Raymie is a 10-year-old girl struggling to come to terms with the loss of her father, who abandoned her and her mother for a younger woman. Raymie, the novel’s main protagonist, believes that everything—namely, getting her father back—depends on her. Raymie suffers from anxiety and self-doubt and often questions the meaning of life and the world. Before meeting Louisiana and Beverly at baton-twirling lessons, Raymie has relied on the adults in her life for support. Many of these adults either leave (Mr. Staphopoulos and her father), die (old Mrs. Borkowski), or are emotionally unavailable (her mother), leaving her searching for guidance in how to navigate life.

Raymie’s emotions, which oscillate between hope and despair, are reflected in the way she perceives her soul, either small and hard or swelling and expanding. She feels emotions deeply but does not openly express them to other people. For example, the book opens at the baton lesson with Louisiana saying she is “too terrified to go on” (1), before fainting. Raymie’s reaction is to feel “wonder and admiration” (1), realizing that she could never admit her frequent feelings of terror openly and out loud. The deep friendships she forges with Louisiana and Beverly feed Raymie’s emotional growth, calming the wild swings of her “soul.