Reef is the novel’s teenage narrator. When the story begins, he is anti-social, abuses drugs, hates authority, and still mourns the loss of his beloved grandmother, Nan, who died of cancer. Her husband was abusive and abused alcohol, and Reef was glad when he died.

Reef never knew his father. His mother was deaf and died giving birth to him. His grandfather blamed him for the death of his daughter and took his anger out on him. His grandmother did what she could to protect Reef, but he was truly alone after she died. His grandfather quickly sent him into the foster system, which led to new torments.

When the novel begins, Reef has friends, but they are loners like him. He describes himself as someone who prefers working alone. He mentions this as if he is a lone wolf who prefers solitude, but the truth is that working alone guarantees that no one will see if he makes a mistake. Many of Reef’s mistakes arise from a lack of impulse control, but he describes his recklessness as a decision to live in the moment: “Reef Kennedy lived in the moment. Life was now. Not ten years, ten months, ten minutes from now.