Sue Ellen
Protagonist Sue Ellen is a 16-year-old kid growing up in the south during the Great Depression. She lives a humble life because her parents are poor. Her mother is an invalid who spends all her days in bed, and she's addicted to laudanum. Her father, on the other hand, is an angry drunk who prefers to fish and scavenge rather than holding down a reliable job. Consequently Sue Ellen spends much of her time helping her family stay afloat economically. She is a pretty androgynous, headstrong girl who cares little for romance, preferring to make friends with other misfits like herself. She's an extremely loyal friend.
May Lynn
May Lynn is the dead girl whom they all discover at the beginning of the book. Having left to become a Hollywood star sometime previous, she wasn't missed from the rural community she abandoned. Sue Ellen and friends are astonished and horrified to discover May Lynn's body tied down by a sewing machine in the Sabine River, although the adults were not surprised. Murdered young runaways were not an unusual occurrence in this day and age. In her honor, Sue Ellen, Terry, Drinks, and Mama all set out on a raft to spread their friends ashes in Hollywood.
Terry
Terry is Sue Ellen's gay friend. Since gender and sexuality are defined more rigidly by society in this era, he is considered an outcast in his community. When his mother remarried, she and Terry received not only a new husband/father but also a band of new kids which he brought from a previous marriage. These new step siblings are cruel and torture Terry for being gay. His journey down the Sabine results in him coming to terms with his sexuality, accepting himself for being different.
Jinx
Jinx is another of Sue Ellen's friends who accompanies her on the raft. She is a black teen who feels trapped by her ethnic identity. Whatever insecurities or doubts concerning her heritage she may possess, Jinx makes up for with her biting wittiness. She's got a comeback for every occasion, often astonishing surprised victims with the discernment of her criticisms. Over the course of the trip she begins to reconsider the shame she feels about her ethnicity. By the end of it all she has discovered a new pride for her black ancestry as well as her cultural identity. It is a strength to her, not a weakness.
