Wildfire

Content Warning: This section mentions gambling addiction, parental neglect and verbal abuse, and alcohol abuse.

Aurora, also known by the nickname Rory, is one of the novel’s protagonists and point-of-view characters. Aurora is a five-foot-seven vegetarian with blonde, wavy hair and emerald-green eyes. Early in the novel, she’s revealed to be a risk taker who rarely stays out of trouble. Aurora began acting out at a young age to get her disinterested father’s attention; while it worked temporarily, the results never lasted. From the age of seven, Aurora attended Honey Acres sleepaway camp, which became a home to her where she could be herself, surrounded by people who wanted her company. For this reason, Aurora returns to Honey Acres as a summer counselor, hoping to rediscover herself and move away from her recklessness and her self-proclaimed reputation as “a chronic oversharer desperate for any kind of acceptance she can get” (130). A large aspect of Aurora’s character growth is Overcoming Insecurity. The close-knit community of Honey Acres counselors and campers provides the foundation for her to begin this journey.

At the beginning of the novel, Aurora has low standards in men because of her strained relationship with her disinterested father; she has a habit of ignoring red flags “in favor of string-free sex” (36).