Invisible Son

Sierra is Andre’s crush, neighbor, and classmate. She lives with her adoptive parents, Mr. and Mrs. Whitaker; her biological brother, Eric (who disappeared before the novel begins); and her adopted siblings, Luis, Brian, and Kate. The reader learns that she and Andre kissed but never dated and that Andre clearly still has feelings for her.

Sierra’s past is complicated. She and her brother experienced multiple foster homes before ending up with the Whitakers. When Sierra was 12, Mrs. Whitaker tried to die by suicide and kill her three foster children, Luis, Eric, and Sierra, by carbon monoxide poisoning. The family adopted the children as a way of covering up what really happened that day. This incident, along with Mrs. Whitaker’s abuse of her adopted children, creates a tense home environment for Sierra. She also contends with being a young Black woman with a variety of different social expectations placed on her. She recounts to Andre, “All the stuff I have to deal with, comparisons of what’s good hair, body type, looks. But we’re supposed to be the strongest. Never let them see me break or I’m the angry, aggressive Black girl” (187).

The precariousness of Sierra’s situation is evident in the way that she wants to take down her adopted father by revealing what happened to them as children in a public space, where he and his wife can’t harm her. Her willingness to stand up against them illustrates her bravery and persistence. Ultimately, with the help of her siblings and Andre’s family, she finds justice for her brother and safety from the Whitakers, though she will always have to deal with the trauma of her brother’s death.

Eric is one of Andre’s friends. He is never seen in Invisible Son, but he looms in the background. Through Andre, Gavin, and Sierra, the readers get a picture of Eric as a fun-loving person with a difficult past. He loved being on a farm that one of his and Sierra’s foster parents owned, which is where Sierra saw him as being most himself. He was also an artist who took photos of Portlanders. When the novel begins, Eric has disappeared, and Andre is searching for answers, as he believes that Eric framed him for his arrest.

Both Andre and Sierra struggle with the nature of Eric’s disappearance. Despite it being the most logical explanation, Andre firmly believes, “Eric’s my boy. He wouldn’t intentionally set me up. He was caught up, just like me” (98). Likewise, he finds it hard to believe that Eric would just abandon Sierra, especially since he always protected her from their adoptive mother’s abuse. Toward the novel’s end, the truth is revealed: Sierra discovers letters from Eric explaining everything, and they discover that he was murdered by Mrs. Whitaker. Mr. Whitaker was the one who framed Andre.

The Whitakers are Andre’s grandparents’ neighbors, and they have long been a presence in his life, especially given how close he is to Eric and Sierra. At the start of the novel, Andre is aware of Mrs. Whitaker’s distrust of him, but he respects Mr. Whitaker. However, over the course of the novel, this trust unwinds as he discovers the couple’s dark secrets.

When Andre first returns home, he makes a point to talk to Mr. Whitaker since he feels grateful for his help: “[A]ll he did to help me, he saw me beyond my situation; he never doubted that I was telling the truth” (26). He’s more than willing to assist with Mr. Whitaker’s campaign. However, as Mr. Whitaker tells him supposed secrets, like Eric being treated for his mental health or filing a police report after his disappearance, Andre gradually realizes that Mr. Whitaker is lying. In fact, the Whitakers’ actions force their children to have their own secrets, like Luis hearing Eric and Mrs. Whitaker fighting. They are all afraid of their parents because they know that they will stop at nothing to maintain their image as a perfect family.

While Andre knows that Mrs. Whitaker doesn’t like him very much, he never suspects that she is the one abusing her children. Like Mr. Whitaker, she thinks that she’s a good person because she has children of color and attends fundraisers for the neighborhood, even if she isn’t listening to what the Black community wants. However, her racism is especially apparent in the way that she treats Luis, Eric, and Sierra, even going so far as trying to kill them when they were young children. It is revealed toward the novel’s end that she killed Eric during a confrontation and that Mr. Whitaker helped cover up the death.

In the end, Mr. Whitaker’s scheme to create chaos at the Black Lives Matter rally so that he can run for the governor’s seat backfires. Andre exposes him as not caring about the movement or Black lives at all. When he asks Andre, “Who’s going to believe some dumb kid with a record? I bet your old parole officer would love to hear about this the next time I talk to him” (353), his prejudice toward Andre is apparent. Furthermore, he has been actively conspiring with Cowboy Jim to get Andre sent back to detention. This conversation is the first moment that shatters the Whitakers’ façade; the second is when Andre realizes where Eric’s body is buried.

The novel ends without explaining what happens to the Whitakers, but they have been arrested for murder and have turned over their home to Brian. Their role as antagonists illustrates how some white people with power and influence try to erase people of color who attempt to speak out against them.

Marcus is Andre’s juvenile court counselor. While he does seem to have Andre’s best interests at heart, he also does not always acknowledge the role he plays in the criminal justice system, calling himself “police-adjacent” (4). He regularly follows the procedures set forth by the courts, which at times frustrates Andre, who feels constantly monitored even when he is following the rules.

However, Marcus also steps in to defend Andre against Cowboy Jim and the police when they are acting with prejudice against him. For example, when Andre is almost arrested by the police and they are overly forceful with him, Marcus appears, taking him home to safety. This is a key moment for Andre’s trust of Marcus because “Marcus doesn’t ask what happened. He knows what this is, and what it could’ve been” (251). Although Marcus stands up for Andre again by telling Jim that he’ll say that Jim planted Eric’s backpack in Andre’s home, he doesn’t hesitate to arrest Andre for his curfew violation, “like the cop he pretends not to be” (373). Marcus is thus an ambivalent figure who tries to behave with integrity while remaining unaware of systemic injustices.