What makes Connor such a great character throughout the entire series is that he is so dynamic. He is always maturing. Even as early as chapter 4, readers see that Connor is not the "bad boy," selfish, miscreant that chapter 1 portrays him as. Connor is definitely breaking the law by kicking AWOL, but readers can hardly fault him for this. His life is on the line, and survival is a powerful instinct. He should just leave Lev to his own devices. Lev is a tithe and clearly does not want Connor's help, yet Connor feels a need to do something good. He can't just leave Lev to be unwound. Connor knows that life is valuable no matter what a person's attitude might be, so Connor puts his own life at risk to carry Lev to safety and freedom.

He's got to do something decent, something good to make up for the awful consequence of his kicking-AWOL. And so, battling his own instinct for self-preservation, he races toward the kid in white who was so happily going to his own unwinding.

Readers can see Connor's devotion to saving life mature once again in chapter 11 when Connor is unwilling to let the baby be storked.

As the book continues, Connor becomes more and more of a leader. Other AWOL teenagers look to him for his leadership and advice. As much as Connor desires to stay under the radar, he just can't do it. Even at the Graveyard, Connor develops a following of teenagers, and that puts him at odds with Roland. Risa is able to help Connor see that Roland is more powerful than Connor believes, and Connor will even mature enough to get past his anger at Lev turning him in. By the end of the novel, Connor has become someone who is willing to sacrifice his life for his friends. This is a far cry from the boy who ran away to save his own life.