Reesa, the twelve-year-old narrator of the novel, is a product of two worlds, one that accepts differences, represented by her parents and symbolized by the Black community, and the other, the hate-filled South. The entire book is told from her perspective. Marvin, the young Black teenager who is brutally murdered, had been her close friend. Though influenced by her parents to view life and other people with love and acceptance, her greatest influence comes from him, a character who is never actually present in the novel. Reesa dreams and has strong memories of Marvin throughout the novel, many of which are very spiritual in nature. 

Warren is Reesa’s father. A very dignified man, he lives with an impaired hand, which is the aftermath of a bout of polio; his disability does not stop him from playing the piano, which was his lifesaver when he was sick. His ability to appreciate others, especially people who are different from him, is demonstrated when he and Luther play the piano together. He does all he can to track down the Klansmen who murdered Luther’s son, Marvin, but he does so with quiet dignity. When presented with the choice of leaving Florida to escape the violence or returning to his former home in the North, he refuses to abandon his community and his livelihood because of pressure from the Klansmen.