Major Characters
- Chrissa Maxwell - (Sammi Hanratty) - A ten year old who is bullied by Tara James. She doesn't want to tell anyone because she thinks if she tells that she'll be a tattletale, so she decides to keep the bullying a secret. She also joins the school's swim team, but soon quits after an accident at the pool involving her brother, Tyler (Austin Thomas), but she soon understands that the reason that she quit shows her less than who she actually is and to her foes. She then works with Tara to win by assuring her, that even if they can't be the best of friends, or any kind of friends for that matter, their work together will earn a victory; which proves actually did. She is best friends with Gwen Thompson and Sonali Matthews.
- Tyler Maxwell - (Austin Thomas) - Tyler is Chrissa's older brother. He joins the school's swim team, but he has to quit after he has an accident. He plays a small part in Tara James's plans.
- Gwen Thompson - (Kaitlyn Dever) - A homeless girl who lives in a shelter called Sunrise House. She is very lonely and shy until she meets Chrissa. Chrissa becomes friends with her after she hears Gwen playing her violin at school and offering her home-made chocolate chip cookies at lunch. Gwen lost her father eighteen months before the story.
- Tara James - (Adair Tishler) - A bully at Chrissa's school. She and her friends Sonali and Jayden, also known as the "Queen Bees" do mean and sometimes cruel things to anyone that gets in her way. Chrissa, Tyler, and Gwen are her enemies but she works with Chrissa at the last team meet and their work earns the victory of the meet and hugs her.
- Sonali Matthews - (Ariela Barer) - Sonali is a beautiful dark-haired ex-queen bee and friends with Tara and Jayden at the beginning of the film, but soon realizes that they were being extremely mean. She makes amends with Chrissa Maxwell and Gwen Thompson, eventually even becoming best friends with them. She is proven to be loyal, sweet, caring and sensitive. She loves to do arts and crafts much like Chrissa, and when she works on painting a bowl for Gwen's homeless shelter, Sonali and Chrissa become very close.
- Jayden Johnson - (Shelby Harmon) - A friend of Tara who plays a small part in her plans. She stays loyal to Tara unlike Sonali. (The spelling of her name in the book is "Jadyn", but is changed in the movie to "Jayden.")
Read more about this topic: An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong
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