Character Analysis
Herman is Alma's neighbor and classmate. For most of the novel, we know him only as "an eighth-grade nightmare" (2.33) who spreads nasty rumors about Alma and does the things that we all remember that one horrible kid doing in eighth grade. But, by the end of the book, Herman is a high-school senior who has a very cute crush on Alma. He drives her all the way to Isaac Moritz's house. They kiss (also very cute), and she's sad that he's going to go away to college next year.