Unplugged

Grace is Jett’s age but differs from him in every respect. She loves the Oasis as much as Jett hates it. Grace is so protective of the retreat that she objects loudly to anybody who doesn’t follow the rules. Her love of following rules is just as great as Jett’s desire to break them. Because Grace has such rigid ideas of right and wrong, she is frequently judgmental of her campmates. This alienates some of them because they always feel silently condemned by her.

Just as Jett learns some lessons about following rules, Grace learns the occasional necessity of breaking them. At the end of the novel, Grace rescues Jett by detonating a carton of fireworks. Earlier in the story, she would have been horrified at the notion. However, she learns that it is sometimes necessary to break the rules in order to do the right thing.

Tyrell is another 12-year-old attending the Oasis retreat. He suffers from multiple allergies that leave him perpetually itchy and miserable. Despite his physical discomfort, Tyrell has a pleasant disposition and tries to get along with everyone. He even manages to make friends with Jett and remain friends with Grace. Because Tyrell is somewhat timid and fearful, he finds Jett’s recklessness to be an attractive quality. Through Jett's antics, he can vicariously experience what it might feel like to take risks.

Once Team Lizard coalesces, Tyrell is very concerned with the rights of each member. When Grace unilaterally wants to free Needles, Tyrell insists that everybody should vote on that decision. He wants to make sure that Jett is included in the discussion. By the end of the novel, Tyrell learns to become more adventurous, even helping Grace to execute the risky plan to rescue Jett from Snapper and her henchmen.

Brooklynne is a teenager who is a few years older than the other members of Team Lizard. Because she keeps to herself so much, she becomes a mysterious figure to the rest of the campers. Initially, nobody trusts her until Needles makes his first appearance. Her interest in protecting the small lizard wins the support of Grace, and Brooklynne is eventually incorporated into the team.

Throughout much of the novel, Brooklynne harbors a secret. She is the daughter of the Oasis founder but doesn’t want people making a fuss over her. She avoids attention to the same degree that Jett seeks it out. Although Brooklynne is fond of her father, she doesn’t completely agree with his unplugged philosophy. She keeps a cell phone hidden in her room for emergencies. This comes in handy when Jett needs to be rescued. Brooklynne’s involvement in Team Lizard establishes a bond with her campmates and breaks her out of her self-imposed isolation by the end of the story.

Matt is a 27-year-old programmer who works for Fuego. While he wants to distinguish himself in the tech industry, Matt is instead given the job of babysitting the wayward Jett. He is frequently exasperated with his young charge and can’t seem to instill a sense of responsibility in him. Because Matt himself is stressed, he derives benefits from being at the Oasis and disconnecting from his tech-dependent life.

Although he falls under Ivory’s spell, Matt still finds authentic psychological healing during his time at the Oasis. By the end of the novel, he tells Jett that he is quitting Fuego. He intends to teach English to kids and will work for Mrs. Baranov’s charity instead of for her husband. Matt even takes a positive view of his time as Jett’s babysitter, seeing it as a training ground for his future role as a teacher.

Brandon is a 13-year-old camper at the Oasis. Hs is already six-foot-two and resembles his football-player father. While Brandon is more physically developed than his campmates, he has allowed his intellectual development to suffer. Brandon is the closest thing to a bully at the Oasis. He extorts candy bars from Jett in exchange for not revealing that Needles is being kept on the property. When Brandon doesn’t get his regular candy supply, he releases Needles, not realizing that doing so will end his side business in blackmail.

Ivory is an impressive physical specimen. She is six-foot-four with pale eyes and close-cropped silver hair. Ivory is also the second-in-command at the Oasis and functions as the retreat’s meditation director. Most of the guests regard her as being wise and helpful. However, Ivory also harbors a secret. She uses hypnosis to extort large donations from the adult guests at the Oasis. She then uses this money to finance a lavish lifestyle, including a mansion and a Ferrari. The rest of the money goes to operate her illegal alligator farm, where she is known as Snapper. By the end of the novel, Ivory receives her just comeuppance and is arrested. Her alligators are relocated to their natural habitat in Louisiana.

Magnus is the charismatic founder of the Oasis wellness center. Like several other characters, he isn’t who he seems to be. Although Magnus preaches a standard New Age philosophy, he was originally a Wall Street businessman known as Marvin Feldman. He changed his name to Magnus when he became a self-help guru, thinking it would sound more impressive to his potential clientele. Magnus also doesn’t announce that Brooklynne is his daughter; she only comes to the retreat because he has custody of the girl during the summer months. Despite his various shadings of the truth, Magnus sincerely believes the philosophy he preaches. When Ivory’s crimes are discovered, Magnus offers to refund all the money she has taken. His guests believe that they have derived enough benefit from his methods to remain at the Oasis even after the hypnosis scandal has been revealed.