Though it is an abstract antagonist, the people with whom Sophie most often finds herself in conflict are her parents. In fact, it could be said that her parents' contentious relationship itself is a major antagonist. Sophie's mother is often far too in her own head to give Sophie any meaningful advice or guidance. She falls into constant bouts with depression and disappears from Sophie's life for days at a time. She does once attempt to help Sophie with a Halloween costume but becomes distraught when Sophie wants to wear something else.

Sophie's father, on the other hand, is a rough and emotionally unavailable man. While it is implied that Sophie may yet salvage her relationship with her mother, no such hope is implied in the case of the relationship with her father. When, at the end of the novel, it seems that he is leaving for good, Sophie notes her emotional distance from her Father and has hope that, with his absence, her mother might begin to show improvement.