| | | Rev. Olamina | Lauren's father. Baptist minister. |
| | Lauren | Olamina | Narrator. Protagonist. |
| | | Rev. Robinson | Rev. Olamina's friend. |
| | Silvia | Dunn | Lauren's friend. |
| | Keith | | Lauren's brother. |
| | Marcus | | Lauren's brother. |
| | Hector | Quintanilla | Lauren's boyfriend. |
| | Curtis | Talcott | Lauren's boyfriend. |
| | Drew | Balter | The Baptist kid. |
| | Cory | Olamina | Lauren's stepmother. |
| | Mrs. | Yannis | Lauren's neighbor. |
| | Mr. | Yannis | Dentist. Deceased. |
| | Christopher | Morpeth Donner | Presidential candidate. |
| | Alicia Catalina | Godinez Leal | A chemist who spends her life heading for Mars. |
| | Marjorie | Sims | A church member who shot herself. Deceased. |
| | William Turner | Smith | The current President. |
| | Amy | Dunn | The girl who started a fire. Tracy's daughter. Cory's student. |
| | Robin | Balter | The boy who saw the fire. |
| | Edwin | Dunn | One of Lauren's neighbors. |
| | Derek | | Amy's uncle. Rapist. |
| | Tracy | Dunn | Amy's mother. |
| | Wardell | Parrish | Mrs. Sims's relative. |
| | Rosalee | Payne | Mrs. Sims's relative. |
| | Joanne | Garfield | Lauren's friend. |
| | Harold | | Joanne's cousin. |
| | Harry | Balter | Joanne's boyfriend. |
| | Michael | Talcott | Curtis's brother. |
| | Aura | Moss | Lauren's friend. |
| | Zarah | Moss | Lauren's friend. |
| | Peter | Moss | Lauren's brother. |
| | Jay | Garfield | Joanne's father. |
| | Karen | | One of the wives of Richard Moss. |
| | Natalie | | One of the wives of Richard Moss. |
| | Zahra | | One of the wives of Richard Moss. |
| | Richard | Moss | Peter and Aura's father. |
| | Phillida | Garfield | Joanne's mother. |
| | Mrs. | Balter | A needlework teacher. |
| | Robert | Hsu | Astronomy teacher. |
| | Mr. | Ibarra | Wood-carving class teacher. |
| | Alejandro | Montoya | One of the watchers. |
| | Julia | Lincoln | One of the watchers. |
| | Bianca | Montoya | One of Lauren's neighbors. |
| | Jorge | Iturbe | Bianca's lover. |
| | Yolanda | Ibarra | Jorge's brother. |
| | Craig | Dunn | Siti's lover. |
| | Siti | Moss | Richard's eldest daughter. |
| | Celia | Iturbe Cruz | Jorge's sister. |
| | Allison | Dunn | Marie's twin. |
| | Marie | Dunn | Allison's twin. |
| | Gregory | Olamina | Lauren's stepbrother. |
| | Bennett | Olamina | Lauren's stepbrother. |
| | Dorotea | Cruz | One of Cory's best friends. |
| | Rubin | Quintanilla | Dorotea's brother. |
| | Hector | | Dorotea's brother. |
| | Caroline | Balter | Harold's mother. |
| | Russel | Dory | Joanne and Harry's grandfather. |
| | Layla | Yannis | Shani's oldest daughter. |
| | Laticia | Hsu | The woman who was stabbed 40 times. |
| | Travis Charles | Douglas | One of the refugees. Natividad's husband. |
| | Natividad | | Travis's wife. |
| | Dominic | | Travis and Natividad's son. |
| | Taylor Franklin | Bankole | Harry's companion. Lauren's lover. |
| | Allison | | Lauren's new companion. A prostitute. |
| | Jillian | Gilchrist | Lauren's new companion. A prostitute. |
| | Justin | Rohr | The boy Lauren's group helped. |
| | Sandra | Rohr | Deceased. |
| | Richard Walter | Rohr | Justin's father. |
| | Sharon | | Bankole's wife. Deceased. |
| | Alexandra | | Bankole's sister. |
| | Don Casey | | Alexandra's husband. |
| | Emery Tanaka | Solis | Lauren's new companion. |
| | Tori | Solis | Emery's daughter. |
| | Grayson | Mora | One of the members of Lauren's group. |
| | Doe | Mora | Grayson's daughter. |
