George Rivera is one of the novel’s protagonists and narrators. He attends Conrad Middle School and is of Puerto Rican and American descent. George is a gifted student whose primary goal is to get into a prestigious high school, and he is heavily focused on working hard to achieve that dream. In George’s case, the presence of Principal Powell reinforces the Unseen Pressures on the Children of Immigrant Families, for George puts immense pressure on himself by regularly ruminating on how fragile his chances of success must be, given that he has neglected to complete his requisite three hours of community service. When the principal imposes early-morning community service on him and absently stereotypes him by assuming that all Spanish-speaking students must come from the same culture, George initially finds himself taken aback at the awkward social situation that results.

On first glance, George himself is guilty of making snap judgments of the other students by putting them into one-dimensional categories, but he gradually comes to develop friendships with them as the days go on. In another example of the internal pressures he faces, George exhibits shame and humiliation regarding his family’s current living situation, and he is reluctant to talk about his experiences with

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