Young is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. The novel is told five years after Young’s senior year of high school, meaning that his views and opinions surrounding his senior year have been filtered through time. So, while the novel is told from Young’s perspective as he’s about to get out of prison, most of the novel revolves around his reflections of his high-school self.

Young comes from a family of doctors, and he is particularly influenced by his father, so much so that instead of standing up to his dad and telling him that he wants to be a creative writer, he lets his dad talk him into pursuing the high school prerequisites for the medical field. The same is true in Young’s friendship with Rob. Throughout the novel, Young gives into Rob’s will, instead of taking a stand and doing what he wants. Because he listens to Rob, instead of taking a stand, by the end of the novel he loses his girlfriend and is an accomplice to murder. In this way, Young can be described as a pushover.

The novel is told from Young’s older perspective looking back on his younger self, and it’s difficult to know if he has changed much in the five years since high school.