CHARACTER
Flippedby Wendelin Van Draanen

Julianna "Juli" Baker

Julianna “Juli” Baker

Quick Facts

  • Role: Co-protagonist and alternating narrator; emotional and ethical compass of the novel
  • First appearance: Second grade, the day she meets Bryce Loski after his family moves in across the street
  • Key relationships: Bryce Loski; her father, Robert Baker; Chet Duncan; brothers Matt and Mike
  • Notable details: Long, fluffy brown hair, freckles, and a habit of prioritizing passion over polish (like marching out of a chicken coop with muck on her shoes because her hens matter more than appearances)

Who They Are

Bold, wholehearted, and searching, Julianna “Juli” Baker lives with the volume turned up—on curiosity, conviction, and wonder. At first, her story looks like a simple crush on Bryce Loski, but it quickly deepens into a journey of identity: she becomes the book’s moral center by insisting on seeing the world’s hidden magic and by demanding integrity from herself and others. Juli anchors the novel’s reflection on Coming of Age and Personal Growth, and her evolving view of Bryce—what she imagines versus what is—drives the story’s exploration of Perception vs. Reality.

Personality & Traits

Juli’s defining quality is intensity: when she cares, she cares completely. That intensity can overwhelm people who judge by surfaces, but it also fuels her bravery, kindness, and independence. Crucially, she learns to pair passion with perspective, turning childhood insistence into principled resolve.

  • Passionate commitment: She falls for Bryce instantly and later pours the same fervor into her sycamore vigil, her science fair hatchery (six chicks!), and the family yard project. Each commitment reveals that her “too much” is actually moral courage in action.
  • Persistence with a spine: Chet Duncan calls it an “iron backbone.” Whether chasing Bryce on the playground or refusing to climb down from the sycamore, Juli won’t abandon people or principles she believes in.
  • Big-picture thinker: Guided by her father’s “whole landscape” lesson—and her own epiphany in the branches—Juli understands that meaning emerges from context, an idea crystallized by The Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts.
  • Integrity-first: She confronts adults to defend the sycamore and later confronts Bryce over the eggs. Her anger isn’t petty; it’s principled, sparked by dishonesty and cowardice.
  • Intellect and curiosity: A diligent student and observant thinker, she debates art, science, and even perpetual motion with her father and Chet, then translates ideas into practice (her hatchery; the yard’s transformation).
  • Down-to-earth authenticity: Natural hair, freckled nose, and zero vanity—she steps into public with chicken-coop grime because what she’s doing matters more than how she looks. Her appearance mirrors her values.

Character Journey

Juli begins with a starry-eyed fixation: Bryce’s dazzling eyes symbolize her willingness to idealize. The sycamore tree cracks that idealization open. She climbs to rescue his kite and discovers the magic of perspective—how awe reshapes judgment. When the town fells the tree and Bryce keeps his distance, she feels the first fissure between who she hoped he was and who he shows himself to be. The egg revelation widens that fissure into a canyon. Learning that Bryce has been secretly trashing her gifts humiliates and enrages her—because the eggs are more than breakfast; they’re tokens of neighborliness, labor, and trust. Supported by Chet and steadied by her father’s quiet wisdom—proof of powerful Family Influence and Dynamics—Juli pivots. She stops chasing Bryce and pours herself into what she can build: a revitalized yard, deeper friendships, and a self-worth not borrowed from anyone’s approval. By the end, she can see Bryce clearly—his past failings and his genuine attempts to change—and she holds space for both. Her final stance is not “never,” but “not without integrity.”

Key Relationships

  • Bryce Loski: Juli’s feelings journey from infatuation to disillusionment to cautious openness. She learns to demand honesty and action from Bryce, measuring him not by charm but by courage and respect. Their perspectives “flip” as he begins to chase the person she’s becoming—a reversal that only matters because she refuses to settle.
  • Robert Baker: Her father is Juli’s quiet north star. Through painting talks and the “whole landscape” lesson, he teaches her to see beyond surfaces, to value wonder and integrity over status. His gentle steadiness helps Juli turn hurt into growth rather than bitterness.
  • Chet Duncan: Bryce’s grandfather recognizes Juli’s spirit immediately, offering practical help (the yard) and moral clarity. He validates her worth when others dismiss her, bridging the distance between families and modeling the kind of seeing Juli wants from Bryce.
  • Matt and Mike (her brothers): Absorbed in their band, they’re not tuned to Juli’s inner life, but their presence grounds her in a home that is loving yet financially strained. Their detachment contrasts with Juli’s emotional intensity, highlighting how unusually attuned she is to meaning and principle.

Defining Moments

Juli’s arc is built from moments where feeling collides with truth—and she chooses growth over comfort.

  • Meeting Bryce (second grade): She “flips” at first sight, projecting romance onto a boy she barely knows. Why it matters: Establishes the gap between fantasy and reality that the novel will close.
  • Saving the sycamore: She climbs, protests, and loses. Why it matters: The tree reveals her capacity for wonder and activism; Bryce’s inaction exposes the limits of her idealization.
  • The egg confrontation: She catches Bryce trashing her eggs after two years of “neighborly” giving. Why it matters: A shattering of trust that reorients her moral compass away from pleasing others and toward self-respect.
  • The yard project: Juli transforms her family’s neglected yard with Chet’s help. Why it matters: External order mirrors internal growth; she shifts from chasing approval to building a life.
  • The Basket Boy auction: She spends her money on Jon Trulock instead of Bryce. Why it matters: A deliberate, public pivot away from infatuation toward kindness and principle.
  • Rejecting Bryce’s kiss: When Bryce moves in for a sudden romantic fix, Juli pulls back. Why it matters: She insists on accountability and time; any future with Bryce must honor her dignity.

Essential Quotes

“The first day I met Bryce Loski, I flipped. Honestly, one look at him and I became a lunatic. It’s his eyes. Something in his eyes. They’re blue, and framed in the blackness of his lashes, they’re dazzling. Absolutely breathtaking.” This confession captures Juli’s early susceptibility to surface beauty and the intoxicating rush of first love. It sets up the central tension of seeing versus knowing, which her arc will painstakingly resolve.

“The view from my sycamore was more than rooftops and clouds and wind and colors combined. It was magic.” The sycamore grants Juli a literal and metaphorical higher vantage point. Her language of “magic” signals that meaning emerges when elements are experienced together, not in isolation—a revelation that will inform how she judges people.

“He shook his head and told me in soft, heavy words that I needed to start looking at the whole landscape.” Her father’s lesson becomes Juli’s interpretive key. It reframes her crush, the tree, and even her anger, teaching her to weigh context and character rather than clinging to a single thrilling detail.

“I felt fire burn in my cheeks and a cold, hard knot tighten in my heart. And in a flash I knew—I was through with Bryce Loski. He could keep his brilliant blue eyes. He could keep his two-faced smile and … and my kiss.” This is Juli’s line in the sand. The visceral imagery (“fire,” “knot”) conveys humiliation hardening into resolve; she trades dazzled attraction for ethical clarity.

“Maybe my mother’s right. Maybe there is more to Bryce Loski than I know. Maybe it’s time to meet him in the proper light.” After anger comes discernment. Juli’s willingness to reconsider—without surrendering her standards—signals maturity: she’s ready to see Bryce as a whole person and to decide, on principle, what place he should have in her life.