Emilie Hornby is the female teenage protagonist of the novel. Though very little physical description is given to Emilie’s character aside from her watered-down coppery-brown hair, much of her character depth comes from the complexity of the internal conflicts she must face and overcome throughout the novel.

All the novel’s key themes revolve around Emilie’s character. She loves to live by a strict plan. She has a detailed planner which she fills with daily to-do lists that help manage her day-to-day life on a micro-level. However, she quickly learns The Futility of Excessive Planning when her Valentine’s Day continues to crash and burn regardless of what she does to prevent it. While planning for her future is good in moderation, Emilie learns that she cannot control all aspects of her life, especially love.

Emilie as a character must also cope with The Reality of Imperfection. Though she’s always believed absolute perfection is the key to obtaining happiness in her life, she learns that it’s often the opposite, causing undue stress and discontent in her life. Emilie tends to change herself to appeal to others’ expectations or force things in her life to meet her image of perfection.