37 Things I Love
Kelka Magoon
Characters
Ellis: Ellis is a well-developed main character. She is struggling because her dad has been in a coma for two years, and her mom wants to take him off life support. Ellis still holds onto the hope that he could someday wake up.
Ellis' Mom (not named): Ellis' mom is also a good character. She wants to take her husband off life support because she realizes he's not going to wake up.
Abby: Abby is boy-crazy, and she expects Ellis to watch her at parties and keep her from getting too drunk. She is not a very good friend to Ellis. She is emotionally distant, and she doesn't know about the struggles Ellis is facing.
Colin: Colin is a good character too. Ellis is able to tell him her problems, but he is too focused on Abby. He clearly has a crush on Abby, and he lets Abby walk all over him.
Cara: Cara used to be friends with Abby and Ellis until they stopped being friends before high school. Ellis reconnects with Cara, and the two become friends again. Cara misreads Ellis' signals, and she thinks their friendship may be more than a friendship.
Conflicts
- There is tension between Ellis and her mother. Her beloved father has been in an accident-induced coma for two years. Ellis resists any discussion of removing life support and, despite her mother’s disapproval, visits and shares her deepest thoughts with her unresponsive father. Later on, Ellis's father ends up dying due to a stroke even though at first Ellis believes that her mother pulled the plug.
- Ellis's best friend is Abby. They have been friends for years. But lately Ellis is noticing that Abby does not really listen to her. The friendship feels one-sided and Ellis needs someone to talk to.
- Ellis is also found in an unexpected romance with a girl and she's trying to figure out who she is.