Ellie
Ellie is the main protagonist and first-person narrator of the novel. She is a teenage girl in Australia who has organized a camping trip to the ironically named destination of Hell as an adventurous alternative to the predictability of yet another Commemoration Day Show back home. The ability to convince her parents to okay this overnight co-ed sleepover indicates the strength of her personality.
Ellie is elected by her friends to write down the narrative detailing their experiences upon returning from Hell to discover their country is at war. She takes this responsibility as seriously as all others, eschewing a mere agenda and checklist to penetrate deeply into her own thoughts while offering perceptions of the thoughts of others. In addition, her record is also an account of her struggle with the morality of having to kill in order to protect herself, others, and, potentially, her captured parents.
Ellie proves herself mature beyond her age in some aspects, while at the same being very much an innocent teenager. She is shockingly capable as a driver despite not having a license. She is also constantly dependable as one who does the right thing when the safety and lives of others are on the line.
Homer
Homer is Ellie’s neighbor and close friend who has been like a brother. Although physically good-looking, he is not as popular with the girls as one might suspect because of his personality. He is too quick to joke, too late to volunteer and has a definite self-image problem as a result of his cultural and economic background. Everything changes with the advent of war.
Almost overnight, Homer transforms into a heroic figure. He quickly establishes himself as a leader whose step up to the plate even has Ellie reconfiguring her sisterly feelings toward him. The most unlikely transformation may be that the more privileged and “perfect” Fiona has suddenly taken a romantic interest in Homer that had never been there before.
The two friends form an almost perfect tandem. Ellie is willing to sacrifice her natural leadership role to Homer, but Homer is more like a general operating behind the lines. He creates strategy and fosters an attitude designed to keep everyone from falling apart, while it is Ellie who is the field marshal actually carrying out many of his plans.
Lee
Although Ellie is briefly conflicted about her feelings toward Homer as a result of actually seeing him develop an unlikely romance with Fiona, it is Homer’s complete opposite with whom she eventually links up. Whereas Homer is pure lust-fuel, Lee also appeals to Ellie’s mind. In addition to being academically advanced and musically talented, he also shares Ellie’s love for horror movies.
He is not really part of the group that normally hangs out together and that Ellie forms to go camping in Hell. Basically, then, his invitation is just an excuse for Ellie to get to know him better. As it turns out, they will eventually get to know each a lot better once they leave Hell behind and discover the situation back home.
Like the others, Lee reveals facets of himself not demonstrated before as a result of the extreme changes in their living conditions. He is initially presented as being a bit more pampered, sheltered, and privileged like Fiona, but is forced to show the depth of character when he takes an enemy bullet to the leg and must spend the rest of the story in great pain even as he contributes as much as he can to the collective effort to remain uncaptured freedom fighters.
Robyn
Robyn is the representative of duality within the small group. While Homer adopts the necessary philosophy of survival that the rules of peacetime no longer apply during the war, Robyn cannot seamlessly integrate into a singular perspective. She is initially described by Ellie as shy and quiet before immediately being described as a competitive terror on the netball court. This twofold aspect proves to be her defining characteristic.
While she is willing to do whatever needs to be done in order to survive and protect the group, she also recognizes that the invading forces occupy the moral high ground over Australia on the grounds of launching their invasion. At the same time, she also recognizes that any force invading another country is committing an immoral act.
Ellie notes in her narration that Robyn had always been prone to fainting at even the thought of blood, indicating a weakness of character in being unable to face up to unpleasant realities. This predilection will prove the toughest test of her duality as it can also be interpreted as a measure of sensitivity. Robyn will eventually have to face the test of whether this aspect of her character is a flaw or strength as she now routinely must face unpleasant circumstances without being overcome.
