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Ally

The story’s protagonist, Ally is a sixth-grade student who, unbeknownst to herself for much of the novel, has dyslexia. Though Ally is extremely smart, good at math, and a talented artist, she can barely read and struggles to write. After seven years, seven schools, and seven teachers implying that Ally isn't smart or a dedicated enough student, Ally believes that she's dumb. She often refuses to do her homework and her inability to read means that she struggles socially. This is why she gives Mrs. Hall a sympathy card for her baby shower; she couldn't read the card and therefore, didn't know that it wasn't appropriate. In turn, this makes Ally a prime target for bullies. Ally also fears admitting that she needs help, and to cope draws in her Sketchbook of Impossible Things and watches "mind movies," which help her escape from reality. Things begin to change when Mr. Daniels takes over for Mrs. Hall. Soon, Ally discovers that she'd like to impress Mr. Daniels, so she starts to try harder to complete her assignments. She also begins to tell the truth when Mr. Daniels asks her questions about her homework, such as how long it takes her and whether letters move on the page. Mr. Daniels asks Ally to undergo testing for dyslexia, which she discovers that she does indeed have. The two begin to play chess, which engages Ally's visual brain and gives her something at which she can be successful, and also begin doing exercises that help Ally develop tricks to read. As these successes pile up, Ally learns to trust Mr. Daniels and herself, winning the election for class president in the process. Ally also discovers that many famous people had dyslexia, which makes her feel like she can be successful. She finally pays her successes forward by inviting her dyslexic brother, Travis, to attend tutoring sessions so that he can learn to read too.

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Mr. Daniels

Mr. Daniels is a young teacher who takes over for Mrs. Hall sometime around Thanksgiving and is the first to recognize that Ally has dyslexia. A kind and thoughtful man studying to become a special education teacher, he calls his students "Fantasticos," celebrates their differences, and takes a firm stand against bullying. Ally also notices early on that Mr. Daniels has a signal with Oliver, a boy who struggles with impulse control, to quietly tell him to settle down. Mr. Daniels is an encouraging presence in Ally’s life, often engaging her in lessons that show her that she can do well—such as his "mystery box" exercise and mental math lessons. As Ally begins to trust Mr. Daniels and try more often to turn in her writing homework, Mr. Daniels starts to suspect that Ally isn't just missing homework because she doesn't want to do it. He asks her questions about how long it takes her to write, if it hurts her head to read and write, and if letters move on the page. With all of this, he thanks her for her honesty and tells her that she just thinks differently. Finally, Mr. Daniels asks Ally to get tested for dyslexia. When Ally's results show that she is dyslexic, they begin working together after school. He also starts to teach her to play chess, as he recognizes that chess is easier for a visual learner and will give Ally something to be successful at. One of his final lessons seeks to show Ally that she's not alone by presenting a number of famous and influential people who also had dyslexia to his class. Near the end of the school year, he also agrees to tutor Ally's brother, Travis, whom Ally believes also has dyslexia.

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Keisha

Keisha is a new girl at school with whom Ally becomes very close. She's the only black girl and is extremely confident in herself and her abilities. This causes her to challenge Shay regularly and stand up for others, something that Ally admires greatly. She and Ally start to become friends after Mr. Daniels rearranges the seating chart to seat them next to each other. Though their exchanges start off rocky, Keisha is very grateful for Ally's kindness when the latter tries to share her bouquet with Keisha at the holiday concert after Keisha's bouquet is unfairly taken away. A few weeks into their friendship, Keisha joins Ally in accepting Albert into the group. She humors Albert by watching Star Trek (though she insults the special effects) and tries to figure out what the word "Flint" on Albert's shirt might refer to. Keisha continues to have no time for bullies, so she takes issue with Albert when she learns that he doesn't fight back when, nearly every afternoon, a group of bullies beats him up—though in Ally's opinion, Keisha pushes Albert too hard to fight back. When Ally runs for class president, Keisha is one of Ally's biggest supporters. Even more importantly, when Ally experiences situations in which she struggles with her self-esteem, Keisha counsels Ally to take pride in her differences and the things she can do well. She points out that they don't want to be mean like Shay is and that trying to please people who want them to be the same as everyone else is a waste of time. Keisha wants to be a baker when she grows up, so she spends much of her free time baking cupcakes with secret messages inside.

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Albert

Albert is one of Ally's best friends. A hulking boy who loves science and logic, he comes to school every day wearing a shirt that reads "Flint" and a pair of jeans. He's also often covered in fresh bruises. While everyone in Ally's class agrees that Albert is smart, they often find his insistence on exactitude and his pedantic nature trying. Shay teases Albert for this as well as for his family's poverty, which is often apparent in the clothes that Albert wears. Ally eventually invites Albert to sit with her and Keisha, and the three become close friends. Keisha and Ally learn that Albert gets free lunch, that Albert's dad is an inventor who named Albert after Albert Einstein, and that his bruises come from a group of bullies who beat Albert up almost daily after school. Because Albert is a pacifist, he doesn't fight back. However, this doesn't mean that this treatment doesn't bother him; he reveals that his "Flint" shirts are a reference to a Star Trek character named Flint, who fled to a planet to live with robots to escape unkind people on Earth. Albert still makes an effort to not let bullies see that they're bothering him, as he believes this will make the bullying worse. He wants to be a scientist when he grows up, and when it comes out that Ally has dyslexia and Albert learns how many great scientists have had dyslexia as well, he confides in Ally that he almost wishes he had it too. Albert finally stands up to the bullies when they try to pick on Ally and Keisha. It only takes a couple of punches, but the novel implies that Albert will never have to deal with the bullies again. He seems more confident and happier after standing up for himself and his friends.

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Shay

Shay is the class bully. She's wealthy and is always surrounded by Jessica and a number of other girls whom Ally just refers to as Shay's followers. All of these girls wear friendship bracelets, which Ally is jealous of and sees as proof that they all care about each other. Because of Ally's jealousy in this regard, Shay is able to draw Ally into her bullying on occasion. Shay's preferred angle for her bullying is to tear down her classmates for their financial status, which in most cases seems to be much lower than her own. She also attacks classmates for being different or "freaks." After Mr. Daniels takes away Shay's recess for bullying Oliver, Shay becomes very sneaky about her bullying. This makes it harder for teachers to stop, though by that point, Mr. Daniels has already given his other students tools that empower them to stand up to Shay themselves. Eventually, Ally learns that Shay actually sells the friendship bracelets to her friends, which shows Ally that Shay doesn't actually have friends—she just scares others into following her. After this, Shay's power gradually disappears. Though she tries to bully her classmates into first not running against her for class president and then into voting for her, Ally wins the election. After Shay's loss, Ally learns that Shay is a bully because Shay's mom is also cruel and obsessed with being the best. In the weeks that follow, Jessica and the rest of Shay's followers begin to abandon her and even leave their friendship bracelets on Shay's desk. Though Ally tries to approach Shay and reach out kindly, Shay rejects the attempt and chooses to continue acting meanly.

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Travis

Travis is Ally's big brother. He's in high school, though Ally never shares what grade. School has never been Travis's thing; the novel implies that, like Ally, Travis is dyslexic. He talks about words moving and not making any sense to him, though Mom insists that Travis stick with school at least through high school. Travis's true passions are coin collecting and cars. He often takes Ally with him when he goes to pawn shops to purchase coins, where he proves himself both an adept bargainer and a kind and supportive sibling (for example, he buys Ally special coins to remind her of their Grandpa and that she's loved). After school and on weekends, he works at an auto shop and fixes up old machines to sell. His dream is to one day open up his own shop. This seems within reach for Travis until his manager has to undergo back surgery. The interim manager makes Travis look up how to perform repairs in a manual before letting him do anything on cars in the shop—without taking into account that Travis has an innate sense of how to fix the cars and, because of his dyslexia, surely struggles to read the manual. He becomes angry and withdrawn about this as time goes on, though he expresses interest in Ally's tutoring with Mr. Daniels. Finally, near the end of the school year, Ally asks Mr. Daniels if she can bring Travis to their tutoring sessions so he can learn to read too. Both Mr. Daniels and Travis agree, and Ally recognizes that Travis is finally ready to ask for and accept help.

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Mom

Ally's mom works at a restaurant called A. C. Petersen's as a waitress, which means that Ally often either does homework at the restaurant or is home unsupervised, given that Mom works late. Though Mom… read analysis of Mom

Jessica

Jessica is Shay's best friend and, as Ally sees it, her shadow. She describes Jessica as having few personality traits or interests of her own, as her main goal seems to be following Shay.

Oliver

Oliver is one of Ally's classmates. He's always talking and moving, which makes him a common target of bullying. In the week after Mr. Daniels arrives to teach, Ally notices that Oliver likely has self-esteem issues. 

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Dad

Ally's dad; he's the captain of a tank unit in the Army, though Ally never says where he's fighting. At the start of the novel, he's been deployed for about a year. 

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Mrs. Silver

The principal at Ally's school. At the start of the novel, Mrs. Silver is exasperated with how often she sees Ally in her office. She tells Ally that the sympathy card is too far out of line and, like Mom, she believes that Ally does things like that on purpose. Thanks to Mr. Daniels Ally doesn't see much of Mrs. Silver for the rest of the novel until she wins student of the month. At that point, Mrs. Silver apologizes to Ally for not suspecting dyslexia earlier and tells Ally that she's proud of all the progress she's made.

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Grandpa

Ally's maternal grandfather; he's been dead for about a year at the start of the novel. He loved collecting coins and also loved Alice in Wonderland. Ally has his old copy of the book, which has large print and she hopes to read one day. She named her sketchbook the Sketchbook of Impossible Things after Alice in Wonderland. Ally thinks about her grandfather often. He was a wise man who was very involved in his grandchildren's lives, and he also moved with Ally's family whenever Dad was reassigned.

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Suki

One of Ally's classmates; she's a Japanese immigrant and is still learning English. When she's nervous she rolls a carved wooden block around in her hands, and she's often anxious when Shay bullies others. 

Max

A popular and sporty boy in Ally's class. He loves parties and wants to throw one at school at every opportunity. Though he hangs out with Shay, Jessica, and the other popular girls.

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Mrs. Hall

Mrs. Hall is Ally's teacher at the beginning of the novel. She's pregnant and soon to go on maternity leave. Ally doesn't dislike Mrs. Hall; in fact, she's thrilled to be able to give Mrs. Hall a beautiful card with flowers on it for her baby shower. This backfires, though, when Ally discovers that the card is actually a sympathy card, which makes Mrs. Hall very sad.

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Albert's Dad

Though Albert's dad never appears in the novel in person, Albert talks about him on several occasions. He's an inventor, though it's not clear what he's trying to invent. He named Albert after Albert Einstein.

The Bullies

Three boys who are much smaller than Albert but who beat him up daily after school regardless. They tease Albert for being poor and for not wanting to fight back, and they have no qualms about verbally and physically bullying Ally and Keisha one day as well. At this point Albert punches the ringleader, which is implied to bring the end of the bullies' reign of terror over Albert.

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Shay's Mom

A very wealthy woman, Shay's mom berates her daughter when Shay loses the election for class president. Her rant implies that she believed that the outlandish promises Shay made during her speech—which she helped write—would make Shay the clear choice for the election. She blames Shay for the failure and makes Shay shrink.

 

Minor Characters

Mrs. Muldoon

The overbearing and exacting music teacher at Ally's school. She's prone to blowing up over the slightest "infractions," which leads Max to call her Minefield Muldoon. She takes away Ally and Keisha's flowers at the holiday concert because the girls weren't appropriately respectful of their bouquets.

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Audrey

Albert's mom. She's perplexed when Albert brings home friends for the first time and though she offers Ally and Keisha food, Albert later admits that she actually had no food to give them.

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The Sub

A woman who substitutes for Mr. Daniels's class. She humiliates Ally by reading Mr. Daniels's note that Ally can draw instead of write out loud and then doesn't stop Shay when she bullies Ally for it.

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The Salesman

A salesman at a pawnshop. He initially tries to take advantage of Travis by showing him a penny that had been chemically altered, but eventually makes a deal with him to sell him valuable coins.

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The Third Grade Teacher

The only teacher who ever said outright that she thought Ally was slow.

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Miss Kessler

The reading specialist at Ally's school.

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