Hoover’s debut novel, Slammed, is narrated by 18-year-old Lake, who moves to Michigan from Texas with her mother, Julia, and younger brother, Kel, after her father’s unexpected death. Lake’s meet-cute with her 21-year-old neighbor, Will, acts as the novel’s inciting incident, positioning the story as a romance within the new adult genre. Will invites Lake to a poetry slam in Detroit, where he performs a poem about his parents’ death in a car accident, establishing a sense of solidarity between them. After the slam, Will and Lake share their first kiss.

On the first day of senior year at her new school, Lake discovers that Will is her teacher. Shocked, they reluctantly agree to stop seeing each other, but Kel and Caulder’s growing friendship continues to force them together. At his house, Will kisses Lake impulsively and immediately pulls back, hurting Lake’s feelings. In Will’s class, she performs a pointed poem about him entitled “Mean.” Lake befriends her classmate Eddie, who also frequents the club that Lake initially visited with Will. Eddie performs a poem about her mother’s abuse and her life in foster care—a vulnerable performance that deepens her friendship with Lake. Eventually, Lake tells Eddie about the attraction between herself and Will.

Lake suspects that her mother is hiding a new relationship because she’s frequently away from home with vague explanations about where she’s been. When Julia reveals that she’s dying of terminal lung cancer, Lake runs to Will’s house in distress and spends the night. When Eddie comes to find Lake the next morning, Will realizes that Eddie knows about his involvement with Lake and worries about his job if word spreads. He calls the girls into detention the next day, concerned that he will lose his job if Eddie reveals that Lake slept at his house. At school, he gives both girls detention, and they all agree not to discuss Will and Lake’s connection with anyone. At home, Julia considers sending Kel to live with family friends after her death since Lake is only 18, but Lake insists that she and Kel stay together. Julia agrees to Lake’s request and begins preparing her to care for Kel and manage the family finances.

Lake attends a poetry slam at the club with Eddie and a group of other classmates, including a boy named Javi, who flirts with Lake. Will recites a poem that implicitly conveys his love for her. Lake runs out of the club, but she’s followed by Javi, who attempts to sexually assault her. Will arrives on the scene and punches Javi, putting his job in jeopardy. Will resigns from his job at the school and continues his teacher training at a new high school. Even though he’s no longer Lake’s teacher, Will resists pursuing Lake, allowing her space to savor her time with Julia. Julia tells Lake Will’s intentions and encourages her to tell him how she feels. Lake writes a poem for Will and performs it in a slam competition where Will is a judge. Afterward, he spontaneously takes the stage, freestyling a romantic poem for Lake. After Julia’s death, Will, Lake, and their brothers form a blended, chosen family in which they co-parent Kel and Caulder with support from Eddie and her boyfriend, Gavin.

In Point of Retreat, Hoover’s Prologue serves as a succinct recap of Slammed from Will’s perspective, summarizing the loss of his parents, his newfound guardianship of his brother, and the moment he “first laid eyes on Lake” (4), immediately re-immersing returning readers in the ongoing emotional landscape. This direct continuation highlights how fan investment was instrumental in transforming a single novel into a series, making Point of Retreat a testament to the new publishing ecosystem of the early 2010s.