The protagonist of Sugar is a 10-year-old Black girl named Sugar. Sugar spent the first half of her life enslaved at River Road, where she lived with her Ma and Pa until her Pa was sold to a different plantation. The second half of her life continues at River Road, where she and her Ma stayed after Emancipation. Two years prior to the start of the novel, Sugar’s Ma died, leaving her to be raised by family friends, Mister and Missus Beale.

Sugar is the youngest of the workers at River Road, as most of the younger workers left to make a new life in the north. The novel is told from Sugar’s perspective, and she declares that “Grown-ups think I’m trouble” (21). Sugar’s spunky nature often leads to her breaking the rules and causing mischief. However, it is this same daring, defiant personality that leads to the intercultural relationships forged at River Road.

Over the course of the novel, Sugar befriends two boys from different cultures. The first is Billy, the plantation owner’s son. Sugar never shies away from calling Billy out on his privilege, making him aware of the opportunities he has merely for being white and wealthy.