Meet the Characters

Stella Martin

Street smart, dramatic, and braver than she feels.

Gift: She dreams the future.

• Funny
• Bold
• Loyal
• Dramatic
• Big-hearted

Stella is 13, loves flare jeans, reading on her window seat, and making her mom laugh. She can take forever to pick an ice cream flavor, but when someone needs help, she jumps in first. Her dreams have started showing her things that haven't happened yet.

“Clothes are important. They tell a lot about you.”

Rylee Martin

Book smart, calm, and always one backup ahead.

Gift: Her inner GPS always knows where to be, and when.

• Smart
• Careful
• Kind
• Hopeful
• Quietly brave

Rylee is Stella's identical twin and her total opposite. She reads the whole student handbook for fun, loves thrift-store finds and the Antiques and Curiosities Club, and never gets lost. When she gets a feeling about where to go, she is never wrong.

“Dusty old stuff has stories, Stella.”

Drake

Can fix anything with a plug. Arrives at 2:59 and forty seconds.

• Clever
• Funny
• Hardworking
• Loyal
• Independent

Drake is the new part-timer at the ice cream shop, and Stella has to train him. He can fix a broken cash register with a butter knife, renames Rocky Road on day one, and works hard for everything he has. He is standing at a crossroads he can't see yet.

“One scoop of Roadie Rock for the gentleman.”

Mr. Wigglesworth

Says behoove. Means it.

• Wise
• Kind
• Patient
• Proper
• Secretly funny

Mr. Wigglesworth has white hair, wire spectacles, and a classroom covered in maps. He talks like a book, takes attendance like a royal proclamation, and somehow knows more about the twins' family than they do. When he polishes his glasses, he is thinking hard.

“The gift grows the girl.”

Mrs. P

Smells like vanilla and waffle cones. Never yells.

• Warm
• Generous
• Patient
• Welcoming
• Unflappable

Mrs. P is Stella's boss and possibly her favorite grown-up in Castle Hill. She has silver hair, reading glasses on a beaded chain, and a smile like a porch light. Drop a scoop and she just says, "Well, we'll call that one a sample."

“Everybody needs somewhere they get taken seriously, dear.”

Mrs. Grimsby

Proper forms prevent poor outcomes.

• Precise
• Organized
• Rule-loving
• Thorough
• Surprisingly reliable

Mrs. Grimsby runs the school office with colored tape lines, a carousel of rubber stamps, and a stamp log to keep track of her stamping. She has a form for everything, and the form is usually goldenrod. Nothing gets past her, not even a crooked napkin.

“Alphabetical order is not a suggestion.”