When the reader first meets Laurie James, she is a young woman trying to make her way in the world. She struggles to find her dream job in magazine publishing but refuses to give up on herself. She is unlucky in her love life but believes that her life can get better. She is a character designed by Silver for readers to relate to; it is crucial to the unfolding of the plot that Laurie remain a complex person for whom the reader can feel empathy. The reader is invited to root for Laurie and to experience her emotional highs and lows with her.

Laurie loves and appreciates her family and friends and sacrifices her happiness so that her friendship with Sarah can remain a strong one. Like many people coming of age, she struggles to know how much of the truth she can and should reveal; she would rather hurt herself than hurt others. Laurie also falls under the trap of comparing herself to Sarah. While Sarah is gregarious, outgoing, and glamorous, Laurie is shy, reserved, and cute. However, the two are as close as sisters. Laurie has a great deal of emotional trauma after losing her little sister Ginny at a young age, and she relies on Sarah to provide a replacement for the hole left in her family.