Twelve-year-old Jonathan Palmer is the novel’s protagonist. He loves baseball and is a fan of the San Francisco Giants, and he enjoys spending time outdoors with his family. At the novel’s beginning, Jonathan reflects on what life was like before Abby had her accident at age two. Before the accident caused Abby’s disability, camping trips with his family were faster-paced and involved sleeping under the stars. Now, however, Abby’s partial paralysis requires the whole family to move more slowly to accommodate her pace, and hiking terrain must be short and mostly flat. Jonathan struggles with an inner conflict for the majority of the novel as he fights between frustration with his sister’s immaturity and disability and empathy for Abby’s situation. Ultimately, Jonathan knows that his sister cannot control her mobility, and the responsibility of keeping her safe during the earthquake helps Jonathan to appreciate Abby in a new way. By the novel’s end, he no longer takes his sister for granted. Instead, he realizes how thankful he is for her and comes to value her presence in the family.

Throughout the novel, Jonathan proves himself to be intelligent, persistent, and action-oriented.