The Family Page

Heather and George

Age at the time of the novel: Fortysomething
Place in the family: The Parents
Before the novel starts: Heather, George, and Heather's two sisters, Julia and Stacy, started running their extended family together after Julia and Stacy's husbands were both out of the picture and everyone discovered they needed help. Right before the novel starts, Julia and her husband, Jimmy, decide they want to try to get back together. Jimmy, who has never really gotten along with George, feels threatened by their parenting by committee setup, so a lot of changes are in store for Heather and George, which they must weather along with the Varsity/new life/UTDS/compass excitement of the school year.
MAJOR PLAYERS:

  1. The Coppenhagen Kids:

    Brian

    Pat

    Troy

    Yolanda

    Melissa

  2. The Aarons:

    • Julia Aaron: Is Heather's middle sister. She is the mother of Diana, Andee and C.J. She knows the parenting by committee way works, but thinks Heather and George have gotten carried away with regular meetings and having all the kids' records and things at their house. Plus, she would rather work things out with Jimmy than to hold on the past. She things her kids sometimes get a bad rap in the family annals, with Diana labelled as "boy crazy", Andee a big mouth and C.J. a prankster.

    • James (Jimmy) Aaron: Took a big job in Africa three years before the novel starts. Julia didn't want to uproot the kids, so they decided to live apart. He never saw it as a separation, even when things got worse. He thinks Heather, George and Stacy have too much influence over Julia and the kids and comes back to be "the man in his own house."

    • Diana Aaron: Is a few months older than Pat, the Aaron's oldest child. She affected the most by her father's absence, since she has to pick up most of the slack around the house that a missing parent can leave. She wishes her family were more like Maria's.

    • Andrea (Andie) Aaron: Is around 12. It's not so much that Andie has a big mouth, she just knows things because she pays attention. And if someone asks her something, she'll give an answer straight out, she a very up front person. Andie always felt snubbed by the exclusive friendship of Troy and Yolanda. She thought that she and Yolanda should be best friends/cousins like Pat and Diana. So when Melissa lands in her grade, she's delighted to have a cousin "her age."

    • C.J. Aaron: Is ten. Out of all the non-Coppenhagen kids, he seems to resent George's father influence the most. Being a younger kid, he's no big fan of Brian's either, having seen Brian's treatment of Troy. He's a smart kid, who prefers to think of himself as "clever" rather than a practical jokester.

    The Junes:

    • Stacy June: Is Heather's youngest sister. She is being pulled both ways by her two sisters, on the one hand, as a single mother, she still needs the help that Heather's system of parenting provides. On the other, she can see Julia's point about independence, plus she can't be running to the high school every five seconds, her daughters are six and four!

    • Tibia June: Is six. She looks up to her cousin C.J. and wholeheartedly believes all of the crazy stories he tells her. She goes back and forth between deciding whether her sister is a pest or a pal.

    • Matty June: Is four. A sunny child, she waits patiently for the days Tibia decides they are friends, but follows her around on the off days as well because there is no one else to play with. She doesn't miss her father one bit, saying that she has George, and she wants to marry her cousin Brian when she grows up.

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All material and characters Copyright 1997 Lisa Hill-Corley
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