Harbor Me

Holly is the best friend of and an important foil to Haley. The two girls have been friends for years and have a long, close history. Yet while Haley is quiet and introspective, Holly is jumpy and talkative. Holly is frequently outspoken in instances when Haley is silent. There are hints in Harbor Me that Holly's energy and outspokenness indicate hyperactivity, and she is aware that they can be a problem. She even expresses, “Sometimes I just want to be regular” (146) and stop moving around and talking so much.

Over the course of the novel, however, Holly's good qualities emerge, and Haley is helpful in revealing them. Others call Holly a "rich girl," criticizing what they see as her tendency toward being materialistic and always getting what she wants. Haley defends her friend, however, arguing that Holly is in actuality “really generous” (138). Haley also proves to develop over the course of Harbor Me. She shows herself capable of being far more than flighty and talkative by taking more serious, insightful stances in key moments. Most importantly, she helps Haley identify that she needs to find forgiveness to develop a relationship with her father. 

Amari is key to demonstrating that children can be assertive and insightful, no matter how society characterizes them. A sense of humor and fun define Amari’s personality, as when he creatively gives the ARTT room its name, or when he raps into the voice recorder, “My name is A. Yeah. And that’s ok” (39). At the same time, he is also highly thoughtful. He often leads the ARTT group sessions, such as when he sparks a discussion of what it really means to be free in America in the face of issues including racism and police profiling.

Amari often jests with his friends, such as when he flirts with Holly or calls Haley by the nickname "Red" because of her hair color. His gentle teasing is good spirited, however, as evidenced in how “stung” and “off balance” he is when Holly thinks his jokes have gone too far when he calls her a “rich girl” (139, 138). Yet Amari also plays a key role in encouraging the ARTT group to bond. For instance, it is his idea for the group to make a pact to reconvene in 20 years to prove their friendship. He is also steadfastly encouraging of others, such as his asking, “You ok, bro?” and putting “his hand on Esteban’s arm” when Esteban is down (14). Likewise, Amari joins Tiago and Esteban to escort Ashton to protect him from bullies.

While Amari is more outgoing than Haley, his character development mirrors hers because it is one in which he grows outwards to connect with other people. Amari is a talented artist, but he initially either hides his drawings from others or uses them as part of his teasing, as when he holds a drawing of a gun to Holly’s head. By the final chapters of the novel, he has used his artistic abilities to create superhero drawings of each of his friends. At the end of the last ARTT meeting, Amari also tacks a drawing of the sun to the room's wall, symbolizing the light the group has brought into each member's life, and the legacy of strength and friendship their time together has created.

Throughout Harbor Me, Ashton deals with a series of setbacks and challenges. Before the action of the novel begins, he moved to New York with his family after his father lost his job in Connecticut. As the only White boy in his grade at his Brooklyn school, Ashton is suddenly made to consider his racial identity. Initially, this leads to bullying as some older students make fun of his light skin, calling him “Casper and Wonderbread and Ghostboy” (92). The observant Haley notes that this bullying partially explains Ashton's characteristic quietness.

Ashton is fairly withdrawn at the start of the novel, but he begins to transform after he engages in a discussion of race with the other ARTT kids. By revealing his vulnerabilities to his friends, Ashton not only gains a group that protects him from bullies but also grows in his awareness of the world around him. He realizes that he has simultaneously been given the “white pass” (96) as a racial majority and faced his own personal challenges. By the end of Harbor Me, Ashton is no longer isolated but has instead found his place of belonging and support among his friends.

Esteban plays a key role in encouraging the group dynamic of the ARTT children, in ways that are both celebrated and mourned. Shortly after immigration officials detain Esteban’s Dominican-Republic-born father, Ms. Laverne hatches the idea of creating the ARTT opportunity. The other children initially coalesce around Esteban, recognizing the gravity of the crisis his family is facing and wanting to do something to support him.

As the novel proceeds, Esteban shows that he has strengths as well as crises to share. The story he tells of his father being detained is sad, but it also gives him the opportunity to introduce his father's love of things like baseball and poetry. The poems Esteban recites to his classmates are enthusiastically received and become touchstones of the group's experiences. As a result of his father's immigration problems, Esteban moves back to the Dominican Republic before the end of the novel. Because he is absent from key portions of Harbor Me, Esteban's character does not have a full path of development. However, the influence of his story and personality on the other characters lingers, as evidenced in Haley's remembrance of his “sweet voice” (168).