44 pages 1 hour read

Freida McFadden

Ward D

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Amy Brenner

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses drug misuse, child abuse and neglect, and stigmatizing tropes that connect mental health conditions to criminal behavior, which Ward D portrays.

Amy Brenner is the protagonist and first-person narrator of Ward D. She is a third-year medical student doing her psychiatry rotation. When she was 16, she experienced a traumatic situation that shaped her current opinion on psychiatry and caused her to fear Ward D. At the beginning of the novel, Amy is presented as a diligent, intelligent woman who never questions authority, a respectful student and daughter. She does her best to behave, which seems rooted in her childhood desire to please everyone and find success. However, there are cracks in her perfect persona as seen in her anger toward her ex-boyfriend, Cameron Berger—who broke up with her in order to ensure his own success.

When Amy reunites with a former friend, Jade Carpenter, in Ward D, she is unsettled. She is reminded of Jade’s penchant for violence, as she tortured their math teacher, Mr. Riordan, when they were 16, as well as her own sightings of a young girl who pushed her to shoplift and cheat. These memories contrast Amy’s perfect persona in the present with that of her confusing, frightening past.

Related Titles

By Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

Never Lie

Freida McFadden

Never Lie

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

One by One

Freida McFadden

One by One

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

The Coworker

Freida McFadden

The Coworker

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

The Housemaid

Freida McFadden

The Housemaid

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

The Housemaid is Watching

Freida McFadden

The Housemaid is Watching

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

The Housemaid's Secret

Freida McFadden

The Housemaid's Secret

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

The Inmate

Freida McFadden

The Inmate

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

The Locked Door

Freida McFadden

The Locked Door

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

The Perfect Son

Freida McFadden

The Perfect Son

Freida McFadden

Study Guide

logo

The Teacher

Freida McFadden

The Teacher

Freida McFadden