Beautiful Disaster

Abigail Abernathy is the protagonist and first-person point-of-view character throughout the novel. She is 18 when the story opens and a first-year student at Eastern University. She has long caramel-colored hair and gray eyes. Travis calls her Pigeon, which can mean “a dove, an attractive girl, a winning card in poker” (105).

Abby’s mother has an alcohol addiction and her father, Mick Abernathy, is a famous poker player. Mick taught Abby how to play poker and encouraged her to drink at a young age. Mick created a legend that, at midnight the day Abby turned 13, his luck ended and hers began, thus gaining her the nickname “Lucky Thirteen.” People from her childhood, which was spent in Vegas casinos associating with gamblers and mobsters, also called her Cookie. She was good friends with Jesse, the son of a casino owner.

Abby’s mother lives in Wichita, where Abby met her best friend, America. Abby feels closer to America’s parents than her own. Abby chose to attend Eastern because she wanted to escape Wichita, her reputation as “Lucky Thirteen,” and Mick’s increasing debts, which he often calls upon Abby to help him pay. At Eastern, Abby decides to cultivate a new image as a girl who wears cashmere cardigans and pearls.