Krystal Weedon

Krystal Weedon is one of the central characters of the novel. We first see her in a flashback to primary school, when she and the other teenage characters are five years old. Even then, she shows strength of character and a tendency to get into trouble.

Through most of the novel she is sixteen years old. She lives in The Fields housing estate and thus comes from a severely disadvantaged background (her mother, Terri, is a junkie and sometime prostitute), but (fuelled in part by her unexpected talent for rowing) she dreams of a better life away from her mother, perhaps taking her belov&egrave;d younger brother Robbie with her. Her hopes in this are first shattered by Barry Fairbrother's death, and they rapidly unravel...

Personality
Having had little parental guidance, Krystal's behaviour is often rough and raw. She swears regularly and is often prone to lash out at those that she feels have done her wrong. Despite this, she possesses natural physical talent and displays an aptitude for rowing. She cares deeply for her brother Robbie, but is tragically un-equipped to rescue him, or herself, from desperate circumstances.