All Avery, all the time. Anything and everything there is to know, from the most basic to the most complex. It's easier for me to remember this way. This FAQ is only relevant to the years before and during the novel, not anything after. Will contain spoilers!
1.) Avery's full name.
2.) Avery's appearance.
3.) Avery's birth/birthdate.
4.) Avery's height through the novel.
5.) Avery's weight through the novel.
6.) Avery's birthplace.
7.) Avery's hometown.
8.) Avery's house.
9.) Avery's family (and pets).
10.) Avery's family history.
11.) Avery's supernatural side.
12.) Avery's two languages.
13.) Avery's childhood hobbies.
14.) Avery's schooling.
15.) Avery's wealth.
16.) The history of Avery's first name.
17.) Avery's 'girlfriend'.
18.) Avery's sexuality.
19.) Avery's parents' history.
20.) Avery's house and years attended at Eton.
21.) Avery's schools at Eton.
22.) Avery's test scores.
23.) Avery's first boyfriend.
24.) Avery's drug use.
25.) Avery's first near-death experience.
26.) Avery's suicide-attempt.
27.) Avery's hospital visits.
28.) Frank's bad influence (drugs, sex & abuse).
29.) Avery's scars.
30.) Avery's broken bones.
31.) Avery's favorite articles of clothing.
32.) Avery's body art.
33.) Avery's secret ideas of fun.
34.) Avery's hobbies.
35.) Avery's romantic situation.
36.) Avery's favorite television shows.
37.) Avery's favorite foods.
38.) Avery's favorite films.
39.) Avery's favorite sport.
40.) Avery's least favorite things.
41.) Avery's South Africanisms.
42.) Avery's mental disorders.
43.) Household help.
MORE ALWAYS COMING.
1.) Avery's full name.
Avery Fitzwilliam Driscoll. Fitzwilliam is his mother's maiden name.
2.) Avery's appearance.
Avery is short due to his premature birth. He has fair skin and light brown hair that, with excessive sun, turns nearly blond. He has a few strands of gray hidden within waves and curls. Though his hair appears thick due to its unusual, flyaway texture, it's relatively thin. His eyes are what he calls 'swamp green', but in reality are a very light yellow-green. Around the eye, he has dark skin, giving off the illusion that he is perpetually tired or slightly ill. But the contrast between the skin and the iris makes his eye color appear lighter than it is. He also has long, dark eyelashes, which make his appearance slightly feminine.
His build, other than short, is fairly slim, but years of rugby-playing have developed his legs and toned his arms, chest and stomach. His build, should he ever choose to work out more, would be quite muscular. He's fine the way rugby made him. He has crooked fingers, but they're quite delicate and long. He has a smaller nose with a light dusting of freckles across the bridge and onto his cheeks. His ears stick out somewhat, but he's growing into them.
3.) Avery's birth/birthdate.
4 June, 1989. Two months premature. He was born while his parents were on holiday in India.
4.) Avery's height through the novel.
Avery stopped growing at 5'6".
12 Years - 5'
13 Years - 5'2"
14 Years - 5'4"
15 Years - 5'6"
16 Years (post-novel) - 5'6"
5.) Avery's weight through the novel.
Avery, at age sixteen, weighs 130lbs.
12 Years - 95lbs
13 Years - 110lbs
14 Years - 123lbs
15 Years - 130lbs
16 Years (post-novel) - 130lbs
6.) Avery's birthplace.
Shimla, India
7.) Avery's hometown.
Cape Town, South Africa
8.) Avery's house.
Avery's house was built in 1803 by his English ancestors when they came to govern South Africa. Rich, blue blooded, they built an elaborate manor house on a hill surrounded by nothing but trees and beaches. It was abandoned after a tragic accident in the early 1880s, and wasn't lived in again until the 1930s. Soon after, it was renovated, and then again in the 1990s.
There are between eighty and one hundred rooms (no one has counted in quite a while), from an old fashioned ladies parlor to a newly fashioned home theatre. There are five floors, six including the attic, and Avery's is on the fifth. There is also a guest house, a pool house, a coach house, a gatehouse, stables, and expansive and elaborate gardens (most of them are rose gardens, but there is also an abandoned hedge maze and a cemetery that hasn't been used since the nineteenth century).
The interior of the house is exceptionally fancy, and done in mainly Victorian styles. It's crammed with warm furniture and elegant designs, some of which were originally in the house, and some of which was reconstructed to match old styles. Very high-quality, very breath-taking. The exterior of the house is white, with two high windows in the front that extend from the front sitting room on the ground floor to the floor above, all of which is open. There are many flower boxes and balconies, which give off a more Mediterranean feel than the rest of the house.
Some secrets of the house include old servants' quarters that have carvings in the wall. The story behind them involves Avery's great-great uncle's early death, as well as the deaths of two of the Afrikaaner servant boys, all three of whom were said to be lovers. The ghosts of those boys are supposedly haunting the estate now.
Any more detail would require a page of its own.
9.) Avery's family (and pets).
Mother, Claire Rebecca - b. 21 April, 1967
Father, Jonathan (John) Emmett - b. 13 September, 1959
Brother, Jameson Francis (James) - b. 16 October, 1991
Sister, Elizabeth Renée (Bess) - b. 8 March, 1995
Cat, Kat (American Curl) - purchased 30 June, 1994 at six weeks old
Cat, Kristina (Balinese) - purchased 1 December, 2002 at eight weeks old
Dog, Isadora (English Foxhound) - b. 24 March, 1996
Dog, Daniel (English Foxhound) - b. 18 November, 1995
Dog, Sprinkle (Spud) (English Foxhound) - b. 7 August, 2001
Dog, Duke (English Foxhound) - b. 7 August, 2001
Dog, Duchess (English Foxhound) - b. 7 August, 2001
Dog, Admiral (English Foxhound) - b. 7 August, 2001
Dog, Alice (English Foxhound) - b. 7 August, 2001
Dog, Azizi (Short-legged Jack Russell Terrier) - b. 24 April, 2005
Fish, Fizzle (Goldfish) - purchased 21 July, 2000 - d. 26 July, 2000
Fish, Bizzle (Goldfish) - purchased 21 July, 2000 - d. 31 July, 2000
Fish, Bella (Angelfish) - purchased 1 August, 2000 - d. 16 September, 2000
Hamster, Fish (Syrian Hamster) - purchased 19 September, 2000 - d. 13 March, 2003
Hamster, Dandelion (Syrian Hamster) - purchased 7 March, 2004
Horse, Atticus (Thoroughbred) - foaled 19 May, 1989
Horse, Icabod (Thoroughbred) - purchased 11 June, 1990 - d. 27 January, 2001
Horse, Mariel (Thoroughbred) - foaled 6 February, 1993
Horse, Wonder (Thoroughbred) - foaled 14 September, 1995
Horse, Majestic (Thoroughbred) - purchased 28 November, 1996
Horse, Rodeo Queen (Thoroughbred) - purchased 12 Janurary, 2003
Horse, Mary Lucy (Thoroughbred) - b. 31 December, 2003
10.) Avery's family history.
Avery's family, on the maternal side (the Fitzwilliams) came to Cape Town, South Africa from England in 1803. They were a successful line of magistrates and royalty in England, and were there in the country to govern. Decades after they arrived, the family struck millions in diamond mines. Soon, they were one of the richest families in the country. Family members fought for the English in the Zulu and Boer Wars, but after a massacre that killed several family members on the property, they left Cape Town and sailed back to England in the 1880s. In the 1930s, the family returned. During their time away, they turned the diamond mining into diamond importing and jewelry making, which has endured to this day as the famous (and expensive) Fitzwilliam Diamond Company.
Most of Avery's family on his mother's side lives scattered across two hemispheres. His grandparents' generation remains in England, but his aunts and uncle all have homes in Cape Town.
On his father's side, the line of magistrates and lawyers is even longer, though not as illustrious. Generally more conservative, they live across England and Ireland, concentrating around London. Avery's father is an only child, where his mother has three younger siblings. His paternal grandparents are closed-minded, and most of the family has decided not to let them know about Avery's sexuality, for fear of his name being written out of the inheritance or John being disowned.
More here.
11.) Avery's supernatural side.
Avery is an angel. His siblings are angels. His mother is an angel. This trait runs in the maternal side of his family, stretching back to Claire's grandmother, who ran away from a tiny island in Ireland at the age of nine, and was sold into sideshows, then went to America to star on stage in vaudeville. She became one of the Ziegfeld Follies before marrying Randolf Fitzwilliam.
More information on this world can be found here. They are not spiritual beings.
12.) Avery's two languages.
Because of Avery's Afrikaner nanny, Avery spoke Afrikaans (and only Afrikaans) until he was about three years old. He could understand English, but preferred Afrikaans no matter how hard his parents pushed him to change. The nanny was fired, and Claire soon stayed home with her two boys, and then her third and final child. James and Bess are fluent, but speak English at home. Their mother is also fluent.
(Due to his schooling, Avery also knows a fair amount of Latin, Greek, French and German. He also knows a fair amount of Dutch and some Xhosa.)
13.) Avery's childhood hobbies.
Coming from a British family of aristocrats meant that Avery was destined to do a lot of things that boys in aristocratic familes are 'supposed' to do. Between the ages of three and ten, he had been put into fencing, ballet (only a week when he was seven), piano, violin, singing, French, German, rugby, football, polo, swimming, archery, chess, painting, riding, choir and rowing. The only activities that actually lasted were violin lessons, piano lessons and rugby. Avery's training in music led him to become a child prodigy, and he performed extensive between the ages of four and fifteen. His time at Eton was spent less in the limelight than he had ever been before, but he was still given solos and spots on higher orchestras.
Avery's rugby-playing also earned him trophies and championship wins between the ages of six and fifteen. He's unusually small and petite for the game, which has its advantages and disadvantages.
When Avery was very small, he would 'hunt' with his father, but ended up rescuing more animals than he ever caught (he never actually caught any). His specialty was singing them his very favorite song, 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'. It was the first thing he ever learned to say in English.
Though he is a very good singer and a very good painter, he found no interest in painting and only sings on occasion.
14.) Avery's schooling.
Avery was taught by a nanny until he was three, but after she was fired, Avery was enrolled (quite young) at a Waldorf school. His mother taught him at home to help improve his English.
Waldorf School Constantia - January 1993 - November 2000
Eton College - September 2001 - June 2004
15.) Avery's wealth.
His own trust fund is in the hundreds of millions, but the company's total wealth is considerably more:
Roughly $60,000,000,000.00
£29,000,000,000.00
R402,000,000,000.00
16.) The history of Avery's first name.
Claire's childhood best friend was called Avery. He was gay, and killed by a group of nationalist skinheads in London in 1987.
17.) Avery's 'girlfriend'.
Isabella Rosalinda Bartholomew - b. 1 May, 1989
Their "dating" went from age eight to age twelve, though it consisted of little more than tea parties and Isabella bossing Avery around, and Avery picking on her until she became immune to it. He didn't like her, but by all acounts, she liked him (the perfect future trophy husband).
18.) Avery's sexuality.
Gay.
19.) Avery's parents' history.
Avery's parents met at a gala at the Royal Ballet. Claire, the youngest principal the company ever had, was introduced to John by his parents. They fell out of contact immediately, as he was eight years her senior, only to meet again a year later in a cafe in London, quite accidentally. They began to be friends, as John was busy with his new law firm, but slowly developed feelings for each other, and began dating a few months later.
Their marriage started out very strong, but it was clear from the start that they had minor differences in their ideals. Drama around the birth of their third child rocked their relationship almost to divorce, but they picked up and kept going, only to crumble again in 2004, after Avery came home from Eton. They separated for a few months in 2005, but managed to make it for one final year before filing for divorce in 2006.
20.) Avery's house and years attended at Eton.
Warre, 2001 - 2004
21.) Avery's schools at Eton.
Coming some day.
22.) Avery's test scores.
GCSEs (for 2005), AAAA and a Distinction
23.) Avery's first boyfriend.
Frank Oswald Benedict, b. 5 September, 1985
Height, 6'5" (as of age twenty one)
Weight, 240 (as of age twenty one)
Hair color, dark brown (formerly dyed black)
Eye color, dark brown (formerly covered in eyeliner)
Piercings, labret, lower lip, nose, ears (several), eyebrow
Tattoos, over twenty (including Avery's face at age fourteen and name, and his newest, angel wings on his back)
Court sentence, four years behind bars and one thousand hours of community service. Was let off on good behavior after a year behind bars.
24.) Avery's drug use.
Between the ages of twelve and fifteen, Avery had been given or had tried the following drugs:
Cigarettes
Marijauna
Ecstacy (snorted)
LSD (Angel Dust)
Alcohol
25.) Avery's first near-death experience.
He was given an excessive amount of drugs by Frank and after he started reacting to them, he was locked in a bedroom while the boys at the party freaked out about what to do. He nearly died, but when he was finally taken to the hospital the next day, no trace of drugs could be found in his system.
26.) Avery's suicide-attempt.
After his sexuality was all but fully outed at school, and the boys began to torment him, three years of conflict and depression came to a head when his boyfriend at the time, Jack, cheated on him with a boy who had used Avery barely a month before. He broke a window in the conservatory with his hand (breaking the skin and nearly breaking his hand), and attempted to slice his neck with the biggest shard. It only worked well enough to give him severe bloodloss, and he recovered, though now has a nasty scar that runs crookedly across the left side of his neck.
He was given antidepressants and attended extensive therapy sessions for several weeks, and remained in the psychiatric ward of the hospital for a week after his physical recovery. The stitches remained on his neck for two weeks.
27.) Avery's hospital visits.
Aside from visits to school nurses, Avery had five hospital stays during the novel. He stayed in one hospital only long enough to stablize his condition, as it didn't have an overnight ward, and was transferred to another one in the city. The other three stays were for his drug overdose, Frank's final abuse, and his suicide attempt.
Before that, Avery visited the hospital quite frequently as a child due to his innate ability to injure himself (not that he really cared back then).
As a baby, he remained in the hospital for two months after his birth.
Hospital names and precise dates, coming soon.
28.) Frank's bad influence (drugs, sex & abuse).
Frank Benedict was already a 'sometimes' drug dealer and a drug user himself. His broken home caused him to turn to people who turned him to drugs. But when Avery stayed at his house before making the move to Eton, Frank introduced him not only to drugs, but to his sexuality, something that Avery hadn't really considered before, but knew, at the back of his mind, was true. He was gay.
Frank became his first boyfriend, and they had a rocky two year relationship that wore Avery down to the bone. He took Avery's virginity at the too-young age of twelve. He was physically abusive, breaking Avery's knee and ending his rugby career. He was verbally abusive, calling Avery names such as 'slut' and 'fag' and telling him that Frank would be the only person to ever truly love him. Frank also got Avery hooked on a variety of drugs, almost managing to kill him with various overdoses.
In 2004, Frank attempted to kill Avery, but didn't end up doing it. Avery was abused, however, and Frank was arrested for drug possession after a student ratted him out.
29.) Avery's scars.
A four-inch scar that runs down the left side of his neck, widening near the Adam's apple. Quite noticeable.
A two-inch scar on the underside of his left kneecap, where he had surgery to reconstruct his knee. There are medical screws holding his bones in place so they heal properly.
Several on his elbows and his legs from rugby.
30.) Avery's broken bones.
He broke his left arm twice. The first happened after he fell out of his treehouse. The second happened when he climbed up in it again, not noticing it was broken, was called in because of rain, and slipped on his way back inside, breaking it again.
He has broken his big toes.
His left knee was shattered.
His nose was broken when he was kneed in the face during rugby.
A tooth was nearly broken when he was elbowed in the face during rugby.
Two ribs were broken during a nasty tackle during rugby.
Three fingers on his right hand have been broken various times during rugby. He has broken one finger on his left hand, but most of the time they are jammed.
31.) Avery's favorite articles of clothing.
Jake's green jumper. It has a kangaroo pocket and a hood. He's worn it since 2004, and sometimes makes Jake wear it to get his smell back.
A pair of pajama bottoms with red trucks (lorries) all over them. They were his brother's, but James was too ashamed to wear them, so Avery took them. They have a matching button-down shirt, but Avery usually sleeps in a T-shirt, instead.
32.) Avery's body art.
Used to have a lip and eyebrow piercing, but removed both less than a year later, and they have now healed up. No tattoos, but often considers getting one. Or more. Likes to draw on his skin using washable and permanent markers.
33.) Avery's secret ideas of fun.
Avery has a giant obsession with androgyny. He loves it. He has a collection of women's clothes and make-up for the purpose, and also collects fancy knickers, though they have nothing to do with androgyny and everything to do with him just liking them.
He also has an impressive collection of oddly patterned boxers and briefs. He prefers trucks of any sort, and penguins. Sometimes ducks.
Pulling pranks has also been a life-long source of enjoyment for him.
34.) Avery's hobbies.
Sometimes violin, rarely piano, sometimes singing. He considers TV-watching a hobby. Likes making biscuits (cookies). He draws on people quite often, and draws on paper almost never. He still wants to play rugby, and will be trying out for the local boy's team when the season starts up. Playing professionally would be wonderful, but he does not expect to ever be hired (posing in those French calendars would be brilliant).
Avery chases penguins and goes sailing and pampers his pets and his boyfriends to an outrageous extent. He also dances about in his underthings more than anyone would probably want to know. And collecting those beautiful knickers? Will never stop being a passionate hobby.
35.) Avery's romantic situation.
He has two boyfriends, Jack Dickon (b. 4 May, 1987) and Jake Griffith (b. 26 October, 1987).
36.) Avery's favorite television shows.
He likes American things that you have to find online to buy. The Golden Girls is his new favorite, and he'll be quoting it for years to come.
Cartoons will always be his staple. Thus far, the prevention of his ever seeing Animaniacs as been successful.
37.) Avery's favorite foods.
Biscuits (cookies) of any and every sort (except things with nuts and raisins and other bits of fruit). Pizza, with a lot of crust and a lot of meat. Breakfast foods, such as sausage and scrambled eggs (eggs in any style, really). And biltong, a South African kind of jerky.
38.) Avery's favorite films.
Currently, it is Troop Beverly Hills. And Napoleon Dynamite. He also loves any and every sort of Disney Movie, except Snow White. His favorite is The Lion King, followed closely by The Little Mermaid and Cinderella. King Kong is another favorite, when he finally saw it, and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, as well. And the X-Men films.
39.) Avery's favorite sport.
Rugby.
40.) Avery's least favorite things.
Cricket, most vegetables, violence, drugs and drinking at any age for any reason, raised voices, being grounded and unable to watch telly, being gagged or tied up too tightly, often his sister, Bess, Jake's younger brother, Alessandro, Great White Sharks (especially when accidentically touching one while swimming next to a sailboat), Clydai Morgan.
41.) Avery's South Africanisms.
Because of his intensely British ancestry, Avery's slang is less South African than other boys raised there. The things he says most often are 'robots' (meaning stop/traffic lights), and 'howzit' (another way of saying 'what's up?' or 'all right?'). His accent is a distint combination of English and Afrikaaner, which ultimately goes flat at times and almost Australian at others. He's quite the weird mix.
42.) Avery's mental disorders.
General Anxiety Disorder (which can and does manifest itself into panic attacks)
Depression (it used to be severe)
43.) Household help.
Butler, William George - b. 15 February, 1950
Butler, Harold Samuels - b. 20 July, 1952
Cook, Marta Kemp - b. 5 May, 1977
Cook, Augusta Knapp - b. 9 August, 1944
Cook, Diedrick Matjie - b. 31 December, 1979
Driver, Elliot Cullinan - b. 19 April, 1949
Driver, Timothy Milholland - b. 21 March, 1948
Gardener, Peter Marshall - b. 3 April, 1967
Gardener, Henry Patterson - b. 24 September, 1963
Gardener, Alexandra Tucker - b. 12 November, 1969
Gardener, Anton van Rooijen - b. 29 March, 1961
Maid, Emma Furstenberg - b. 2 December, 1975
Maid, Victoria Gibbon - b. 7 June, 1978
Maid, Esmee Krubelnik - b. 26 November, 1981
Maid, Antjie Launspach - b. 13 January, 1983
Maid, Bianca Madgwick - b. 6 April, 1974
Maid, Gretchen Thomason - b. 10 October, 1976
Maid, Nanette Voight - b. 17 December, 1973
Horse trainer, Ella Jones - b. 8 August, 1980
Horse trainer, Isaac Arneson - b. 14 June, 1979
Pool cleaner/maintainer, Rupert McDaniels - b. 9 April, 1958