Click

Olive’s mom is one of the most important secondary characters in Click. She is depicted wearing fairly conventional clothing, contrasting sharply with Aunt Molly’s more offbeat style. Olive’s mom is perceptive and empathic, and because she is always attuned to Olive’s emotional state, she is quick to notice when something is bothering her daughter. Olive’s mom expresses genuine interest in Olive’s day, and asks thoughtful questions about Olive’s feelings. She pays attention to her daughter’s social landscape and is deeply involved in Olive’s life.

Olive’s mom often approaches Olive’s social angst by offering practical solutions. When Olive admits to feeling excluded, Mom asks Olive if she has asked any of her friends to invite her to a group. Mom also encourages Olive to reach out to her friends and invite somebody over for a sleepover. When these gestures do not solve Olive’s issues, Mom offers to step in herself on Olive’s behalf by speaking to Olive’s friends’ parents or to Mr. Florez. However, in her genuine desire to fix Olive’s problems, Mom treats Olive like a child who cannot handle the situation herself. Olive therefore resists Mom’s efforts to intervene, preferring to find ways to assert her autonomy and discover an authentic social dynamic that reflects her interests and personality.

Through Aunt Molly, Olive learns a more about who Mom was when she was younger, and this new insight helps Olive to empathize with her mother’s position. Mom was once part of a group that performed at the variety show together, bonding over their shared love of a popular song. Because she has always felt comfortable as part of a group, Mom now values the benefits of conformity and pressures Olive to adopt her worldview. This difference of opinion leads to a brief conflict between Olive’s mother and Aunt Molly, but despite this momentary issue, Mom is an empathetic listener and communicator who comes to understand and support Olive’s decision to host the variety show.

Aunt Molly is an important mentor for Olive, and her support helps the protagonist to appreciate her own individuality. Aunt Molly’s physical appearance establishes her artsy, nonconformist attitude. Aunt Molly has the front half of her hair dyed green and wears crops tops and boots, in contrast to Olive’s more conventionally dressed mother. Aunt Molly is also perceptive and empathetic, asking Olive about her life and providing sound advice for a range of issues. When Olive is still agonizing over the best approach to the variety show, Aunt Molly perceives that Olive needs a little extra support and offers to host a sleepover. Unlike Olive’s mom, who tries to prescribe specific and practical solutions, Aunt Molly takes a freer approach to helping Olive with her variety show problems. Aunt Molly encourages Olive to do her own research by introducing her to old TV variety shows, hoping that these examples will help her to find an idea for her own act.

Aunt Molly also helps Olive by offering thoughtful advice that is rooted in her own experience. She recalls that she was similar to Olive when she was younger and never exactly clicked with any one group. During her own school talent show, she gave an odd performance art piece that felt authentic and personal, even though it did not win her any popularity points. While Olive’s mom was more aware of social conventions and embarrassed by a lack of conformity, Aunt Molly felt liberated by expressing herself in front of her friends and community. Aunt Molly reflects that her own mother was like Olive’s mom, who values conformity and fitting in. Olive ends up identifying with Aunt Molly’s approach and decides to host the variety show rather than conforming to any one group. Aunt Molly and Olive’s mom end up having some conflict over their differing social approaches, but ultimately, Olive defends herself and convinces her mom that hosting the variety show is her own idea.

Simon, primarily referred to by his nickname “Goober,” is Olive’s little brother. Usually portrayed with a goofy grin and a missing tooth, Goober is playful and silly but also has a thoughtful and empathetic side. He tends to make a mess, but he also helps Olive to overcome her frustrations when he encourages her to play and goof off before bedtime. Despite his youth, he notices when Olive feels sad and tries to cheer her up. He is genuinely interested in what excites her and watches the old variety shows with her. He also loves and looks up to Aunt Molly, requesting his own sleepover and enjoying playing with her lipstick.

Emilie, Franny, and Ava are three friends of Olive’s. She usually sits with them at lunch. These three friends immediately form a variety show group that will perform a cheerleading routine. Olive runs into them several times and feels awkward when they do not invite her to join their group. They pick up on her negative body language, and communication between them becomes disjointed and tense. Later in the story, this group reaches out to Olive and finally invites her to join them. They express their genuine excitement about the new tricks they could accomplish if she joins them. Olive reacts awkwardly and does not give them a clear answer, which hurts Ava’s feelings. Once Olive expresses how excited she is to host the variety show and how important it is to her, Ava forgives her and offers to help her find an outfit for the show. Everyone learns to communicate more clearly about what they want and why things are important to them.

Beth and Chanda are two of Olive’s closest friends. They bond over their interests in music and pop culture, forming a variety show group to lip-sync to a song by the “Crystal Girls.” When Olive’s mom reaches out to Chanda’s parents about a sleepover, she has already made plans with Beth.

Sawyer and Trent are two additional friends of Olive’s who form a group to perform karate for the variety show. They excitedly show off their routine to Olive but do not necessarily think to include her or invite her to join them.

Grace is a friend of Olive’s who teams up with another student to perform a song for the variety show. Grace is amazed that Olive is confident enough to host the show, but in the later scenes of the novel, Olive expresses her support of Grace’s act by stating her amazement that Grace is able to play a whole song.

Willow and Hugh are another set of friends that Olive connects with until they team up to perform a magic act for the variety show. At the beginning of the story, Olive is miffed when Willow cuts short a telephone conversation with her in order to answer a phone call with Hugh. This early shift in dynamics serves as foreshadowing for the broader sense of exclusion that Olive feels throughout the majority of the novel.