54 pages • 1 hour read
Hannah GraceWildfire
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Aurora Roberts
Content Warning: This section mentions gambling addiction, parental neglect and verbal abuse, and alcohol abuse.
Aurora, also known by the nickname Rory, is one of the novel’s protagonists and point-of-view characters. Aurora is a five-foot-seven vegetarian with blonde, wavy hair and emerald-green eyes. Early in the novel, she’s revealed to be a risk taker who rarely stays out of trouble. Aurora began acting out at a young age to get her disinterested father’s attention; while it worked temporarily, the results never lasted. From the age of seven, Aurora attended Honey Acres sleepaway camp, which became a home to her where she could be herself, surrounded by people who wanted her company. For this reason, Aurora returns to Honey Acres as a summer counselor, hoping to rediscover herself and move away from her recklessness and her self-proclaimed reputation as “a chronic oversharer desperate for any kind of acceptance she can get” (130). A large aspect of Aurora’s character growth is Overcoming Insecurity. The close-knit community of Honey Acres counselors and campers provides the foundation for her to begin this journey.
At the beginning of the novel, Aurora has low standards in men because of her strained relationship with her disinterested father; she has a habit of ignoring red flags “in favor of string-free sex” (36). This tendency is highlighted by her best friend, Emilia, who “likes to regularly remind [Rory] how terrible [her] taste in men is” (36). Aurora’s “type” is first described as carefree basketball players who prefer flings over committed relationships, but as her confidence grows, her romantic preferences also transform. Aurora’s interest in Russ is representative of this change, as he is the opposite of everything she typically pursues. He’s reserved, monogamous, and openly affectionate. Her ability to be vulnerable with Russ reveals the extent of her character growth, especially her newfound self-confidence and belief in her own worth.
Russ Callaghan
Russ is one of the novel’s protagonists and point-of-view characters. He’s described as a “six-foot-five hockey player with pretty blue eyes and a tendency to blush” and attends Maple Hills on a hockey scholarship while pursuing a degree in engineering (204). Despite his large stature and muscular frame, Russ is “decidedly unintimidating” due to a combination of his delicate facial features and his supposed shyness. Though others perceive him as shy, Russ doesn’t think he really is, noting, “[I]t just looks that way because of how loud everyone else is. I prefer to sit and listen than be the focus of everything” (5). Russ claims to be happier observing from the outside than being the center of attention, but the truth is that remaining a reserved outsider saves him from potential embarrassment once people inevitably discover the truth about his dysfunctional family.
Russ’s father’s gambling addiction and habitual turn to alcohol after bad losses result in his emotional disregard for and verbal abuse of Russ. This affects Russ’s confidence, which he must consistently fake in order to venture outside his comfort zone with friends and dating. The negative impact of Russ’s dysfunctional family spans other areas of his life. Russ views “checking [his] phone [a]s [his] least favorite thing to do” because of the possibility that he’ll open it to messages from his dad asking for money or calls from his brother, Ethan, verbally berating him for not involving himself in family affairs (23). Similarly, his main hobbies—cleaning and reading—stem from a childhood spent attempting to avoid or prevent his dad’s bad moods.
Russ is quiet and private and lacks confidence—all qualities that are explicitly the opposite of what Aurora tends to pursue in a man. He also doesn’t do one-night stands, which Aurora prefers because there’s a slim risk of rejection. However, their struggles with their parents and their shared feelings of inadequacy allow Russ to be himself with Aurora. As he notes toward the end of the novel, “There are so many things in our lives that mirror one another, and I need to trust that if anyone is going to understand and help me, it’s going to be her” (349). Their shared experiences and ability to help one another overcome their insecurities provide the basis for their romantic and emotional connection.
Emilia Bennett
Emilia is Aurora’s best friend and a secondary character in the novel. Emilia’s friendship with JJ through the Maple Hills LGBTQIA+ society ties Icebreaker and Wildfire together and provides a point of association between the hockey team and Aurora. Emilia is described as having “mousy brown curls” (14), a preference for events that end before midnight, and a girlfriend named Poppy in Europe. Emilia’s friendship is one of the few steady relationships Aurora has in her life. Emilia is one of the few people Aurora can be herself with and not worry about rejection or disappointment. As Aurora states, “Emilia Bennett is the perfect roommate, best friend, and occasional human guilt shield” (56). Emilia uses her love for Aurora, combined with the public relations degree she’s pursuing in college, to help her friend navigate her complicated relationship with her helicopter mom. She encourages Aurora’s positive change and raises her confidence at her lowest moments.
Emilia’s family dynamic is healthy and happy, unlike Aurora’s. Therefore, despite her close friendship with Aurora, she cannot fully understand Aurora’s experiences or the issues that arise because of it. Though Emilia is supportive of Aurora, Aurora can’t help the embarrassment she feels at comparing her lacking relationship with her dad with Emilia’s perfect relationship with her own. The narrative’s focus on this one shortcoming of their friendship highlights the gap that Russ’s character will soon fill once his romance with Aurora deepens.
Roberts Family
In addition to Aurora herself, the Roberts family consists of Aurora’s older sister, Elsa, who lives in Europe, and their divorced parents, Chuck and Sarah Roberts. Throughout the novel, Aurora’s family highlights the theme of The Impact of Family Dynamics on Relationships. Through exploring the dynamics of the Roberts family, the author highlights how these relationships affect Aurora’s character and impact how she navigates other relationships.
Chuck and Sarah Roberts “are the poster couple for ‘sometimes divorce is a blessing’” (55). This introduction of Aurora’s parents highlights their tumultuous relationship without ever showing them interact on-page. Aurora’s father owns a Formula 1 racing team called Fenrir; Aurora observes that “following the team around the world was always [his] top priority, never stability for his daughters and wife. Elsa and [Aurora] have always joked that Fenrir is the only thing he’s ever helped create that he actually loves” (57). Chuck has a long dating history, which includes dating many women young enough to be his daughters. He’s recently settled down with a woman named Norah closer to his age and is significantly involved in the lives of her and her daughter, Isobel. Aurora is hurt by his closeness with Isobel because Isobel “gets the caring dad treatment” from Chuck that Aurora never has (62). Chuck’s poor treatment of Aurora creates many of her insecurities, and his inattentiveness to her is a large reason for her recklessness. Through breaking rules, Aurora is able to obtain temporary attention from him that she otherwise would never receive.
Sarah is the opposite of Chuck in terms of her treatment of Aurora. She’s incredibly clingy and often causes Aurora feelings of suffocation. Aurora assumes that her over-affectionate nature is an attempt to compensate for Chuck’s obvious neglect. Aurora can’t remember a time when Sarah wasn’t over-involved, “which means [she] can’t decide if this is who [Sarah] is as a person, or if this is the result of her spending her life feeling like she has to love [Aurora] twice as much” (58). While Sarah loves Aurora, Aurora doesn’t believe that she ever truly parented her. When Chuck pushes Aurora away, Sarah has always pulled her closer. When Chuck lets Aurora down, Sarah allows Aurora to act recklessly without consequence, rather than regulating Aurora’s behavior and risk pushing her away. Sarah’s self-worth is heavily intertwined with being a mother. It isn’t until she’s fully transparent with Aurora about Chuck’s inadequacies as a husband and father that Aurora’s view on her mother changes, and she’s able to let go of her overwhelming desire for her father’s affection.
Aurora loves her sister, Elsa, but “even with the same complex web of mommy and daddy issues, [their] six-year age difference [i]s too big to overcome for two kids looking for connection” (57). The fact that Elsa looks so much like their father only broadens the divide between the sisters. When Aurora finally stands up to her father at the end of the novel and puts boundaries in their relationship for her own well-being, Elsa calls to express her pride. This phone call hints at family healing to come now that their father is out of the picture.
Callaghan Family
Apart from Russ, the Callaghan family consists of Russ’s parents and his older brother, Ethan, who constantly travels on tour with his bandmates. Much like the Roberts family, the Callaghan family also illustrates The Impact of Family Dynamics on Relationships, as Russ’s character and his relationships with others are impacted by his relationships with his family members. Russ’s family has never put him first—his father cares more for betting than parenting; his mother prioritizes his father’s addiction over her sons; and Ethan escaped the first chance he got, leaving Russ to deal with the shambles of their family alone. While Russ hates that his family tiptoes “around the things that keep [them] divided, making excuses for [his dad], refusing to work toward a solution in favor of pretending there isn’t an issue” (71), he demonstrates the same behavior. Rather than speaking candidly with his father and revealing the extent of his father’s lies to his mother, Russ prefers to avoid both of his parents entirely. He escapes to Honey Acres purely for this reason. It isn’t until he confronts his parents about the family issues and their consequences that a mutual desire for improvement and healing is set in motion.
Much like Aurora’s father, Russ’s father is the core issue within the Callaghan family. His gambling addiction leads to alcohol consumption after bad losses, verbal abuse of his family members, and desperate attempts to steal money from his sons. Russ’s experience of his father’s addiction affects his character significantly. While his teammates place meaningless bets on each other, Russ can’t participate without being overcome with negative feelings because it reminds him of his father’s addiction. When his college-age peers reaching their 21st birthdays mention Las Vegas, Russ isn’t excited but rather anxious about imagining a trip full of gambling and drinking. His embarrassment over his father’s addiction also causes him to keep his friends and romantic entanglements at arm’s length, isolating him and negatively impacting his mental health.
Russ’s mother is kind and loving, but her habit of excusing her husband’s actions and overlooking the depth of his addiction only enables his father’s behavior; according to Russ, “every time [she] do[es] nothing, [she’s] making it worse” (152). Though it brings him guilt to do so, Russ avoids his mother as he does his father. Because she refuses to acknowledge his father’s issues, Russ’s interactions with her often involve her attempts to strengthen his relationship with his father.
Ethan is in a popular band called Take Back December, which serves as a convenient excuse to be absent from the family and avoid confronting its issues. Russ views Ethan’s decision to tour as fleeing “to the East Coast with his band as soon as he possibly could, leaving [Russ] to deal with [their parents] all alone” (71). Mirroring Aurora and Elsa’s relationship, Russ and Ethan aren’t close:
Ethan and I have never had that close brotherly connection people talk about. Our seven-year age gap was too big to overcome when coupled with his never wanting to be in Dad’s verbal firing line. I’ve always been angry he left me alone, but I’m not sure I would have made a different choice if I were the older one (148).
While Aurora and Russ both have issues with their parents, there are situational differences that result in a variance in personal insecurities. However, their relationship with their siblings is similar, evidencing how deeply Russ and Aurora can understand the other’s situation.
