Senior year at Eastwood High looks glossy on the outside—pep rallies, cupcakes, and college plans—but the teens at its center are juggling divorces, secrets, and the scary hope of first love. A fake-dating scheme pulls two opposites into each other’s orbit, exposing the cracks in “perfect” families and the quiet resilience that follows heartbreak. Together, they learn that appearances lie and love demands risk.
Main Characters
Becca Hart
Becca Hart is a romance-obsessed senior who no longer believes in love, her skepticism hardened by her father’s abandonment and her parents’ divorce. When she blurts out that she has a boyfriend to silence a taunt, the lie snowballs into a fake relationship with Brett Wells—then into something real that forces her to confront the walls she’s built. Grounded by her fierce loyalty to her mom, Amy, and her candid best friend, Cassie, she slowly lets herself be seen, even by old friend-turned-rival Jenny. Becca’s arc culminates in a brave confrontation with her father and a choice to forgive for her own peace, clearing space to embrace a vulnerable, hopeful future with Brett and to challenge her belief that love is only destructive.
Brett Wells
Brett Wells is the school’s golden boy—football captain, effortlessly charming, and the pride of his seemingly flawless family—who agrees to the fake-dating plan partly to placate his demanding father, Thomas. Beneath the easy smile is a perceptive, gentle teen crushed by the revelation of his father’s affair, a discovery that shatters the carefully curated image of his home and thrusts him into the core conflict of Appearance vs. Reality. With Becca, he finds the rare safety to admit what he wants beyond football and to protect his mother, Willa, without losing himself. His journey is a quieter rebellion: redefining loyalty, renegotiating family bonds, and choosing an identity that’s his—not his father’s blueprint.
Supporting Characters
Amy Hart
Amy Hart is Becca’s warm, resilient mother whose bakery, Hart’s Cupcakes, is both livelihood and lifeline after her husband leaves. Her cheerleading borders on meddling when it comes to Becca’s love life, but it springs from a hopeful belief that happiness is still possible. She embodies reinvention after heartbreak and offers Becca a model of honest strength.
Thomas Wells
Thomas Wells, Brett’s father and a hotel-chain CFO, projects generosity and pride while quietly living a double life. His affair detonates the family’s polished image and drives the novel’s exploration of Family Dysfunction and Secrets. As the idol Brett once tried to emulate, Thomas becomes the painful benchmark Brett must refuse.
Willa Wells
Willa Wells is the poised matriarch who keeps up appearances even as she carries the knowledge of Thomas’s infidelity. Her silence, meant to shield Brett and preserve stability, exacts an emotional toll that surfaces as the truth comes out. She highlights the cost of maintaining a facade—and the relief of finally naming the hurt.
Jenny McHenry
Jenny McHenry, a popular cheerleader and Becca’s former best friend, initially taunts Becca’s bookish singlehood, sparking the fake-boyfriend lie. Over time, her bravado cracks to reveal loneliness and regret, opening the door to an authentic reconciliation. She illustrates how high school status can mask the need for real connection.
Cassie
Cassie is Becca’s fearless, funny confidante who works at the bakery and believes in grand gestures and honest truth-telling. As the first to hear about the fake-dating plan, she pushes Becca toward risk and away from self-protective isolation. Her wit and loyalty keep the story grounded and bright.
Minor Characters
- Jeff: Brett’s closest teammate—a gossip-loving jock who still shows up when it counts, offering uncomplicated loyalty amid complicated family drama.
- Becca’s Father: The absent parent whose abandonment shapes Becca’s cynicism; their eventual confrontation helps her release anger and choose hope.
- Maeve: Becca’s father’s new wife, whose unexpected kindness complicates Becca’s resentment and nudges her toward forgiveness.
- Miss Copper: The acerbic English teacher whose classroom debate on love sparks the inciting lie and frames the novel’s central questions.
Character Relationships & Dynamics
Becca and Brett begin as a convenience, but their fake arrangement becomes an authentic refuge where each can confess fears without judgment. Their bond wrestles directly with The Nature of Love and Heartbreak: they test whether trust can outlast betrayal and whether vulnerability is worth the risk. Each helps the other dismantle a personal myth—hers that love always ruins, his that perfection is required to be worthy.
The Wells family exemplifies Appearance vs. Reality. Thomas’s betrayal exposes the hollowness behind glossy success, while Willa’s careful silence shows how far someone will go to keep a family intact. Brett’s disillusionment forces a renegotiation of roles—son to man, idol to flawed father, performance to authenticity.
In contrast, the Hart household runs on candor and care. Amy’s open support offers Becca a soft place to land while also nudging her toward courage, even when that means risking a broken heart. Their bond—tempered by abandonment but defined by honesty—stands as a counterpoint to the Wellses’ secrecy.
Old friendships also shift. Becca and Jenny’s journey from confidantes to rivals and back to friends maps the volatility of teenage alliances and the possibility of growth. Around the edges, Cassie acts as a catalyst for truth and daring, while Jeff gives Brett uncomplicated camaraderie when everything else feels conditional. Together, these dynamics sort characters into two loose camps—those propping up an image and those choosing messy, honest connection—until the truth pushes everyone toward the latter and the promise of Coming of Age and Self-Discovery.