The narrator of the novel, Bobby is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Paintbrush Falls Middle School. He lives with his dad in a trailer and works part time as a tie salesman at a department store. A few years earlier, Bobby’s mom died of cancer.

Bobby’s best friends are Addie, Joe, and Skeezie, who together jokingly refer to themselves as the Gang of Five. Bobby observes that they became friends because “[k]ids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other” (13). Bobby is heavy for his age and is often bullied because of his weight. Thinking of the various names he’s been called, Bobby observes, “And then there’s me. Pork Chop, Roly-Poly, Fluff” (120). After being called Blubber, Bobby thinks, “It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been called names, it still hurts—and it still always comes as such a surprise that I never know how to respond” (131). Once Bobby realizes the hurtfulness of name-calling, it inspires him to start the No-Name Party at school, an independent third political party that will run for student council under the mission of ending name-calling.

At the beginning of the novel, Bobby considers himself a quiet kid who tries to stay under the radar and follow the rules.