John Conlan is a tall, rakish high school sophomore who dislikes authority and spends most of his time drinking and smoking. He encapsulates the angst and distrust of authority prevalent in young people when Zindel wrote the novel in 1968. To compensate for his unhappy home life, John crafts extravagant lies to cover up his misbehavior and somehow always manages to use his handsome good looks to charm his way out of trouble: “He’s six feet tall already, with sort of longish brown hair and blue eyes. He has these gigantic eyes that look right through you, especially if he’s in the middle of one of his fantastic everyday lies” (6). When an unlikely friendship with the demure and withdrawn new girl Lorraine brings him in contact with a quirky widower named Angelo Pignati, John turns his attention away from drinking and pranks and, for once, finds an adult he does not resent. Through his relationship with Mr. Pignati, John is offered the opportunity to escape his mundane life and enjoy new experiences, such as eating exotic food and roller skating indoors. However, in the end, he is drawn too strongly to the impetuous desires of a teenager and betrays his friendship with both Lorraine and Mr.