Alexander Hawthorne

> There's nothing I admire more than a woman who makes liberal use of air quotes. May I ask: What are your feelings on robots that sometimes explode?
>
> Xander Hawthorne to Maxine Liu, *The Hawthorne Legacy*

## General Information

### Also known as

Xander (by everyone)
Xan (by family and friends)
Mr. Nice Xander (by himself)
BHFF (Best Hawthorne Friend Forever) (by Avery Grambs)
King of distraction and chaos (by Avery Grambs)

## Relationships

### Parents

Skye Hawthorne (mother)
Isaiah Alexander (father)

### Siblings

Nash Hawthorne (half-brother)
Grayson Hawthorne (half-brother)
Jameson Hawthorne (half-brother)

### Family

Tobias Hawthorne † (grandfather)
Alice O'Day Hawthorne † (grandmother)
Pearl O'Day (great-grandmother)
Zara Hawthorne-Calligaris (aunt)
Constantine Calligaris (uncle; through marriage)
Tobias Hawthorne II (adoptive uncle)
Evelyn Shane (adoptive cousin)

### Romances

Maxine Liu (girlfriend)
Thea Calligaris (fake dated)

### Affiliation(s)

Hawthorne Family
Heights Country Day School

## Series Information

### Appearances

The Inheritance Games
The Hawthorne Legacy
 The Final Gambit
The Brothers Hawthorne

**Alexander "Xander" Blackwood Hawthorne** is the youngest Hawthorne grandson of the billionaire Tobias Hawthorne. His mother is Skye Hawthorne and his half-brothers are Nash, Grayson, and Jameson Hawthorne.

## Biography

### Early Life

Xander grew up with his family at Hawthorne House. His mother was frequently gone and wasn't very interested in being a parent. As a result, he and his brothers were mostly raised by their grandfather Tobias Hawthorne and their aunt Zara Hawthorne-Calligaris.

Xander's closest friends are Rebecca Laughlin and Thea Calligaris. When Rebecca's sister, Emily Laughlin, wanted Thea and Xander to begin dating, not knowing that Thea was already dating Rebecca, Xander agreed to pretend to be dating Thea at Thea and Rebecca's request. When Emily found out that her sister and her best friend were dating behind her back, she became furious and things fell apart. Rebecca and Thea broke-up, so Xander and Thea ended their fake relationship as well. Emily's death then complicated matters even further. He attends Heights Country Day School.

### *The Inheritance Games*

Xander comes out of the secret passage in the coat closet upon Avery Grambs and Libby Grambs's arrival at Hawthorne House for the reading of Tobias's will. Xander and the rest of his family learn that Tobias left his $ Forty-six point two billion fortune to Avery, essentially disinheriting them. Xander and his brothers will receive two hundred and fifty thousand dollars apiece, payable on their twenty-fifth birthdays. Xander seems to be one of the most accepting Hawthorne about this revelation, along with Nash, and maybe Jameson.

When Avery asks why Xander is being friendly to her, Xander tells her that he doesn't hate her because she didn't disinherit them, his grandfather did, and she is blameless. He then tells Avery that he always lost his grandfather's Saturday challenges. Instead, he and Tobias would talk, with Xander mostly listening to Tobias's stories. This is how he learned Tobias didn't have a middle name.

During the charity gala, Xander reveals that every year from his seventh birthday until his twelfth, his grandfather gave him money to invest. Xander spent it all on cryptocurrency. He sold his holdings before his grandfather died for almost one hundred million dollars. Not even his brothers know this about him. He also tells Avery the history between him, Thea, and Rebecca. Finally, Xander tells Avery that he has figured out the Black Wood clue, and a helicopter is waiting to take her and his brothers over the Black Wood, where they will discover the clue themselves.

Avery and the rest of the Hawthorne brothers find out that Xander knew all of the secrets behind the game. Tobias wanted Xander to lead all of his brothers into the game and make sure they played.

### *The Hawthorne Legacy*

Xander discovers that his grandfather left him a clue on his letter that says, "Find Tobias Hawthorne the Second." He, Avery, and Jameson break down the brick wall blocking off Toby's wing and discover a homemade cipher disk. He got side tracked by the discovery of his brother's father's and started looking for his own.

### *The Final Gambit*

Xander is determined to keep Avery's spirits up as she misses Jameson and Grayson. He also meets his father for the first time and he goes to work with him at the end of the book. His relationship with Maxine Liu is also shown.

### *The Brothers Hawthorne*

When Grayson’s half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem—efficiently, effectively and mercilessly while Xander is helping him from the shadows. After Grayson's 911 text to him Nash and he arrive at the hotel Grayson is in. Grayson was having "family issues" and both of them helped Gray with them and his puzle box issue.

## Appearance

Xander is six foot three and handsome. He has a baby face and a mop of dark, curly hair. His eyes and skin are light brown. He is also described as the sexiest Hawthorne. He describes himself as biracial. His clothing is often rumpled and not properly put together. During an experiment, one of his eyebrows gets burned off.

We all wish he was shirtless 24/7.

## Personality

Xander is extremely intelligent in the mathematical and scientific fields and a genius. He describes himself as a "human Rube Goldberg Machine," meaning he does simple things in complicated ways. He also owns a lot of patents.

Out of his immediate family, he is the most charismatic and is favored by the press. He introduces himself as the handsome grandson. He always speaks very quickly. Xander is very hyper and is always in motion. Grayson describes him as "the best of us, even on his worst days." Nan says that Xander's personality is a lot like Tobias'. Xander is always seemingly in a better humor than his three brothers combined. He is able to put others at ease instantly. Xander also tends to ramble on a lot when he gets nervous.

He is the least competitive of the brothers, but should never be ruled out of a game. As he describes it, he is "the most apt to be distracted by scones or complex machinery." Because of his skin color, Xander knows what it's like to be judged and to have to play life by different rules. He casually mentions to Avery during her makeover, "And if I were white, people wouldn't look at me like I'm half a Hawthorne." Xander has always been a fan of loopholes and scones.

Xander, despite admitting that he was the most likely out of his brothers to get distracted by complicated machinery, has always wanted to win the old man's games. When he solves the mystery of the Black Wood, he advises Avery on how to solve it. "I could win this." he says, "But Jameson and Grayson need it more."

According to Avery, Xander Hawthorne is arguably the most brilliant Hawthorne.

## Relationships

### Avery Grambs

Avery and Xander have pretty much always had a smooth and friendly relationship. Xander did not hold any hate towards her inheriting Tobias Hawthorne's money. Xander would help Avery with the puzzles sometimes, and Avery and Xander have mutual respect for each other. Avery and Xander become real friends as they spend more time together. He becomes Avery's "self-appointed BHFF, Best Hawthorne Friend Forever, and considers it his sacred duty to keep her spirits high.", In response, when Xander's spirits are down, Avery cheers him up, saying that she is his "BHHFF", or "Best Honorary Hawthorne Friend Forever."

### Max Liu

Max and Xander immediately form a friendship upon meeting. Xander even builds droids for her, and informs others that they are very close now. Max and Xander have similar personalities, and they enjoy spending time together and creating a bit of good-natured chaos. Along the way they become very close and at the end of the "war" with Vincent Blake they form a couple.

### Jameson Hawthorne

Xander is closest with his older brother, Jameson, out of all of his brothers; having similar interests and being most alike personality-wise. Xander proudly claims that Jameson's got killer dance moves.

### Tobias Hawthorne

Xander was very close with his grandfather. He was the only person who know about his illness before dying, because when the rest of the brothers were playing the game, he sat and listened to the old man. Tobias Hawthorne also gave him a job to do, to get all of the Hawthorne Brothers together in the underground tunnels. It was Xander's job to make sure that they played.

## Trivia

* Xander builds replicas of Star Wars droids.
* He goes to school early on Fridays for one of his many extracurricular activities.
* Xander is a "three-time world champion at building machines that do simple things in overly complicated ways."
* Xander's father works at a mechanics shop, and now Xander works with him.

## References

1. ↑ *The Inheritance Games*: page 27
2. ↑ *The Inheritance Games*: page 104
3. ↑ *The Final Gambit*: page 2
4. ↑ *The Inheritance Games*: page 206