We Were Here

Miguel’s older brother figures heavily in plot of the book and in the formation of Miguel’s personality and character; however, he never appears in the novel’s narrative present. Successful with girls and a decidedly suave, cool character, Diego often precipitates roughhousing with Miguel to a degree that frightens their mother. When she chides the boys about this behavior, they always promise to desist, but these truces are short lived.

Miguel describes Diego as “the quickest kid you could ever meet when it comes to making up a lie” (10). Diego sweet talks a number of characters, from the high school principal to a variety of prospective girlfriends. Miguel recalls him as always being able to make their mother laugh. Later in the story, the boy notes that Diego was always the favorite of his paternal grandparents. A quirky blend of a somewhat assaultive, duplicitous personality and a concerned, parental older brother, Diego often tutors Miguel with regard to methods of making his way out of various sorts of trouble and becoming popular with high school girls. He often extols the importance of being “chill” to Miguel; that is, not appearing to be overly anxious about whether a girl likes him by pretending to ignore some of her behavior.

As the narrative progresses, the reader becomes aware that all references to Diego regard incidents that occurred in the past. While the specifics of the conclusion of the dramatic fraternal relationship are not revealed until the end of the book, it’s clear that something related to Diego causes Miguel to regard himself with a sense of recrimination and self-loathing. 

The reader’s initial introduction to Mong, another resident at The Lighthouse grouphome to which Miguel is sentenced, involves Mong spitting in Miguel’s face when both young men are in the kitchen. The Asian youth is violently and inexplicably angry at the world; he is possessed of numerous scars on his face and has a shaved head. Miguel defends himself against the attack, and is subsequently warned by other residents that Mong has been known to break the arms of other boys as though they were brittle twigs; he is said to have “snapped [a] poor kid’s arm over his knee” (30), and once defecated on the kitchen table in retaliation for having been reprimanded by a counselor.

Conversely, Mong is extremely smart and intuitive. He is the instigator who leads Miguel and Rondell on an escape from the group home that leads them on an adventure through California. The reader becomes aware that Mong is suffering from end-stage kidney disease, and that his facial scars are the result of a botched attempt by his distraught father to kill the boy with a shotgun. Mong’s parents die in a murder/suicide conducted by his father after years of attempting to help his wife, who suffered chronic mental illness.

Mong is knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects and masterminds the survival of the trio upon their escape. Toward the end of his life, he engages Miguel in a very philosophical, spiritual conversation. He talks about different kinds of love, saying, “Since I was a little boy, […] I’ve been in love with the ocean” (186). He also philosophizes about the way in which people view their life experiences, stating that “It’s not about what happens to people […] It’s how they figure out what it means” (185). Originally introduced as a fearsome, violent character, Mong evolves into a concerned, spiritual individual as the story progresses. Mong commits suicide by drowning in the ocean.

The occasion of the first meeting between Rondell Law and Miguel is an unhappy one. They are assigned to share a cell in juvenile hall. Miguel occupies himself by reading and writing; when Rondell asks what he’s reading about, Miguel responds in a rude, flippant way and says that it’s stupid for Rondell to refer to him as “Mexico.” Rondell, a very large, African-American teen, responds by pushing Miguel to the floor and pinning his neck down with his shoe. They meet again as residents of the Lighthouse group home, where they are once again assigned as roommates.

Miguel comes to realize that Rondell, a highly-religious individual given to literal interpretation of the Bible, is functionally illiterate. Despite their differences, the two young men come to accept one another. When Rondell hears the escape plan proposed to Miguel by Mong, he asks to be included.

Miguel, who reads the clinical case notes on both of his friends, comes to realize that Rondell was a premature infant born to a drug-addicted mother. Subsequently, he was physically and sexually abused by the husband of an aunt who cared for him as a young child. The product of lifelong institutionalization and foster homes, Rondell has learned to use his size and an occasional tendency toward extreme violence in order to survive. Conversely, he is essentially gentle, extremely loyal, and very sensitive. He follows Miguel back to the Lighthouse because he’d promised Grandma Castaneda that he would care for Miguel.

Mei-li is a beautiful young college student who transports Miguel, Rondell, and her cousin, Mong, after their escape from the group home. Clever and street-smart, she is aware that the boys “aren’t all on a weekend pass” (85), as Mong had told her.

An uncommon combination of a romantic and a pragmatist, Mei-li asks Miguel to write a story about her, and provides numerous details pertaining to her decision to reunite with a disloyal boyfriend; nevertheless, she does not wish to be portrayed as embittered. Miguel seems to fall in love with her over the course of the time that the boys spend in her car. She also relates what she describes as a “love story” that Miguel realizes pertains to the initial meeting of Mong’s ill-fated parents; this narrative provides Miguel with further information about his friend’s history.

Flaca is a young Mexican girl whom Miguel meets and falls in love with while he and Rondell are traveling through southern California. Within minutes of their introduction, Miguel knows that he “never flirted with a girl as fine as Flaca” (245). The pair spend a brief interlude alone in a room at a frat party to which she and her friends invite Miguel and Rondell; however, they are interrupted when Miguel hears sounds from another room indicating that Rondell is engaged in a very serious fight.

They arrange to meet privately the following evening, but Flaca never appears. In addition to his heartbreak, Miguel realizes that the girls have stolen all the remaining group-home petty cash hidden in his duffel. Nonetheless, Miguel and Flaca connect in a very special way. Miguel reveals a great deal of his personal history to Flaca without describing the nature of his offense.

Jaden, described as a having “[b]lond floppy hair, blue eyes and perfect white teeth” (15) is an idealistic young counselor who works at the Lighthouse group home. In an effort to connect with the residents, he addresses them all as “bro.” The petty cash stolen by Miguel to finance the escape of the trio is taken from Jaden’s office; nonetheless, Miguel continues to call the counselor from public phone booths as he travels through California. Ultimately, Jaden is instrumental in Miguel beginning to have the sense that he belongs somewhere and is worthy of forgiveness.