The story’s main protagonist, April May, is a 23-year-old art school graduate living in New York City because of its significance to the art world. She is aware of her flaws and describes them to the reader at relevant points of the story. Despite her happy childhood and supportive parents, April is constantly unhappy and cold in the face of emotional attachments. Her dislike of herself and inability to fathom how someone worthwhile could want to be with her cause her to emotionally disregard anyone she might have a relationship with, including Maya.

When the Carls enter her life, the constant attention and signs that she is special inflate her ego to complete self-absorption. While her persona is of a wholesome, quirky, positive, and confident nature, April is revealed to be deeply insecure, impulsive, and hungry for love. The more she tries to place the focus on her, the more she begins mistreating her friends and taking them for granted. April stops caring about the why or how of the Carl situation; she just wants to be the first person to find information and share it. When given the opportunity to collaborate with others, April insists on achieving the most difficult of feats to retain full credit and maintain her status of being special.