Nina Simmonds is one of the novel’s two narrators. She is arguably the novel’s protagonist, though it could also be argued that she and Maggie are dual protagonists. She experiences memory lapses that accompany her fits of rage, making her an unreliable narrator. Passionate, rebellious, and laid back, Nina studies English literature and becomes a librarian, though she is quick to point out that she and her coworkers do not fit the prim and proper stereotype sometimes associated with librarians. Despite her brash exterior, Nina has her fair share of insecurities, the most significant of which centers on her unfulfilled desire to raise a child, her most consistent goal throughout the narrative. She attempts to meet that desire in various ways, whether vicariously at work, through adoption, or by taking advantage of Bobby’s appearance in her life.

Nina experiences dramatic events from her first appearance as a teenager to the novel’s conclusion, but without significantly changing. She consistently tries to control other people and fears abandonment. Throughout her childhood, Nina is particularly close to her father, Alistair. When Alistair announces his intention to leave, a different side of Nina surfaces, and she kills him in a fit of rage, the memory of which she later suppresses.