24 Hours In Nowhere

Rossi, another round character, is a 13-year-old newcomer to Nowhere. Rossi is a member of the Tohono O’odham tribe. She lives with her father, who works as a social worker at the Center for Youth, eager to reform the justice system. To supplement his income, Mr. Scott works the midnight shift at a gas station. Still, they suffer financially. For Rossi, who has only recently moved to Nowhere, “leaving the people [she has] known [her] whole life” has proven difficult (144), and she resents her new loneliness. Ultimately, Rossi hopes to escape from Nowhere and head down to Baja, Mexico, highlighting the theme of Escaping Oppressive Circumstances.

To cope with her troubled home life, Rossi races her dirt bike, selling scrap metal to afford equipment and spare parts. A skillful racer, Rossi “had been the first person to challenge [Bo]” when she moved to Nowhere (36). Indeed, Rossi’s passion for racing figures centrally in her identity: Rossi is nicknamed after Italian biker Valentino Rossi, whom Matthew celebrates as “one of the greatest motorcycle riders of all time” (92). As her rivalry with Bo mounts, Rossi hopes to win “the most important race of the summer” and earn a place in Breaker Bradley’s camp (36).

However, despite this passion, Rossi consistently prioritizes justice and ethics over the glory of racing. For instance, Rossi is willing to forfeit her bike to protect Gus’s safety, precipitating the novel’s central plot. Once lost in the cave, Rossi agrees to focus mainly on their escape and insists that “people are more important than metal and rubber” (149). Similarly, when the group finally escapes the cave and bumps into Mayor Handsome, Rossi declines a ride on his quad since Jessie is injured. 

Rossi rarely lets her feelings overpower her and fiercely guards her privacy. For instance, when the group encourages Rossi to share her worst day, Rossi redirects the group’s attention. Later, as she vents to Gus about her father, Rossi insists that she doesn’t need him as much as the young people at the Center do. Gus suspects that Rossi’s toughness is merely an act, and Rossi herself has a tell: Whenever her hair loosens, it signals her vulnerability. Notably, when a bat tangles itself in Rossi’s hair, she screams, seeming less like a hardened racer and more like “a thirteen-year-old girl with a bat in her hair” (87). Similarly, when Bo slashes Rossi’s bike tires, her hair loosens, and she finally voices disappointment, saying, “There’s no way, Gus. It’s impossible now” (222). This subtle vulnerability complicates Rossi’s persona. When she finally triumphs over Bo—and wins a spot at Breaker Bradley’s camp—Rossi opens up even further, accepting Gus, Matthew, and Jessie as friends. As the novel closes, Rossi reveals that her real name is Loretta, suggesting a willingness to define herself apart from racing. With her head on Gus’s shoulder, Rossi finally rests.

Bo is a static character and the novel’s primary antagonist. Like the other major characters, Bo is a 13-year-old resident of Nowhere. In many ways, Bo is Gus’s direct opposite. For instance, whereas Gus describes himself as a “thirteen-year-old in the body of an eight-year-old with the mind of an eighteen-year-old,” he criticizes Bo as a “thirteen-year-old in the body of an eighteen-year-old with the mind of an eight-year-old” (2). Indeed, Bo often shuns academics and conventional intelligence in favor of brute strength. The very first scene of the novel develops this characterization, as Gus loses to Bo in a physical contest: Bo forces Gus’s face toward a jumping cactus. His physical domination also extends to dirt-bike racing; Bo cheats and prioritizes winning above all else. In this light, Bo emerges as a larger-than-life personality whose greed, spite, and brutality dominate Gus’s adolescence. Indeed, Gus admits that Bo appears more like a “lord” than a teenager, bolstered by “minions” like Matthew and Jacob.

A direct challenge to Bo’s tyranny precipitates the novel’s central conflict: Rossi, hoping to bargain for Gus’s safety, forfeits her bike to Bo. When Gus attempts to buy the bike back, Bo exercises his leverage and demands that Gus retrieve gold from Dead Frenchman Mine. Gus accepts Bo’s terms and begins a journey that will dominate much of the novel’s plot. While the group is in the cave, Bo is physically absent from the narrative but nevertheless haunts the group and their decision-making. They worry, for instance, that without any gold, Bo is “totally going to win” (109), and they take risks accordingly.

Bo reappears once the group has recovered the gold and successfully trekked back to Nowhere. Sitting astride his bike, Bo again offers a meaningful contrast to Gus and the other major characters: Whereas Gus and his friends have evolved, benefitting from a more robust understanding of friendship and self-identity, Bo is unchanged—he is still ignorant, vindictive, and mean. For instance, he demands “two pieces of gold” (217), slashes Loretta’s tires, and grabs Rossi’s handlebars to gain the advantage in their race. Despite such trickery, Bo loses the race. He is humiliated, but rather than portraying this as a satisfying outcome for a bully, Bowling reminds readers of Bo’s abusive home life. For instance, after the race’s end, Bo is roughly handled by Jack, his domineering older brother. Jack also warns him, brutally, that he might “end up like Dad” (240)—that is, in prison for murder. Earlier in the novel, Matthew had encouraged the group to consider that “maybe [Bo] wouldn’t be like he is if his dad hadn’t been so terrible” (111), evoking the theme of Transcending Family History. In revisiting this perspective, Bowling suggests that bullies are made, not born.

Jessie, a round character, is a fellow 13-year-old resident of Nowhere. A Mexican American, Jessie traces his roots back to José Navarro of Dead Frenchman Mine. At the novel’s beginning, Gus and Jessie are estranged: When Jessie awkwardly approaches Gus at Nowhere Market, Gus explains that they had been “good friends, best friends, actually, up until last year” (42). Then, Jessie grew closer with other Mexican American students at school, and Gus, a non-Spanish speaker, misinterpreted their conversations and started to feel insecure. Still, Gus impulsively confesses his plan to Jessie. Despite their estrangement, Jessie rallies Rossi and follows Gus and Matthew to the mine. He and Rossi join Gus and Matthew to search for the gold and seek an escape from the cave, which is an example of Conquering Challenges Through Cooperation.

At the onset of their journey, Gus and Jessie still struggle to overcome their misunderstanding. Nevertheless, Bowling hints at their shared history and suggests a lingering, if hidden, affection. For instance, when Gus awkwardly mentions his trip to Disneyland and Matthew begs him to elaborate, Jessie shoots him a knowing glance. Gus explains, “He knew why I didn’t want to talk about it. And I knew he wouldn’t betray my secrets, no matter what had gone on between us over the last year” (81). Ultimately, Jessie and Gus revive their friendship, and Jessie corrects Gus’s perception of their rift; Jessie hadn’t bad-mouthed Gus to his new friends but had regaled them with “funny stories about stuff [he has] pulled” (103). As Jessie shares his side of the story, Gus understands the foolishness of judging too quickly on the basis of incomplete information. This is a model of friendship that Gus and Jessie will extend to Matthew, who similarly defies their preconceptions.

In a last-ditch effort to recover the gold, Jessie finds Dufort’s hidden pistol and accidentally shoots himself in the foot. Supported by his friends, Jessie is able to escape the cave and recover at the local hospital, where doctors amputate his pinky toe. Jessie complains in his usual dramatic manner that he is “not a whole man anymore” and bursts into tears (251). Though Gus jokingly dismisses him as a “total lightweight” (252), Jessie’s response emphasizes the craziness of their adventure; in short, they have had a whirlwind 24 hours. Jessie ends the novel with his friends, on the steps of Nowhere Market.