-NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR JOELLE CHARBONNEAU-
GRADUATION DAY
MAIN CHARACTERS
A character is a person in a novel, play, or movie. A protagonist is the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text. An antagonist is a person who actively opposes or who is hostile to someone or something, usually the protagonist.
Cia Vale
The Protagonist
Cia Vale is a teenage girl from a small colony known as Five Lakes. She comes from a family of 3 brothers and has learned how to be tough. Not only is Cia strong, but she is also very smart, and has very good instincts. Although Cia is just a young woman, she has been tasked with a mission that could change her life and the lives of every citizen of the United Commonwealth. She must eliminate a group of very powerful and corrupt officials before more lives can be lost. Cia must learn who to trust and how to be a great leader.
Cia is the protagonist of the story because the story is told from her point of view, she is the heroine, and she is also the one who is given the task to take down the Testing.
Tomas Endress
The Boyfriend
Tomas is a young man who is also from Five Lakes Colony. He and Cia originally seeked comfort in each other because of their connection to each other's home, but when their Testing begins a romance blossoms between the two. After both survivng the Testing and making it to the University, Tomas and Cia continue their relationship, where he often provides Cia with love and support. Tomas, like Cia, is also very intelligent and strong, however, he does not trust as well as Cia and has a jealous streak when it comes to Cia and other male classmates. Even though Cia and Tomas have had to overcome their own obstacles, there is no one else at the University that Cia trusts more than Tomas.
Raffe Jeffries
The Ally
Raffe Jeffries is not who Cia expected to become one of her biggest allies. Being an original Tosu City student and the son of one of the biggest supporters for the Testing, Raffe was suppossed to be one of the bad guys. But Raffe suprises Cia and even himself when he decides to help Cia take down Dr. Barnes, his supporters, and the Testing; including his own father. Raffe is shy, independent, but also trusts easily like Cia. He is very perceptive and reads people very well, especially Cia. He wants nothing more than to help Cia destroy the Testing and find out the truth about his sister.
Dr. Barnes
The Antagonist
Dr. Barnes is the highest Testing administrator. His family was among the first to establish the Testing criteria, and he is constantly judging the candidates during each interaction with them. Dr. Barnes is perceived by Cia as cold, manipulative, and ruthless. He does not care who lives or dies, as long as the Testing is successful. Dr. Barnes' interactions with Cia end up leaving her highly disturbed and suspicious. He is also a great liar, as he has been lying to the citizens of the United Commonwealth for years about what is really going on in the Testing.
Dr. Barnes is the antagonist of the story because he is the leading administrator of the Testing, which is the institution Cia is trying to bring an end to. However, not everything about Dr. Barnes' true intentions is revealed until the end of Graduation Day.