Lauren, the main character, is a Black teenage girl living in a bleak, dystopian environment. At the time the story begins, she is 15 years old, and when it ends, she is 18. She has one unusual trait, which is hyperempathy: She can feel the same thing others feel, and if the pain is bad enough, it can incapacitate her. She grew up a minister’s child but has developed her own view of the world and a personal philosophy that helps her survive. Her mantra is “God is Change” (13), and she believes for the first part of the book that she will leave her safe community and set forth to find her own path. She prepares for it as much as possible, but she does not expect the tragedy that sparks this journey. As she finally sets out on her own with allies she hopes will become part of her new community, she becomes a leader, both in thought and action. In a world so devastated and desperate, there’s not much hope available, but she offers it because she believes in herself and Earthseed. This makes her a dynamic character who comes of age on her exodus.