The Candy Shop War

Summer is the only female member of the Blue Falcons. Before Nate’s arrival, she made many of the decisions for the group. However, she doesn’t seem resentful of the newcomer. She is impressed by his willingness to stand up to the school bullies. When danger is involved, Summer doesn’t hang back and let the boys take all the risks. She complains about being posted as a lookout rather than plunging into the thick of battle.

Summer is the only team member Mrs. White entrusts with the candy known as Flame Outs because she is perceived to have a cooler head than her male counterparts. Summer recognizes this trait when she briefly considers sharing the candy with the boys but wisely decides not to do so. She becomes indispensable in battle because of her use of the Flame Outs and Peak Performance gum. Although Mrs. White briefly imprisons her, she is reunited with her friends at the end of the story.

Pigeon is the same age as his friends but seems more innocent than the rest. He is also more polite and agreeable. Perhaps because of his sensitive nature, he is the most obvious target for school bullies. Each day they raid his lunch and rob him of his dessert. Something of a pacifist at heart, Pigeon advises Nate not to fight back if the bullies attack because he will be less likely to get beaten if he doesn’t challenge them.

Pigeon is especially good at getting information from others because he is approachable. Therefore, he becomes adept at using Sweet Tooth candy to convince others to do what he wants. On more than one occasion, he persuades adults to see things his way. He is also gifted at communicating with animals thanks to Brain Feed, even talking a horse into giving him a ride home. Like Nate, Pigeon is briefly transformed into an old man and gets to experience the other end of life’s journey. Luckily, this spell is reversed when Nate alters the story's outcome by foiling Mrs. White’s plans.

Trevor is another member of the Blue Falcons and frequently joins Nate on the riskiest of their group exploits. He assists Nate in breaking into the museum to steal a pocket watch and also in the mirror spell to search the candy shop for the teleidoscope. Unfortunately, he gets trapped in the mirror world and spends much of the novel waiting for someone to rescue him. Trevor trusts his friends and communicates with Nate through the mirror until he is released. Then, he immediately pitches in to help undo Mrs. White’s plans. At the novel's end, he decides to take a road trip with John Dart to visit the Council rather than deal with his parents’ withdrawal from white fudge.

When the novel begins, Mrs. White seems to be nothing more than the kindly old lady who runs the new candy shop in town. In reality, she is a centuries-old magician who has come to Colson searching for the Fountain of Youth. According to Mr. Stott, she has a dark reputation among the other magicians for her ruthlessness. Mrs. White wants power and is prepared to do anything to get it.

In addition to her unsavory assistants, she also recruits the help of youngsters by offering them magical candy. This lure usually proves irresistible, and she ensnares the Blue Falcons to do her bidding. When they finally rebel, she recruits the school bullies as replacements. While remotely spying on the Blue Falcons, she loses an eye after being shot with a crossbow by Summer.

Mrs. White uses white fudge to control the minds of the adult inhabitants of Colson and plans to expand her power by distributing the fudge to everyone in the region. By the novel's end, she is tricked into drinking the Clean Slate potion, erasing her memory. Although the draught from the Fountain of Youth returns her to the age of a 10-year-old girl, she can’t remember her past. At the novel's end, the Council arranges to place her with a foster family where she can grow up as a normal girl.

Stott is the friendly ice cream truck driver who has been around Colson for years. All the children in town know him. Like Belinda White, he isn’t what he seems. Stott is also a powerful magician who has lived for centuries. He originally came to Colson seeking clues to the Fountain of Youth. He is an ambivalent figure who initially appears as a friend to the Blue Falcons. However, he has concealed his true motives, which makes him untrustworthy. Later, he explains himself fully and once again regains the children’s trust.

Stott helps Nate defeat Belinda White by giving him the Grains of Time and advising him on how to use the spell. Because Stott hasn’t been entirely honest, he suffers some minor negative consequences. He briefly transforms into a coyote after being injured in an accident. John Dart will take him before the Council to explain himself, but the novel suggests that his human form will be restored, and he will be set free at some future point.

Dart is a shadowy figure as the novel begins. He wears a trench coat and a brown fedora, suggesting he may be a spy or a detective. In reality, he is an enforcer for the magical Council. His job is to track down magicians who have abused their power and bring them back to be judged. While Dart has an impressive arsenal of weapons in his car trunk, he is careful not to do any permanent harm to those he pursues. Years earlier, a magician placed a curse on him so that he would receive the same injuries he inflicts, although he recovers faster than his victims.

Like Belinda White and Sebastian Stott, Dart is much older than a normal human being. However, unlike the magicians, he doesn’t appear elderly but maintains the health and vitality of a man in his thirties. Initially, the Blue Falcons think Dart is their enemy and battle with him. However, later in the novel, they perceive him as an ally. After Mrs. White attains the goblet, she kills Dart until Nate goes back in time and reverses this terrible event. At the novel's end, Dart takes Stott and two of the bullies back to the Council. Trevor and Pigeon join him on this road trip.

Miss Doulin is the non-nonsense teacher of the fifth grade. None of her students like her because she is so strict. However, she becomes addicted to white fudge like many other adults in the story. As a result, she spends her days eating fudge and taking no notice of the outrageous antics of her students or their newfound magical abilities. Late in the novel, Dart briefly kidnaps her so he can act as a substitute teacher to explain the dangers of magic to her class. Presumably, she is released and eventually goes through the same white fudge withdrawal as the other grown-ups do.