67 pages 2 hours read

Emily Rath

Pucking Around

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapters 16-35Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 16 Summary: “Rachel”

Content Warning: This section of the guide briefly mentions an attempted suicide.

Over the weekend, Rachel decorates her new apartment and avoids Jake. On Sunday evening, she video chats with Tess, revealing the story of her one-night stand with Jake in Seattle. Tess is delighted but warns that Rachel has a habit of sabotaging her relationships. She asks if Jake has tried to contact Rachel, which causes Rachel to think of the string of affectionate texts that Jake has been sending all weekend—to which Rachel has not replied. Now, Tess encourages Rachel to send Jake a photo of her breasts, as a response to Jake’s flirtatious taunts. Rachel decides to do so, though she uses her arm to obscure some details. She sends it before she loses her nerve.

Chapter 17 Summary: “Jake”

Jake and Caleb sit at a bar with two other players, one of whom, Novy, sees Ilmari nearby and comments that Ilmari hates him. Caleb reframes this dynamic as a cultural difference, while the other player, Morrow, argues that goalies are always strange. Caleb urges Jake to talk to Ilmari, so Jake tries to make small talk with the goalie but finds it to be uncomfortable. When he asks outright why Ilmari doesn’t want to join them, Ilmari replies that he doesn’t want to be rude or intrude, so he is reading a book.