November 9

Fallon O’Neil is one of the two 18-year-old narrators of November 9 (who ages as the novel progresses). She is an attractive woman who has aspirations as an actress—however, when she was 16, a fire left her with scars on the left side of her body and low self-esteem. Fallon has a difficult relationship with her father, former actor Donovan O’Neil, because she blames him for the fire at his house (which he himself takes responsibility for, in addition to failing to tell first responders that she was in the house). Her anger only increases when he refuses to support her decision to move to New York.

Fallon was once an outgoing girl but has become reclusive because of insecurity related to her scars. When Fallon meets Ben, he convinces her that her scars shouldn’t be a source of shame and she begins to regain her confidence. Yet, she refuses to start a relationship with him because her mother once told her that she should be 23 before committing to a relationship—because 23 is old enough to know oneself. This is the reason why Fallon and Ben agree to meet once a year until they are both 23, blocking each other on social media and not exchanging phone numbers.