Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying.

Jake is the book’s narrator and protagonist. He is a fourth-grader at Despres Elementary School. He loves to read adventure stories, humor, and books about natural science. Although Jake is, like most children, capable of selfish and immature behavior—he remembers being mean to his younger sister for days during a visit to their grandparents, for instance—Jake is a generally upbeat and optimistic child with a good sense of humor. He enjoys school and has positive things to say about his teachers—aside from the single criticism that they do not do much to prevent bullying. He creates silly epithets for the boys who bully him, makes amusingly hyperbolic claims, and sometimes uses drily comic turns of phrase—as when he notes that his younger sister is “like a pet who can talk” (29). Jake is also a perceptive child. From his own observations, he deduces some of the motives and tactics of bullies with insight unusual for someone his age—especially considering that the majority of the story takes place during a flashback to Jake’s second-grade year. He is also able to easily see the connections between his own behavior and Link’s bullying and apply Abby’s comments about mad feelings leading to mean behavior to both his own and Link’s situations.