Ava’s father

Ava Spirini’s father moves between setting limits and offering steady care as she struggles after Kelly Waititi’s death. He cannot spare her the school’s demands or resolve her grief, but he becomes a listener Ava increasingly trusts, an advocate when the school withdraws support, and a quiet presence in moments of distress.

Identity and Role

The novel identifies him through Ava Spirini’s familiar name for him, Dad, rather than supplying a fuller account of his life. His role is defined through their changing relationship: he first appears as a parent trying to manage the practical consequences of her absence from school, then as someone with whom she can speak more openly about what is happening.

When Ava Spirini returns to school full-time after several weeks attending part-time, she has been back for only a month and still struggles to concentrate or attend consistently. Mrs Bryan and other teachers press the issue of Year 11 and missed work; Ava says her father had been running out of reasons to keep them at bay. The pressure makes him part of the practical machinery pushing her back into school, even as her grief leaves her feeling that ordinary lessons have little meaning.

Advocacy at School

At a meeting about Ava Spirini’s future at school, her father objects when a representative says the school can no longer support her and recommends another institution. He turns to the representative and asks whether they understand what Ava is going through. The response recognizes that Ava and the school community have experienced trauma, but says staff have other students to support and proposes a meeting with Rahila Saeed at TAPs. The recommendation shocks Ava; her father’s intervention makes clear that he does not accept the school’s decision as a neutral administrative step.

His advocacy does not prevent the proposed transfer, but it gives Ava’s experience a defender in the room. The exchange also shows the limits of what he can control: he can challenge the school’s judgment, but the institution still directs the family toward an alternative placement.

Boundaries and Franker Conversation

At home, his concern can take the form of a boundary. When Ava Spirini returns after going to Kelly’s home, he asks where she has been and reminds her that they had agreed she would not go there. The account does not explain the reason for the agreement, but the exchange shows that grief has not erased ordinary parental conflict or his attempts to set limits.

Their communication nevertheless changes after Kelly Waititi’s death. Ava describes their earlier arrangement as selective: she would tell him she was going to a party without mentioning that she planned to drink, or say she was seeing someone without disclosing every detail. Since the death, she says, they speak more directly. She tells him what is going on; he listens and gives his view, and she says he rarely reacts strangely. Even in this closer relationship, Ava keeps some details about Lincoln private, but she expects her father to understand more than she explicitly says.

Care in Moments of Distress

The father’s care is often practical and unshowy. After a difficult night, Ava wakes on the couch to find him stroking her hair. He asks whether she wants him to carry her to the car, recalling that he has not had to do so since she was about six. Ava declines, but his offer makes her smile, a moment of unexpected ease. Later, at 3:31 a.m., she wakes in her room and finds him asleep beside her, still wearing his shoes. His presence does not remove her exhaustion or pain; it means she is not alone with them.

Earlier, he had been trying to talk with Ava about grief-related decisions and looking after herself. She admits that she tuned out and nodded along, so his effort does not immediately become a conversation she can take in. That gap matters: his attention is present, but Ava’s readiness to receive it shifts with her state of mind.

Continuing Presence

By the first anniversary gathering for Kelly Waititi, Ava and her father walk down toward Kelly’s family together. The moment is brief, but it places him alongside her as she returns to a public remembrance of Kelly, where the family shares stories and both laughter and tears belong. Across the novel, his support is not presented as a cure or a timetable for grief. It takes the form of advocacy, frank conversation, reminders about safety and limits, and physical presence—forms of care that accompany Ava Spirini without making her loss disappear.