who is alex in my grandmother asked me to tell you she's sorry

Alex at the very end of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry is Timi Alex , Elsa’s best friend at school—the only child friend Elsa has before her grandmother dies.

Quick answer

In the epilogue, when Alex appears at Elsa’s school, Alex is simply the girl Elsa calls her “best and only friend” at school up to that point in the story. The text does not give her full name earlier, but the Q&A and character lists identify her as Timi Alex.

Where Alex fits in the story

• Elsa’s only school friend : Throughout most of the novel, Elsa is a very different, isolated seven-year-old who spends almost all her real time with her grandmother, not with classmates. The kingdom stories and the Land of Almost-Awake are how she connects with the world, but in real life, she has virtually no peers.

• First real appearance : Alex is first mentioned near the end, in the epilogue, when she actually comes to Elsa’s school. She wasn’t introduced chapter-by-chapter earlier because Elsa’s social world at school is barely shown until that moment.

Why Backman brings Alex in at the end

• Symbol of Elsa opening up : Alex’s arrival signals that Elsa is starting to have a life beyond her grandmother and the apartment complex. After delivering all the letters and uncovering the truths about her grandmother’s relationships, Elsa is emotionally ready to connect with someone at school.

• Continuity of “different but loved” : One of the book’s core themes is that being different is okay and that everyone deserves understanding. Alex, as Elsa’s only school friend, embodies the idea that even a strange, bullied child can have someone who truly sees and accepts them.

How Alex is described in official sources

• Book Companion character list : Lists “Timi Alex” as Elsa’s best friend at school.

• Goodreads Q &A: A reader answer explains:

“Timi Alex is Elsa's best friend at school. They only meet in the end, when Alex comes to Elsa's school, so it's not mentioned before.”

So, in plain terms: Alex = Timi Alex, Elsa’s sole school friend, who appears only in the epilogue as a sign that Elsa is beginning to build a life beyond her grandmother. Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.