Hugh Biggs: The Boy Who Never Stopped Fighting for Lizzie Young

Overview

Hugh Biggs is the steadfast best friend and boyfriend of Lizzie Young in Releasing 10 (The Boys of Tommen). From their first meeting when both are seven years old, Hugh becomes Lizzie’s primary caregiver and protector, navigating her severe mental health crises and the aftermath of childhood sexual abuse. His arc tracks the cost of unconditional loyalty: he sacrifices his own social standing, friendships, and mental well-being to keep Lizzie afloat. The entire story is rooted in his quiet, resolute love.

Role in the Plot

Hugh serves as Lizzie’s anchor. Every major crisis in her life—panic attacks, bipolar episodes, suicidal ideation, and public accusations—finds him physically or emotionally beside her. He is the only person who consistently believes her story about being abused by Mark Allen, even when adults dismiss her as “crazy.” His role evolves from childhood playmate and brave knight (chapters 31, 45) to adolescent boyfriend (chapters 86–87), and finally to the one who must let her go so she can heal (chapter 203). He also functions as a secondary antagonist to Mark Allen, directly threatening him in chapter 89 and chapter 101.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Hugh’s primary motivation is love for Lizzie, but it manifests as a fierce protective instinct that borders on obsession. His actions reveal several core traits:

• Intellectual persistence: After Lizzie’s first bipolar diagnosis, Hugh spends weeks photocopying medical textbooks from the public library, including the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, in order to understand her condition (chapter 77). This shows his drive to become her knowledgeable caretaker rather than a passive friend.
• Physical bravery: He confronts Mark Allen face-to-face, warning him in chapter 89, “I don’t like you… Everything about you disgusts me.” When Mark threatens to shoot him, Hugh coolly returns the threat. Later, in chapter 101, he physically removes Lizzie from Mark’s presence after accusing Mark of forcing an abortion and keeping her sedated.
• Emotional steadiness: During Lizzie’s panic attack at his seventh birthday party, Hugh talks her through breathing, holds her hands, and stays calm (chapter 28). This pattern of being her emotional ground repeats throughout the book.
• Self-sacrifice: He ends their romantic relationship in chapter 203 because he believes she needs to move on without guilt. He starts a new relationship with Katie, but the emotional toll is clear when he breaks down crying during their final conversation.
• Loyalty to friends: Despite Lizzie’s demand that he end his friendship with Gibsie (chapter 107), Hugh refuses. He later admits in chapter 185 that Gibs is the one who “picked him up off the ground after the breakup” and that losing Gibs would have been a terrible mistake.

Chronological Arc

Hugh’s story spans from late 1994 to December 2003 in the flashbacks, with occasional present-day glimpses. Key stages:

1. Childhood (ages 7–9): First meeting on the school bus (chapter 25). He helps her through a panic attack, they share a kiss on the cheek and declare childhood love (chapters 28, 34). He learns her mother has cancer and vows to look after her (chapter 31). He rescues her from a bathtub where she is dissociating and expecting assault (chapter 36). He finds her after a suicide attempt and convinces her to go outside (chapters 49–50).

2. Pre-adolescence (ages 10–12): He is the only person who sees the “scary lady” hallucination alongside Lizzie (chapter 53). She confides in him about her abuse (chapter 45). Hugh becomes her sole visitor during multiple hospitalizations. He learns about her early-onset bipolar diagnosis and begins researching it (chapter 77).

3. Early teens (ages 13–14): They share their first real kiss in a sea cave (chapter 81) and become a couple on August 28, 1999 (chapter 86). Hugh’s jealousy and possessiveness surface when he sees other boys touching her (chapter 82). He publicly threatens Mark at Caoimhe’s funeral (chapter 101) and later comforts Lizzie when she tells him she is “sick in the head” (chapter 107).

4. Teenage breakup (ages 15–17): By late 2003, they are broken up. Hugh drinks heavily at a party and watches Lizzie grind all over Pierce O’Neill (chapter 185). His best friend Gibs tells him to “let her go.” In their final conversation (chapter 203), Lizzie says she wants him to move on, and he tells her about Katie. They part with a kiss on the cheek and mutual “I’ll always love you.”

Relationships

Key Decisions and Consequences

1. Deciding to believe Lizzie (ages 8–9): When Lizzie first tells Hugh that a monster hurt her, he accepts her words without question (chapter 45). This decision sets him apart from every adult in her life, including her father, who dismisses her claims as madness. Consequence: Hugh becomes her only trusted ally, which deepens their bond but also isolates him from mainstream opinion.

2. Refusing to end his friendship with Gibsie (post-Caoimhe’s death): Lizzie begs Hugh to drop Gibsie after Gibsie fails to corroborate her abuse story at the funeral (chapter 107). Hugh refuses, arguing Gibsie is innocent. Consequence: It causes a major rift with Lizzie but preserves a friendship that later saves Hugh’s mental health (chapter 185).

3. Breaking up with Lizzie (late 2003): The breakup is mutual but ultimately Hugh’s acquiescence. He admits in chapter 203 that he had started seeing Katie, but his tears show the decision was agonizing. Consequence: Lizzie gains space to recover without guilt, and Hugh learns to rebuild his life, though the loss haunts him.

4. Confronting Mark Allen (multiple times): From the kitchen in chapter 89 to the funeral in chapter 103, Hugh repeatedly calls out Mark’s abuse. Consequence: He earns Mark’s enmity but publicly validates Lizzie’s trauma, even when no one else listens.

Theme and Symbol Connections

• Mental Health and Bipolar Disorder: Hugh actively educates himself about Lizzie’s condition, creating a personal library of photocopied medical texts (chapter 77). His care allows Lizzie to survive episodes, but the book also shows the strain on a young caregiver.
• Childhood Sexual Abuse and Grooming: Hugh is the only character who unconditionally believes Lizzie’s accusations against Mark. He gives her permission to name her abuse and fights against the gaslighting from adults.
• Grief and Loss: Hugh personally experiences the trauma of the Gibson drowning (chapter 37, where he holds Gibsie’s lifeless body). He also mourns Caoimhe and helplessly watches Lizzie’s grief.
• Loyalty and Sacrifice: Hugh’s entire arc is defined by sacrifice: he gives up his reputation, his romantic happiness, and his close friendship with Gibsie at one point, all to protect Lizzie.
• Secrecy and Gaslighting: Hugh breaks the cycle of secrecy by naming Mark’s abuse aloud. He refuses to be silenced, unlike the adults who shroud Lizzie’s illness and the abuse in shame.

5 Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. How does Hugh first learn about Lizzie’s bipolar disorder? In chapter 43, babysitter Caoimhe Young tells Hugh that Lizzie has a mental illness—she hears voices and has physically attacked her family. Hugh later confirms the official diagnosis in chapter 44 (early-onset bipolar) and begins researching it in the library (chapter 77). The evidence shows he is informed secondhand by Caoimhe before hearing from the adults.

2. Why does Hugh threaten Mark Allen at Caoimhe’s funeral? In chapter 101, Hugh finds Mark alone with Lizzie after the wake. He accuses Mark of mistreating Caoimhe, forcing an abortion, and keeping Lizzie sedated. When Mark tries to intimidate him, Hugh says, “She has him, but you have me,” reinforcing his role as Lizzie’s protector. This is an explicit fact from the chapter.

3. What is the “scary lady” that Hugh sees? In chapter 53, while carving initials with Lizzie, both see a mysterious female figure in the woods. Hugh confirms he sees her, giving Lizzie her first external validation that the hallucination is real to someone else. The book presents this as a genuine shared sighting, and it is later connected to Lizzie’s mental health crisis.

4. How does Hugh’s relationship with Gibsie change after Lizzie’s accusations? After Lizzie publicly screams that Mark killed Caoimhe (chapter 103), she demands Hugh end his friendship with Gibsie (chapter 107). Hugh refuses, straining his relationship with Lizzie. They later reconcile as friends, and in chapter 185, Gibsis is Hugh’s main support system after the breakup. It can be inferred that Hugh valued both relationships, but his loyalty to Gibsie remained intact despite the cost.

5. What does Hugh sacrifice by breaking up with Lizzie? Hugh sacrifices his lifelong identity as Lizzie’s boyfriend and protector. He admits in chapter 203 that he is “hollow” and breaks down crying when she tells him to move on. Starting a relationship with Katie does not fill the void; the ending of their romantic bond is a conscious sacrifice so Lizzie can recover without guilt. The text shows that the breakup was his idea of selfless love, not a lack of feeling.

For a complete understanding of Hugh’s ending, see the ending explained and for more discussions, check the questions and answers section.