The Wednesday Wars characters

Appears from the start

A seventh grader at Camillo Junior High in suburban Long Island during the 1967–68 school year. Because he is the only Presbyterian in his class, he remains with Mrs. Baker on Wednesday afternoons while his classmates attend religious instruction. He narrates his worries about school, family expectations, and the unsettling events of the wider world.

Appears from the start

Holling's seventh-grade teacher, whom he initially believes must hate him because his presence disrupts her Wednesday schedule. Formal, demanding, and perceptive, she assigns him Shakespeare and gradually becomes an important mentor beyond the classroom.

Appears from the start

Holling's father, an architect who runs Hoodhood and Associates. He views nearly every relationship in terms of business advantage and expects Holling to inherit the firm, often placing appearances and contracts ahead of his children's needs.

Appears from the start

Holling's older sister, a high-school student who challenges their father's politics and his plans for both children. Holling often finds her exasperating, but her determination to choose her own future exposes the limits of their father's authority.

Appears from the start

Holling's classmate and the daughter of a rival architect. Their childhood friendship is complicated by teasing and their fathers' competition, but Meryl Lee is thoughtful, loyal, and willing to see Holling more clearly than he expects.

Appears from the start

One of Holling's closest classmates. Danny values friendship above celebrity and refuses to accept humiliating treatment even from a famous athlete he admires.

Appears from the start

A classmate who came to the United States as a Vietnamese refugee and lives with a Catholic relief organization. News of the war is personal to her, and prejudice sometimes makes her position at school painfully exposed.

Appears from the start

Holling's classmate and friend, known for drawing. His difficult home life includes an older brother whose bullying creates repeated trouble for Holling and others.

First appears in chapter 2

Doug's unnamed older brother, an inventive and persistent bully. He seizes on Holling's most embarrassing moments and spreads them throughout the school.

First appears in chapter 3

The school cook, grieving a husband killed in Vietnam. Her loss shapes her response to Mai Thi, a Vietnamese refugee at the school.

First appears in chapter 3

Mrs. Baker's husband, an officer serving with the United States military in Vietnam. His absence and the uncertain reports about his unit give the distant war an immediate place in her classroom and private life.

First appears in chapter 4

A celebrated New York Yankees player whom Holling and Danny eagerly hope to meet. The encounter tests whether admiration survives when a public hero behaves without generosity.