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Who Are The Main Characters In The Fourteenth Goldfish?

I'm a few chapters into this middle grade book by Jennifer Holm, but can't picture the main character or her quirky grandpa clearly. Hoping for a brief introduction to the cast.
2025-11-13 18:43:06
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7 Answers

Best Answer
Crystal Johnson
Crystal Johnson
Ellie, a spirited middle-school girl, and her friend Raj form an unlikely bond with her estranged grandfather Melvin after he is transformed into a teenager. As they all try to figure out the strange circumstances surrounding Melvin’s second chance at youth, readers who enjoy stories centered around characters and their relationships will find ‘Who Is the Nobody Here?’ to be of interest. The story revolves around a man who wakes up with no memory of who he is in a small town where everyone is convinced he is someone else, creating a personal mystery that follows him everywhere.
2026-08-05
Hazel
Hazel
In The Fourteenth Goldfish, the main character Ellie is a wonderful 11-year-old girl trying to figure out her life through middle school. Meanwhile her grandfather returns from years in Asia as a teenage boy, and she has to deal with that in addition to her already crowded life of science experiments and learning to be a responsible student and member of her family.

After that we meet Melvin, who is Ellie’s grandfather in reverse-aging form as a 13 year old boy. He’s a grumpy old man in a young boy’s body. Throughout the story he tries to find his way in the world. He’s very stubborn and can be quite funny at times, especially when he tries to use old technology. In his efforts to find a cure for his reverse-aging, he barges into all sorts of places and introduces himself to many people. He can be really annoying at times, but in the end he’s just trying to find a cure to get back to his old self. Then there’s Ellie’s friend Raj. He’s a theater kid who loves being part of plays. He brings a very different dynamic to his friendship with Ellie and is different from Melvin in every way. As a character he’s often ridiculous and over-the-top in his creative expressions. Together they form a strange but fun trio. It’s like a mashup of the movie ‘Freaky Friday’ and a really fun STEM fair project that went in all the wrong ways.
2025-11-15
Quinn
Quinn
The three main characters in The Fourteenth Goldfish look like they were ripped from a science notebook and coming-of-age diary. I can really hear Ellie in these pages. And most of all, I can notice her details on the smallest and most poetic of observations. For example, that when a goldfish dies, it floats to the top of the tank upside down. That’s just really cool. And her grandfather in the stories is now her classmates’ teacher, Melvin, who is pure, a 100%, certified, blinding, three-dimensional GENIUS. But worse, he’s also a NAUSEATINGLY grumpy old man. I actually think of Albert Einstein in his middle-school age, pre-SNAPCHAT, and that’s pretty much Melvin.

Raj is a great secondary character too. He is dramatic, but also fun to read about. The way he and main character Ellie interact adds a sweet touch to the book. However, this isn’t a fluffy or even meanulouslyGrowingUpBook — it is a thoughtful exploration of a few big themes, with funny moments courtesy of Melvin, the main character’s classmate and grandfather. After finishing the book I was left with many of Ellie’s quieter moments to ponder.
2025-11-18
Kendrick
Kendrick
Ellie’s ordinary world is turned upside down when her older grandfather, Melvin, shows up at her door as a freshly minted teenage boy after some kind of sciency experiment. As Ellie gets to know her grandfather, their relationship is part-mentor, part-clashes-with-generations. Melvin constantly complains about the kids these days, but he’s one of them.

Ellie’s best friend, Raj, is also brilliant. His love of all things dramatic is a perfect foil to the long-rolled-in-MSG-of-chaos-that-is-Melvin that Ellie is currently immersed in. The two of them whizzing off in Raj’s schemes (which Ellie gets dragged into whilst in her dithery state) whilst she tries to navigate her new-ish(!) relationship with Melvin is very funny and zings very naturally. The two of them are wonderful – real kids (albeit very worthy), messy and curious and occasionally insightful.
2025-11-19
M Six Ty Jaguar
M Six Ty Jaguar
It’s the triad of middle life. Melvin is stuck in the period of search and discovery that characterized his youth. The mother is in the midst of her life of responsibility to self and family. And then there’s Ellie, a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, trying to find her place and decide what she wants to value. Through their experiences with each other the trio is forced to confront their differences. We see Melvin’s exuberance, the mom’s reserve and wariness, and Ellie’s growing up and search for truth as she attempts to make sense of things and learn to trust her own moral judgment. Along the way Melvin learns about consequences, the mom about the value of wonder, and Ellie about critical thinking.
2026-07-31

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