A couple weeks ago, we met Ryan Ransley, the main character of my first middle grade novel. Today, we’re meeting his sister, Rebecca! Rebecca loves her brother dearly despite their many differences. Where Ryan loves sports, Rebecca loves art. When Ryan is the life of the party, Rebecca hangs in the background. However, when a raincloud starts following Rebecca around, the complications affect the whole family.
Rebecca Ransley
Personality
Rebecca holds an artistic talent I always admired and never could master myself. She loves sketching and watercolor. Her work in these early years of her life has centered predominately around nature. Even the little animals she draws hold faces full of personality and humor.
As an introvert, Rebecca internalizes much of what she observes in the world around her. Unlike her outgoing and active brother, Rebecca prefers to converse about creative topics and perspectives. She takes issues of right and wrong very seriously, and her inner critic already influences her mental health at ten years old.
Relationships
Rebecca’s best friend is Julie Ann. However, Julie Ann and her family moved to a new city an hour away this past summer. While the families live close enough to stay connected, Julie Ann’s absence leaves a void in Rebecca’s school life. Julie Ann’s new group of friends don’t help Rebecca’s feelings of loneliness, either. Loneliness, jealousy, and guilt for feeling jealous all combine to create a breeding ground for early symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Anxiety and depression can manifest in outbursts of anger, irritability, and moodiness. For Rebecca, her brother Ryan bears the brunt of Rebecca’s angry outbursts. While Rebecca hates the impact her outbursts have on her family, she appreciates Ryan’s ability to forgive her. She relies heavily on her sibling-friendship with Ryan as her loneliness at school increases.
Behind Rebecca Ransley
Rebecca’s character hits close to home for me. As I’ve progressed through counseling in the past few years, I recognize early symptoms of my own anxiety and depression appearing around 5th grade. I pray Rebecca’s story gives readers hope and helps families recognize they can seek counseling for children now before symptoms become a larger problem.
I chose a raincloud to follow Rebecca in hopes that it will show people the physical aspects of mental illness. However, plenty of children encounter chronic illnesses that they must learn to cope with. I pray the raincloud can give all readers coping with a chronic mental or physical illness hope that they can carry on even on the bad days.
Meet the Character
Have you ever felt like a raincloud was following you during a difficult season? Stayed tuned next week for some NaNoWriMo preparations!