LRRM - Julia Elizabeth Stoddard (Julie)

Julie is the protagonist of the story, as well as narrator. The story begins with reflections of her childhood on her 30th birthday. Turning 30 makes her reflect on her Mom's life at that age, and subsequently, her own life during the summer she turned 10 - the story of how and why she became a writer.

At 30, she is single, employed as a high school English teacher, and is very close to her family (she still lives nearby). She spends her summers at her family's cottage writing.

As a child, she loves to read, build forts and have wars with her cousins, and spends as much time as possible in The River. It was her idea to build the fort HQ on Arenac Island. As such, her younger siblings James and Ashley think she is too bossy. She spends most of her time with her best friends Lilly and Kelly (Kelly happens to be her cousin as well).

Her parents Adriana and Andrew now own Stoddard's Landing, which is a campground and rental business along The River. As a result, Julie spends a lot of time with her Dad's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Rice, who insist on helping out with the business.

Julie as a child has long, sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes. She is very chubby and short as well, but is very confident in who she is. She has the reputation of being a book worm (from friends and family alike).

At the end of the story, the tragic death of a very close friend changes her profoundly (this occurred as a child and she reflects on it as an adult, at the very end of the story).

As a child and as an adult, she loves adventure, story telling, reading, and writing. Her family comes first.