Em (short for Emily) is the middle sister in Jay’s family. She’s a current student at Michigan State University studying graphic design, to the disappointment of Tito Maning. She and Jay have a decent relationship, but they’re not particularly close, and she doesn’t understand his grief at Jun’s death. Her dismissive reaction hurts Jay’s feelings and solidifies his belief that Jun is the only person who really understood him.
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Em Character Timeline in Patron Saints of Nothing
The timeline below shows where the character Em appears in Patron Saints of Nothing. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
How He Lived
...always busy with his new boyfriend or his engineering work. Jay then calls his sister Em, who’s at college now, and she answers. Their relationship has always been strained, but Jay...
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Em then asks what happened in a too-curious tone. Jay says that their dad won’t say,...
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A New Silence Arrives
...school. She and Grace go to private school, though. Angel asks questions about Jay’s sister Em, but then the car is silent.
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Every Single Surviving Word
...even more successful than Chris. However, he says, Angel is lazy. Finally, Tito Maning dismisses Em’s graphic design study as useless.
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Bravery As if It Were My Own
...that Grace is now more like a sister than a cousin. But even Jay and Em never hold each other like this. Jay further realizes that Everyone is capable of this...
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Headfirst Across the Muddy Grass
...soccer in a field near the local church. At first, they played with Chris and Em, but Chris and Em played competitively, while Jay and Jun didn’t really know what they...
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