Content Warning: This section references a death by vehicle accident and abusive behaviors.

As the protagonist of the text, Halley undergoes the biggest transformation. She begins the text as a young woman who feels that she is still waiting for her identity to form: “When I pictured myself, it was always like just an outline in a coloring book, with the inside not yet completed” (23). Halley is more passive as compared to Scarlett, happy to follow along but without a strong sense of self. She feels that the “inside”—her identity, personality, and wants—are lacking, and through her experiences in the text, she begins to form that identity.

Halley’s lack of a clear sense of identity leads her to look to others to help develop her sense of self, specifically through her relationship with Macon. She describes Macon as “wild, different, and when [she is] with him, caught up in it all, [she can] play along like [she is], too” (62). Halley seeks validation through her relationship with Macon, compromising some of her values and straining other relationships in her life, such as with her parents and Scarlett. With Macon, Halley feels that she can access a new part of herself: “letting loose that girl from the early summer and

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