Kathryn Lynn Character Analysis

Kathryn is Billy's older sister and the middle Lynn child. Billy describes her as blonde and beautiful enough to distract both older men and Billy himself, though Kathryn also isn't afraid to speak uncomfortable truths or use foul language. Prior to the start of the novel, Kathryn was engaged to a man whom Billy refers to as pussy boy. When Kathryn suffered a horrific car accident that left her face terribly scarred, pussy boy broke off their engagement. Billy destroyed pussy boy's car in retaliation, which is how Billy ended up in the Army—the lawyers offered to drop the felony charges if he joined up. Because of this, Kathryn feels responsible for the fact that Billy is in the military, and she goes out of her way to try to get him out of it. She contacts an organization that helps soldiers legally desert, passes Billy's contact info on to them, and spends all of Thanksgiving Day texting Billy to respond to their messages. She finds it insulting that the Army would force Billy and the rest of Bravo Squad to redeploy after the Victory Tour and is shocked that Billy wants to return to Iraq with his fellow soldiers.