Point of Retreat

Point of Retreat (2012), the second book in the Slammed series, is a contemporary new adult romance by #1 New York Times best-selling author Colleen Hoover. The story, told from Will Cooper’s first-person perspective, picks up shortly after the events of Hoover’s debut novel, Slammed, and follows 21-year-old Will and 19-year-old Layken “Lake” Cohen as they navigate the transition from adolescence to adulthood while grappling with grief and immense responsibility. Both act as guardians for their 10-year-old brothers, Caulder and Kel, respectively, who are best friends. Each chapter begins with a journal entry from Will. As the story progresses, Will and Lake’s relationship is tested by past insecurities and the pressures of raising their younger brothers on their own. The novel explores themes such as Defining Love Beyond Shared Trauma, The Importance of Chosen Family and Community, and The Importance of Vulnerability for Overcoming Doubt.

A quintessential example of the new adult genre that gained prominence in the early 2010s, Point of Retreat was published just months after Slammed, largely due to intense fan demand that grew from Hoover’s success as a self-published author embraced by book bloggers. Several of Hoover’s other novels have risen to the top of the New York Times Best Seller list, including Verity, Ugly Love, and her most successful novel, It Ends With Us, which spent 169 weeks at #1.

This guide refers to the 2012 Atria Paperback e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of illness, death, sexual violence, child abuse, bullying, substance use, and cursing.

Plot Summary

The narrative begins from the perspective of Will Cooper, who reflects on the past three years since his parents’ deaths, which left him the sole guardian of his brother, Caulder, and led to the end of his relationship with his girlfriend, Vaughn Gibson. Now in a loving relationship with Layken “Lake” Cohen, who is also raising her younger brother, Kel, after the death of her mother, Will attempts to balance his final year of a master’s degree program with caring for Caulder and his romantic relationship with Lake. He makes a New Year’s resolution to write in a journal as a form of therapy.

Will and Lake, who live across the street from each other, form a close-knit found family with Lake’s best friend, Eddie, and Eddie’s boyfriend, Gavin. When Caulder and Kel befriend a new, outspoken 11-year-old neighbor named Kiersten, she quickly becomes part of their circle. The group eats dinner together several nights a week and shares the best and worst parts of their day in a ritual called “suck-and-sweet.” Will and Lake struggle to find alone time and are mindful of a promise they made to Lake’s late mother, Julia, to wait at least a year before becoming intimate.

Will plans a special date for Lake, arranging for Gavin and Eddie to watch the boys. He gives her a final gift from Julia: a vase filled with origami stars, each containing a piece of advice or an inspirational quote. The gesture deeply moves them both. They nearly become intimate but decide to wait for a planned weekend getaway, honoring their promise. Their plans are further complicated when the entire group gets food poisoning, and Kiersten’s mother, Sherry, helps nurse them back to health.

New conflicts arise when Kel and Caulder are suspended from school for writing a threatening note to the boys who were bullying Kiersten. Will and Lake struggle with their roles as parental figures. As the school year begins, Will discovers that his ex-girlfriend, Vaughn, is in one of his graduate classes. He rebuffs her attempts to reconnect but decides not to tell Lake about her, believing that it will worry her for nothing. Will continues to hide Vaughn’s presence, even after she passes him a note seeking closure for their past relationship. During a poetry slam, Will performs a piece dedicated to Lake, reaffirming his love for her and his anticipation of their upcoming weekend getaway.

On the night of their planned trip, Vaughn appears at Will’s house while his grandparents are watching the boys. She tells Will that she regrets breaking up with him and suggests that he is only with Lake out of pity for their similar circumstances. Will firmly rejects her, but she becomes emotional. As he comforts Vaughn with a hug and a kiss on the forehead, Lake arrives and witnesses the scene. The discovery leads to a night of escalating arguments, during which Will’s explanations fail to convince her to forgive him. Believing that his feelings are not genuine, Lake ends their relationship, stating that she needs time to question everything. Will and Gavin have drinks, overwhelmed by Will’s breakup with Lake and Gavin’s reveal that Eddie is pregnant.

Distraught, Will repeatedly attempts to reconcile, but Lake insists on having space. He enlists Kiersten to act as an intermediary, leading to a tense standoff where he and Lake engage in a physical altercation over who gets custody of the vase of stars, Julia’s parting gift to them. After Lake leaves, Will realizes that he must show, not just tell, Lake why he loves her. With the help of their friends, he arranges for Lake to attend another poetry slam, where their friends trap her in a booth so that she will hear Will’s performance. In Will’s piece, titled “Because of You,” he uses a series of personal mementos to illustrate all the specific reasons he loves Lake for who she is, independent of their shared tragedies.

Deeply moved, Lake follows Will outside, where she apologizes for doubting him, and they reconcile. On the drive home, a truck crosses the median and collides with Lake’s car, which is also carrying Eddie and Kiersten. Will’s car, following behind, is rear-ended by another vehicle. At the hospital, Will, who has a concussion and a cut that needs stitches, learns that Kiersten has a broken arm and that Eddie is stable. Lake, however, is unconscious and requires emergency brain surgery. Will and Kel keep a frantic vigil while waiting for news. Gavin learns that his and Eddie’s unborn baby is okay, and he fully embraces his impending fatherhood.

After a tense wait, Lake wakes up. She has amnesia regarding the accident and their reconciliation, but her memory gradually returns as Will recounts the events. She’s discharged from the hospital after five days and put on bed rest at Will’s house. As life returns to a new normal, a school talent show provides a platform for emotional expression. Kiersten performs a slam poem about standing up to bullies, while Caulder performs an emotional piece expressing his deep gratitude for the sacrifices that Will made to raise him.

Once Lake has recovered, Will plans another surprise date, recreating their first one. At his house, in a deeply personal proposal, he tells—rather than asks—Lake to marry him, explaining that he cannot live without her. He gives her Julia’s wedding ring, which her mother had hidden inside a special star for him to present when the time was right. Lake joyfully accepts, and they decide on a simple courthouse wedding. They offer to rent Lake’s house to Gavin and Eddie so that they will have more room when their baby is born. Will and Lake marry in an informal ceremony attended by their brothers and best friends. Afterward, they go to a hotel for their honeymoon, finally consummating their relationship and beginning their married life secure in their love and supported by their unconventional family.