Cora is a seventh-grade student who lives in a small town in Ohio. Her father is Lebanese. Her mother left when Cora was very young. Cora is characterized as bookish and intelligent. She is not interested in physical activities or sports, but she is a member of her school’s Quiz Bowl team, a trivia-based sport that requires contestants to quickly answer questions on a range of subjects. Cora especially loves science and math and appreciates the logic and organization behind these disciplines.

Cora lost her beloved older sister, Mabel, in a school shooting the previous year. Parker, Cora’s best friend Quinn’s older brother, took guns from his father’s safe and shot Mabel and another student and a teacher before killing himself. Cora struggles to cope with overwhelming grief caused by Mabel’s death. She struggles to internalize the finality of Mabel’s absence and embarks on a mission with Quinn to undo the events which led to Mabel’s death. It is only after the girls fail in this attempt that Cora manages to achieve some semblance of closure on Mabel’s death. She begins to heal with the help of her family, which includes her father and her grandmother, as well as her friends, Quinn, Mia, and Owen.