Lisamarie Hall
Lisamarie is the main protagonist of Monkey Beach and the story unfolds from her perspective. As she goes out on the sea to search for her lost brother, she recalls many memories of her childhood and young adulthood. Lisamarie has always been a tomboy who loves exploring the beautiful landscape of the British Columbia coastline. Through her close relationship with her grandmother, Lisamarie becomes attuned to the ways of her Haisla heritage, which gives her a context for what are her burgeoning spiritual abilities. Throughout her life, she has been visited by strange premonitions and dreams that connect her to the reality beyond the mundane. Lisa's adventurous nature combined with her supernatural senses results in her social ostracism as she becomes a teenager. Having experienced many death and tragedies at an early age, Lisa is more and more opened to the spirit world—something she struggles to assimilate into her waking life.
Jimmy
Jimmy is Lisamarie's younger brother. His disappearance is the catalyst for Lisa's series of recollections and journey to Monkey Beach. As children, Lisa and Jimmy are close and often play together. But their paths begin to diverge as they grow up, with Jimmy becoming invested in his studies and swimming, while Lisa resigns herself to being an outcast. Jimmy also does not experience the same supernatural abilities as his sister, which contributes to the distance between them. For this reason, Jimmy remains a character on the periphery for much of the narrative. It is not until Jimmy faces his own personal setback—dislocating his shoulder and being forced to quit the swim team—that he and Lisa become close again. The siblings mutually help each other regain a sense of stability after experiencing great hardship. His fate at the end of the novel is not revealed.
Lisamarie's Parents
Lisamarie's parents are named Al and Gladys. They are a hardworking couple that has tried to achieve the American dream. They sometimes go through financial hardship, yet they are family-centric and always use their resources to best support their children. They go through their own personal issues, such as dependency on cigarettes and coffee, but otherwise they are some of the more stable adults in the book. They take their role as parents seriously, especially when it comes to disciplining Lisamarie. Gladys, especially, can be quite strict when it comes to dealing with her daughter. For this reason, Lisamarie sometimes resents and rebels against their rules. Lisa's parents have strong middle class ambitions and for this reason they are often grappling between their Haisla tradition and Western culture. They do not put their faith in anything mystical, which contributes to Lisamarie's sense of isolation when she is experiencing paranormal phenomenon. We learn that Gladys had the same abilities as Lisamarie, but chose to suppress them in order to fit in better.
Uncle Mick
Uncle Mick is Lisamarie's much loved uncle. Lisamarie enjoys spending time with him as he is the goofy, free-spirited alternative to her rigid parents. Mick often babysits Lisamarie after he reappears from many years of being estranged from his family. However, Mick has his own troubles and a tumultuous past. He has never been able to hold down a job or relationship, and struggles with alcoholism, which makes him emotional and unpredictable. Despite a passion for Elvis Presley, Mick often defends Haisla culture and spent his younger years as a native rights activist; this warrior-like spirit greatly influences his niece. His sudden and tragic death is a pivotal moment for Lisamarie that haunts her throughout the story.
Ma-ma-oo
Ma-ma-oo is Lisamarie's grandmother. Ma-ma-oo, the mother of Al and Mick, is the matriarch of the family and one of the only characters in the novel who is still deeply attuned to the Haisla culture. Ma-ma-oo has knowledge of many myths, songs, and traditions that she imparts to her granddaughter. Her presence in Lisa's life is vital, as she helps gives some context for the paranormal things that Lisa keeps experiencing. She also knows much of the family history and often tells Lisa stories about old family members, although she is reluctant to speak about conflicts which directly involve her, such as her estrangement from Aunt Trudy. Lisamarie enjoys her peaceful times with her, when they walk through nature cultivating different native plants. Lisa feels that Ma-ma-oo lets her be herself rather than constantly criticize her. Toward the end of the book, Ma-ma-oo experiences health problems but remains resilient until the fire which takes her life. Her death is the final trigger for Lisa to fall into heavy depression and hit rock bottom, but she continues to serve as a guide for Lisa from the other side.
Frank
Early in the book, Frank is one of Lisamarie's bullies, and a conflict between the two lands them both in the hospital. But as she gets older, the tomboyish Lisamarie becomes part of Frank's all-boy clique. He develops a crush on Lisa and has a hard time articulating it to her, which makes Lisa uncomfortable. When he sends her a Valentine's Day card, Lisa ignores it. He moves on and ends up dating someone else. Although they lose contact for a while, Frank and Lisa rekindle their friendship after the death of Pooch.
Cheese
Cheese is one of Lisamarie's male friends. Cheese asks Lisa out and she rejects him. This results in Cheese date-raping Lisa in a very traumatizing way.
Pooch
Pooch is another one of Lisa's male friends. He lives with his grandmother after both of his parents died. Lisa loses her virginity to Pooch, but they remain friends. Pooch tragically kills himself towards the end of the book, which is a catalyst for Lisamarie returning to Kitamaat.
Erica
Erica is Lisa's cousin and the daughter of Aunt Kate. Although they played as children, Lisa becomes estranged from her, not liking her "girly-girl" ways and eventually getting into a conflict with her on the school bus. This results in Lisa making friends with the boys, who she hangs out with exclusively until being raped. After that, she regains her friendship with Erica, especially after saving her from being kidnapped in Terrace.
Tab
Tab is Lisamarie's cousin and the daughter of Aunt Trudy. Tab is a scrawny and unpopular girl who often has troubles as a result of being raised by the unstable and alcoholic Trudy. After she moves to Vancouver with her mother, she gets into drugs and tattoos, and even hitchhikes back up to Kitamaat against her mother's wishes. Tab is a good friend for Lisamarie and her only female companion at some points. While at rock bottom in Vancouver, Lisa has a dream where Tab encourages her to get her life together.
Aunt Trudy
Trudy is the sister of Lisa's father. She is a very loving aunt when sober, but when drunk, she is unstable and has a tendency to fly into a rage and even verbally abuse her own family. She has been scarred by her experience in residential school, which is also why she does not speak to her mother, Ma-ma-oo. She has a relationship with Josh, who is also an alcoholic. Towards the end of the book we learn that she is going for treatment for her addiction. She is the only character who cries at Mick's funeral.
Ba-ba-oo
Although Lisa's grandfather, Ba-ba-oo, has died before the story begins, he still has a presence. Ba-ba-oo drowned in the bathtub. We hear about him from different characters; some claim that he mistreated Ma-ma-oo, which is why she sent Trudy and Mick to residential school. Ma-ma-oo does not speak of this and often talks to him, doing fire ceremonies to honor his spirit, which is where Lismarie first learns about the spirit world.
Karaoke
Karaoke, the nickname of Adelaine Jones, appears several times in the story as the pretty, popular, and often hot-tempered girl who is the object of desire for all the boys in school. She eventually becomes the girlfriend of Jimmy. What happens between her and her uncle Josh is a catalyst for Jimmy's disappearance.
