Jack Johnson
The main protagonist who finds a magic potion and instructions on how to fly, and hopes to use his newfound ability to finally stick it to his rival and win the heart of his crush.
- Alliterative Name: Jack Johnson. Along with his love interest, Mia Montez.
- Always Someone Better: Is in a constant competition with Wilson for Mia's heart.
- Blessed with Suck: He discovers that flying isn't so great after all when his fame and glory begin to overwhelm him. Subverted by the ending. He grows to enjoy his powers, but only as long as he can keep a normal life.
- Butt-Monkey: Every time it seems like he's finally going to beat Wilson at something, the rug gets yanked out from under him.
- Celebrity Is Overrated: He purposely loses the race at the end so that he can get his life and friends back, while Wilson is stuck with the burden of celebrity.
- Dogged Nice Guy: He desperately wants Mia to like him, but Wilson manages to steal her attention by one-upping him almost every time. Subverted in the end, when she actually likes him for the way he is, and he gets the girl.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: By giving up his feud with Wilson, he returns to a relatively normal life, gets to keep his powers in secret, and ultimately spend more time with Mia.
- Easily Forgiven: Mia wasn't mad at Jack for leaving her party or not coming up with the book to teach her how to fly.
- I Just Want to Be Normal: Throughout the book when he realizes that fame isn't all it's cracked up to be. At the end, he feigns losing the ability to fly to regain his normal life.
- Nice Guy: He is usually very nice, but Wilson tends to push him to his limits.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: After having his shorts ripped in a game of Twister and Wilson one-ups him several times, he abruptly runs away from Mia's birthday party.
- Somebody Doesn't Love Raymond: Everyone likes Wilson and how he is The Ace at everything. That is, except for Jack, who is constantly one upped by him at every chance.
- Sore Loser: Though more for the fact that Wilson keeps rubbing his victory in his face rather than the actual loss of the game itself.
- Super Serum: The flying formula grants both him and Wilson the power of flight. Later, the government seeks it for military use, which may be a clue as to why the creator hid it in an abandoned beach-house to begin with.
- Training from Hell: When the world finds out that he can fly, the army comes in to investigate his strange ability. They make him do exhausting questioning, laps, and exercises, to the point that he is only allowed to stop after 10 HOURS.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Because his father is too busy with work, Jack feels a little lonely and wishes that he would pay attention to him more. But when his father finds out that he can fly, he makes it his top priority to pay attention to him as much as possible.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: Even when Jack is so close to beating Wilson, the latter somehow manages to prevail in the last second. Subverted at the end when he gets his normal life (as well as the girl he likes) back and Wilson is stuck in the burden of publicity.
Wilson Schlamme
Jack's rival. An arrogant kid who seems to be the best at everything.
- The Ace: He effortlessly creates balloon animals in seconds, has a top-of-the-line bike and roller blades, we could go on forever. Even his dog is better than Jack's.
- Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better: If he and Jack are both chewing gum, he insists that the bubbles he blows are bigger and rounder than Jack's. If they aren't, he pops Jack's bubble all over his face.
- Backhanded Apology: Before the imminent race at the climax, Wilson apologizes to Jack... that he had to beat him in the race in front of the whole crowd.
- Big Bad: The closest thing this book has to one, although he's more of an annoying rival than anything else.
- Celebrity Is Overrated: His pursuit of fame and glory eventually causes him to move away and lose his social life, while Jack stays behind, returns to normal, and gets the girl.
- Competition Freak: To a point where he treats even mundane activities such as a size of a hot dog as a competition.
- Friendly Enemy: Even though Jack can't stand him, they still share the same group of friends.
- Hate Sink: His existence pretty much revolves around how much of a competitive asshole he is.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He seems to genuinely want to please Mia, even if his tactics are inscrutable. In the end, the real reason he loses is because he can no longer be with her.
- The Rival: He competes with Jack for everything, especially Mia's affections.
- Smug Snake: In the end, his need to make everything a contest and to be the best at everything causes him to lose his social life and his chances with Mia.
- Unsportsmanlike Gloating: He will never hesitate to remind Jack how much of a loser he is compared to him.
Mia Montez
Jack Johnson's love interest, and the main source of his rivalry with Wilson.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Subverted - although she seems impressed by Wilson at first, she chooses the more down-to-earth Jack in the end.
- Alliterative Name: Mia Montez.
- Ambiguously Brown: She has black hair, green eyes, and the last name "Montez", which is a Spanish surname. These indicate that she might be part Hispanic.
- Easily Impressed: Anytime Wilson shows off in front of her, Mia is easily amazed, even claiming that Wilson can do anything.
- Ms. Fanservice: In-universe, she's considered the cutest girl at Jack's middle school.
- Pink Means Feminine: She wears pink hearts in bracelets and necklaces.
- Properly Paranoid: She tells Jack that she's worried that him and Wilson's rivalry will grow bigger than ever because of the fact that both can fly. The second half of the book seems to confirm her worries.
- Satellite Love Interest: She mostly exists to fuel Jack and Wilson's rivalry, although she also has elements of Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
- Significant Birth Date: Her birthday is on Valentine's Day, which definitely explains her love for hearts.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: In the end, with the arrogant Wilson gone, she is shown to be much more interested in Jack, who is much nicer.
