Problematic Summer Romance

Conor is the male lead and Maya’s romantic interest. As a result of growing up with a manipulative, emotionally abusive father, Conor has emotionally withdrawn to protect himself, and Maya observes that he often comes across as “sharky, impatient, sometimes mean” (24). In truth, Conor is kind and caring, but he struggles to show these things because his father’s abuse taught him that vulnerabilities are meant to be exploited. Conor struggles with his feelings for Maya in both the main story and the flashbacks. From the moment the two reconnect in Scotland, Conor sees Maya for the beautiful, brilliant, fascinating person she is. He is strongly attracted to her, but he refuses to act on his attraction because he feels the years between them give him powerful, unfair advantages over her. Instead, Conor agrees to be her friend, which results in him opening up to her like he’s never opened up to anyone. This only makes his feelings for her grow, but because of his past, he fears admitting this to her. Instead, he uses indirect forms of communication, such as warning Maya away from other guys. This symbolizes how Conor views love as a duty to protect. The only person he loved growing up was his mother, whom he constantly protected from his father. Thus, Conor believes protecting Maya, both from others and himself, is the only way to show he cares. After repeated insistence from Maya that she doesn’t feel threatened by him, Conor finally realizes that he doesn’t need to save her from himself. However, even after this realization, Conor is still concerned with minimizing power imbalances between them, highlighting how deeply the scars of his father’s abuse run.

Conor’s emotional growth is centered around healing the internalized shame and fear instilled by his father. Although he initially tries to live without Maya, believing that their connection is doomed to replicate the imbalance and harm he witnessed growing up, he ultimately cannot suppress his love for her. When Maya tells him that he is the one who must fix things, Conor is humbled and finally ready. He realizes that his fear of becoming like his father has stopped him from imagining a future in which he is allowed to be happy. In choosing Maya, Conor does not abandon his concern for ethics or power; he simply learns that love does not have to mean control. This marks a major turning point in his character and a shift from self-punishment to self-acceptance. In this way, his arc parallels Maya’s. Where she had to let go of the need to prove her worth, Conor had to stop believing that he was unworthy in the first place. Their reunion is not a surrender to lust or fantasy but a shared leap toward healing—one that affirms both What It Means to Love and The Pressure of Expectations on Relationships.

Eli is Maya’s brother and only living family. After the death of their parents, Eli assumed custody of Maya and became an instant parent. Initially, this strained their relationship, but by the beginning of Problematic Summer Romance, the two have resolved many of their past difficulties to become a real family. Eli represents The Pressure of Expectations on Relationships. Since the story is told completely from Maya’s perspective, she believes Eli is only proud of her because she’s come so far from the bratty kid she was to the successful young woman she’s become and that she needs to keep improving her situation for him to continue being proud. In truth, Eli is proud of Maya’s growth and accomplishments, but that pride stems from his love for her, not the expectation that she will continue to be impressive. Still, though Eli views Maya as a grown woman who’s made her way in the world on her own, there are moments where he reverts to seeing her as a child, such as when she becomes overly competitive during the soccer game in Chapter 18. Eli chastises Maya for her childish behavior, but this does not mean he views her as a child. Still, moments like this strain Maya’s relationship with Eli until Maya confesses her decision not to take either of her big job offers. Because Eli loves her, he accepts her decision, knowing it’s what she wants and happy that she’s found something she wants to do. In doing so, he proves to Maya that she doesn’t have to be afraid of disappointing him, which strengthens their relationship even more.

Avery is Conor’s ex-girlfriend and a symbol of Conor’s emotional strife regarding Maya. Ten months before the main storyline, Conor broke off his friendship with Maya because he was getting together with Avery. In truth, Conor only dated Avery in an attempt to get over Maya, which makes Avery an exception to Conor viewing himself as a protector. Rather than protecting Avery, he gave her false hope and used her as a scapegoat to keep from confronting his emotions. Once he realizes he did this, Conor clears the air with Avery, and the two end the book as friends, showing that Conor does possess the ability to care about how others feel. Avery also highlights how similar qualities do not make people the same. In Chapter 1, Avery and Maya ride to the villa together, where they discover they have many things, including a love of Sicily, in common. However, such similarities do not mean Avery is a good match for Conor or that Conor could care about Avery the way he cares about Maya. Similar to how Conor struggled to open up to Minami years ago, Conor cannot be his true self with Avery. Watching Conor with Avery and Minami makes Maya realize how he is different with her. Thus, Avery and Minami represent What It Means to Love.