Melinda is the novel’s protagonist and narrator. She is a victim of rape when she is 13 years old and, afterward, is abandoned by all of her friends. Melinda copes with the experience by ceasing to speak and harming herself by biting her lip constantly. The novel begins as Melinda starts ninth grade with no friends and having just had the worst experience of her life. She shows courage and strength by facing school and life despite her trauma, and as the year goes on, she slowly opens up again through her art and writing. Melinda has two main conflicts: within herself and with the world. She cannot confront the assault and accept what happened to her or that it was not her fault. Furthermore, those around her reject her outright after the assault, and when she refuses to speak, her parents also reject her. She becomes totally isolated, even creating a closet for herself at school in which to spend her time:

There is a beast in my gut, I can hear it scraping away at the inside of my ribs. Even if I dump the memory, it will stay with me, staining me. My closet is a good thing, a quiet place that helps me hold these thoughts inside my head where no one can hear them (51).