"Boy"
Boy
Boy is eleven years old, and loves Michael Jackson, his dad Alamein, his younger brother Rocky, and his pet goat, Leaf. He is left in charge of the house and his younger cousins and brother when his nan has to leave town for a Tangi. He idolises his father, Alamein, who is newly returned from jail. He much prefers to imagine his father as a hero though, who is the captain of the rugby team, and is taking him away to see Michael Jackson live!
Did I mention that Boy loves Michael Jackson?
Rocky is Boy's six year old brother. He is a bit different from all of the other children, preferring to spend his time at his mother's grave, or getting to know the local 'weirdo'. He believes he has magical powers that were so strong that he accidentally killed his mother during his birth, and longs to use these powers to heal and repair his family.
Rocky
Alamein
Alamein is Boy and Rocky's father, but has been absent from their lives until he rolls up to Boy's house with his two buddies in search of buried treasure (literally). He is immature, irresponsible, self-centred, and behaves destructively in a number of ways in order to avoid facing the grief of losing his children's mother.
"In My Father's Den"
Paul Prior
Paul Prior, a disillusioned, weary war photographer who returns to his small New Zealand hometown in Auckland for his father's funeral. He is a complex, observant, and estranged figure who forms a close, unconventional friendship with a local teenage misfit, Celia, which draws suspicion from the community.
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Paul is the main character focused on in "In My Father's Den".
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Celia Steimer, a bright, fiercely independent 16-year-old student who desperately longs to escape her small, rural, New Zealand town (like Paul did). Paul and her meet when she's caught using his late father's abandoned hideaway (the "den") to write stories and dream of living in Europe.
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Celia is Paul's "inspiration" to process and accept growth.
Celia Steimer
Jackie Steimer
Jackie Steimer is Paul Prior's former teenage girlfriend and the local butcher in their small town. She is the mother of the main teenage character, Celia. Throughout the story, the mystery of Celia's parentage unfolds: Jackie had a secret affair with Paul's own father, making Celia Paul's half-sister rather than his daughter.
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Jackie gets incredibly jealous when Celia forms a close relationship with Paul, and believes he is the one who murdered her.
Andrew Prior is the repressed and religious younger brother of Paul Prior. He carries lingering resentment toward his brother Paul for fleeing the small town at 17 years old, leaving Andrew to deal with the family burdens and their complicated father. He is married to Penny, a heavily religious woman struggling with her mental health, much like his mother did.
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Andrew Prior is an accomplice to the murder of Celia.
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Andrew Prior
Celia Steimer Playlist
After taking our own personality test, Em continued to get Celia Steimer as the character that best fits her personality. Feeling compelled to embrace this fact, she quickly created a playlist that matches them both.
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Check out this coming-of-age playlist that a 20-year-old woman made of a 16-year-old girl, and how girlhood is such a beautiful spectrum. RIP Celia Steimer, you deserved better smh 💔
Men in the Mirror
Ever wondered what you would need if you wanted to look in the mirror and be one of the 3 main characters of Boy? Well look no further, from left to right is Rocky, Boy, and Alamein. Unsure which of the three you might be? Head over to the personality quiz on the games page and you might be lucky enough to mirror one of these three great boys!
