The Summer Pact

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, death by suicide, substance use, and cursing.

“I often wonder what makes our coming-of-age friendships so powerful. I know the usual theories…That they fill the void of adolescent loneliness. That they give us a sense of belonging. That they shape our adult identities. All these things are true, but when it comes right down to it, I think it’s a simple matter of what was there by our side, bearing witness to our loss of innocence.”

The opening sentences of the book establish the theme of The Power of Friendship that will be explored, positing reasons that the action of the novel will bear out. The issues of bearing witness and loss of innocence are especially apt in foreshadowing events to follow. This passage also establishes Giffin’s conversational, straightforward, rhythmic style that creates an accessible narrative.

“In the days, months, and years to come, should we, the undersigned, find ourselves in a crisis, depression, or moment of deep sorrow or darkness, we hereby solemnly swear to reach out to one another before taking any drastic steps of making any permanent decisions. We make this pact in Summer’s name and memory.”

This is the weighty, formal rhetoric of the Summer Pact, which inspires the novel’s title and cements the friendship among the three surviving friends by establishing a promise to rely on one another in moments of distress. The legal language reflects Tyson’s voice and training, an example of how Giffin switches voices throughout as the chapters alternate among the first-person points of view of the three protagonists. The language also highlights the seriousness with which the friends take the pact and how binding they consider it.

“Perspective is a hard thing to come by when your heart is broken, and I feel myself completely unraveling, believing this is proof that I’m destined to be alone, maybe even unworthy of having a happy family.”

Hannah’s reaction to seeing Grady having sex with another woman demonstrates a key aspect of her character: She blames herself for his actions, in part due to her mother’s influence, introducing the theme of