Wyatt/Nicole Maines
The title character starts life as one of two twin boys. He is named Wyatt and his brother is Jonas. One would normally at that point refer to Jonas as his identical twin, but that description seems to apply only technically as a medical term. It becomes clear at a very early age that except looking alike, Wyatt and Jonas are not identical. Wyatt expresses an interest in “girly” things while a toddler persistently identifies with traditionally feminine objects and ideas whereas Jonas tracks along the usual path of boyhood expectations. Eventually, Wyatt will fully transition into Nicole Maines who will eventually go on—after the publication of the book—to play television’s first transgender superhero on the long-running Supergirl TV show.
Kelly Maines
Wyatt and Jonas were adopted by Kelly and her husband Wayne after discovering that she is not able to have a child herself. The biological mother of the boys is actually Kelly’s cousin. She is much quicker to accept and nurture Wyatt’s propensity toward “girly” things than her husband, but more importantly, perhaps, is that she is much more motivated to learn about the behavior. Thus, her research into transgender issues endows her with a greater empathy which is manifested in a greater willingness to accept that outward displays—wearing female clothing—as well making attempts to understand on a deeper level what is required to raise a son who wants to be treated like a daughter.
Wayne Maines
Like most fathers probably would be, Wayne is resistant to Wyatt’s manifestation of behavior considered decidedly non-masculine in the world in which he grew up. Conventional notions of what is considered proper behavior for boys and proper behavior for girls the twain that shall not be met guides his instinctive response, but one senses that simmering below this natural resistance is an urge on the part of Wayne for Wyatt to eventually reject it himself and never the idea that Wayne will one day reject Wyatt. Ultimately, Wayne is a loving and protective father who just happens to be more reactive and less proactive than his wife.
Jonas Maines
In many ways, it is Nicole’s twin brother who is the key character in the book. At times, his presence lurks like a shadow beneath the narrative thrust with the threat that he will become the Jan Brady, a symbolic overlooked middle child between young Wyatt and older Nicole. Besides following the domestic focus of Wyatt/Nicole, however, the book also dives deep into the science of transgenderism. As a result of their being “identical twins” raised by the same family under the same cultural nurturing, the very fact that Jonas proceeds along the less newsworthy trek of growing up as a stereotypical boy makes him vital to the story as means exploring the conventional wisdom about the biology of gender.
