49 pages • 1-hour read
The Summer Pact
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Character Analysis
Hannah Davis
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, death by suicide, racism, and substance use.
Hannah is a protagonist and one of the three narrators of the novel. The Prologue and Epilogue are told from her point of view, and this gives her the role of being a witness and commenter as she determines the shape of the story. Also, it is Hannah’s crisis that precipitates the plot and action of the central storyline, so in a way, she is the narrative pivot of the novel, even while Summer holds the emotional center.
Hannah is an only child, raised by wealthy, white parents in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. She has a wholesome, girl-next-door vibe: She is blonde, blue eyed, and conventionally pretty. Her deepest ambition for her life is to get married and have children whom she can nurture. Part of this wish to nurture stems from Hannah’s difficult relationship with her mother. Hannah describes her mother, Mrs. Davis, as a narcissist, and her actions show that she is very concerned about appearances and other people’s opinions, at the expense of Hannah’s feelings or interest in her as a person. Hannah longs for her mother’s approval but feels like she will never have it, leaving her in the position of constantly striving to fulfill her mother’s expectations. Hannah suspects that her mother somehow encouraged Grady to first contact Hannah because Grady is, superficially, the kind of man of whom Hannah’s mother approves.
Hannah’s character arc in the novel involves coming to terms with how many of her choices have been made to please others, mostly her mother, and learning to make choices for herself instead. One of her first independent choices was to forgo pledging a sorority in college and instead be content with her friend group of Tyson, Summer, and Lainey. This provides the source of Hannah’s most nourishing relationships. Hannah sees herself as the cheerleader of the group, which matches her character trait of seeking peace. Whenever something goes wrong, Hannah frequently finds fault with herself, whether she needs to be guilty or not. For a long time, she harbors guilt that she didn’t respond to Summer’s panicked text right away, believing that if she had, she could have prevented Summer’s death.
Part of Hannah’s maturation over the course of the novel is learning that she isn’t responsible for other people’s actions or feelings. Instead, Hannah learns to identify and act on her feelings. Her connection with Olivia is authentic and immediate, bringing out Hannah’s qualities of humor and compassion. She is a deeply loyal friend, a peacekeeper who hates conflict, and someone who rushes to help out where there is a need. Her new discovery of boundaries, her own wishes, and new love allow Hannah, by the end of the novel, to break away from her old habits and influences and instead pursue a life directed by her wishes, as illustrated by her move to Texas and starting her own design business.
Lainey Lawson
Lainey is another protagonist and narrator of the story, and she is the lively entertainer of the group. Lainey is full of energy and always unabashedly acts on her impulses. She is the daughter of a single mother and grew up in Encinitas, near San Diego, California. Lainey is an attractive woman, with long brown curls and brown eyes, and Tyson describes her as “well built.” She loves to flirt and get attention, but there’s a certain innocence to her self-absorption; her intentions are mainly to have a good time, not to intentionally hurt others. Lainey is forthright, even brazen in her manner, and acts decisively and with confidence; she says at one point, “I never back down from a dare, even if it’s one I invent for myself” (245). Hannah observes that “Lainey always does exactly as she pleases in whatever moment she’s in” (254). Lainey is the only one of the group who doesn’t feel burdened by other people’s expectations, nor is she trying to live according to someone else’s plans for her life.
Lainey’s vulnerability is that she is deeply wounded by rejection. The first rejection was when she learned that her father had a second family, a wife and two daughters who are near Lainey’s age. Lainey loved her mother and, as an adult, was pained to realize that her mother loved and longed for a man who lied to her and never put her first. Now, after her mother’s death from cancer a few years before the current events of the novel, Lainey is left with no family at all. She seeks information about her half-sisters but is reluctant to contact them because she believes they will reject her. Lainey realizes that she feels lonely, but she misuses alcohol to distract from her hurt feelings. She uses sex to connect to men but doesn’t engage in real intimacy, believing that conventional marriage is undesirable. Hannah and Tyson are the people closest to her, and Lainey feels a great deal of loyalty to them. She shows that she is protective of people she loves and a bit vindictive, as when she comes up with ways to punish Grady and Berlin for deceiving Hannah.
Lainey’s character growth begins when she realizes that she is attracted to Tyson in a new and deeper way and takes the chance to act on those feelings. She further matures when she acknowledges Hannah’s interest in Olivia and, in time, makes an effort to get to know Olivia on her terms. Lainey’s realization that she has an unhealthy relationship with alcohol is her character’s turning point in the novel, as well as the climax of the action. Her journey to sobriety in the Epilogue suggests that she, too, is learning healthier boundaries and ways of coping. Ironically, in the end, it is Lainey, who dismissed a belief in marriage, who is happily engaged, but this shows that she now feels ready and open to real, authentic love.
Tyson Bishop
Tyson is the third protagonist and narrator of the novel. He is a Black man who grew up in the Washington, DC, area with ambitious, accomplished parents: His father is a respected attorney, and his mother is a federal judge. They have instilled several of their values in Tyson: He is hardworking, ethical, honest, and self-aware. He also has a careful, cautious, rule-abiding approach to life. Hannah notices that Tyson “always stops himself before he goes too far” (255), highlighting his restraint.
Tyson acknowledges that his caution is in part because as a Black man, he has “zero room for error” and needs to be “beyond reproach” (36). Lainey reflects, “Beyond the universal rules that everyone had to follow, there was a matrix of additional guidelines for him” (36). The novel nods to the racist systems and pervasive bias in the world that Tyson navigates every day. He senses that Mrs. Davis’s disapproval of him stems at least in part from the fact that he is Black, and he knows that he is an object of greater scrutiny in public places. When Tyson boards the yacht in Capri, the owner is aggressive and belligerent with him but is more conciliatory with Hannah, a white woman.
Tyson is a loyal friend and a principled man, honest in his dealings and his relationships. He admits to feeling guilty that he didn’t prevent Summer’s death, but throughout the novel, he lets go of his self-blame. Sharing with Hannah and Lainey that he felt something for Summer helps air these feelings that have been troubling him. When he feels a new attraction for Lainey, Tyson makes sure that he understands his own motives before he takes any action. Having so long directed his choices around what others think is best for him, including his family, Tyson’s character arc involves, first, realizing his lack of direction and, second, coming to terms with what he really wants to do. His choice to become an English teacher and his proposal of marriage to Lainey suggest at the end that Tyson is moving in the direction of his own goals and being true to his heart.
Summer MacFarland
Though she only appears in the Prologue and flashbacks, Summer is an important secondary character and, in some ways, the key to the entire novel. As a character, she is sweet, driven, and unassuming. She grew up in the Midwest, in the town of Naperville, Illinois, and is a talented and hardworking athlete, recruited to run track and cross-country at the University of Virginia. She enjoys literature and, occasionally, shopping. She is friendly, sociable, and upbeat, and her friends think of her as the center and “sun” of their group. Lainey and Hannah both recognize that Summer is attracted to Tyson but wary of showing it. Tyson and Summer connect through their shared love of literature and their driving ambition, both dreaming of becoming high school English teachers.
Summer feels driven to be the best in everything she does, and even when she wins All-American status as an athlete, she focuses on the fact that she hasn’t yet earned a championship. Although she is accepted to several top medical schools, she is determined to gain admission to Harvard, one of the top universities in the US. The narrative suggests that Summer’s refusal to give herself a break, and insecurities about her worth, contributed to her death by suicide. Throughout the novel, each of her friends—brought together by their promise to be there for one another, a resolution instigated by losing Summer—learn in their own way how unfulfilling and harmful it can be to try to live up to impossible standards. They honor Summer by fulfilling their pact to call upon one another in times of need and also by learning to live their lives on their terms, motivated by their own loves, wishes, goals, and dreams.
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