Melody
The first-person narrator and protagonist of the story is the enchanting Melody. Continuing her adventures from the author’s previous bestseller, Out of My Mind, this book follows our twelve-year-old wheelchair-equipped but far from wheelchair-bound heroine into the greatest adventure of her life: a summer camp where boys and zip lines await.
Noah
Zip lines are great and all, but boys represent the undiscovered country for all twelve-year-old girls, whether they are dealing with cerebral palsy or their first time away from overprotective parents or both together at once with a zip line to boot. Noah has supercute almond eyes and confers the nickname Firefly Girl upon her even though practically the first words out of his mouth to Melody is telling her what a pretty name she has. He’s pretty great and if a character ever deserved a pretty great first kiss boyfriend, it’s Firefly Girl.
Trinity
This is not just any summer camp. It is specifically geared to kids like Melody who cannot fully enjoy a standard camp because of various medical conditions. As a result, while cabins are shared four to a camper, each camper literally gets their own counselor dedicated just to them. Trinity excitedly announces to Melody’s parents that she is Melody’s camp counselor. She first started coming to the camp to aid her younger sister, but has now returned four years straight to take on the additional responsibilities. Trinity turns out to be a revolutionary figure in Melody’s life.
Karyn
That’s Karyn—with a K—and don’t forget it, Jack! She is eleven-and-three-quarters, has never been to camp before, either, and doesn’t want to start now. The first thing Melody learns about Karyn is that she simply wants to get out there as fast as possible. She also has a habit of getting out of eating carrots with the believable excuse that she’s allergic…but don’t you believe it for a minute. She just hates the orange stuff. Karyn’s unhappy mood is really rooted far away from the camp itself: she is tried of being treated like a baby just because she uses a wheelchair. The whole purpose of camp stories are about personal change that arrives courtesy of discovering things about yourself through interaction with others. Karyn learns how to rebel within the limitations of her circumstances.
