring, and immature. He frequently struggles with making the right decisions or navigating conflict appropriately; these difficulties are the catalyst for the novel’s plot.

Over the course of the novel, Jordan Sonnenblick charts Alex’s changing personality as Alex learns to be more reflective and sensitive to the needs of others. Alex begins using sarcasm less frequently to avoid conflict, allowing him to have deep exchanges with the people he is closest with. Alex’s increased emotional growth also allows him to become a stronger musician, allowing him to find a healthier outlet for his difficult feelings about his parents’ divorce. He also grows to understand his feelings for Laurie, and eventually acts on his feelings rather than sitting on the sidelines.

Sonnenblick characterizes Alex as a relatively typical teenage boy who has trouble sorting through his emotions to understand how he feels about situations. By centering Alex as the first-person narrator of the text, Sonnenblick creates opportunities for Alex to reflect on the mistakes he makes so that readers can more clearly trace Alex’s development over the course of the plot.