Little Mary Character Analysis

Mary Potts Almost Senior’s daughter and Cedar’s younger sister. Although Mary Potts believes that her daughter doesn’t use drugs, as she herself used to, Little Mary’s drug use is clear to Cedar and to the reader. Little Mary self-describes her style as “Gothlolita”—a mix between a tough, Halloween-esque, punk look and an infantilizing, sexualized aesthetic (Cedar picks up the reference to the novel Lolita, though Little Mary hasn’t heard of the book and only found the term “Gothlolita” on the internet). Little Mary’s personality is similarly divided between the scary and the sweet. Initially, she is incredibly hostile towards Cedar when they meet, and clearly feels threatened by the arrival of an older sister she has never met. However, later in the story when she asks for Cedar’s assistance in cleaning her filthy room, she reveals her vulnerability and her need for positive adult influences in her life. The story draws to a close with the two sisters wrapped in an embrace, both girls beginning to navigate the new and potentially scary territory of welcoming new family members into their lives.