The Summer Between Us Themes
by Jennifer Probst
The Summer Between Us is really about what people carry when their lives crack open. Rowan's grief and knee injury, Kelsey's loneliness, Everett's need to control, and the pull between local Hawaiian life and wealthy tourism all sit under the summer romance. Surfing, the ocean, and connection become ways to heal, belong, and let go.
On this page, you'll find theme breakdowns with concrete moments: grief and healing through the ocean, found family at the surf shop and beach, surfing as identity for Rowan and confidence for Kelsey, Everett learning to listen and release control, class and authenticity in Hawaii, and Rowan and Everett's vulnerable secret affair. Symbols include the ocean, the custom board with Jack's stringer and 'Find your line,' Bagel the rabbit, and Rowan's tattoos.
Major Themes in The Summer Between Us
Grief, Loss, and Healing Through the Ocean
Rowan's grief over her father's death and her career-ending knee injury keeps her from surfing and from facing the mess inside. Teaching Kelsey and later receiving a board made with her father's stringer let her return to the water for herself. The notes frame the ocean as both wound and remedy.
- In the prologue, Rowan competes weeks after her father's death, injures her knee, and thinks her career is over and her father is gone.
- Rowan tells Everett that after her father died she had a bad wipeout, still has nightmares, and says it is easier to stay landlocked.
- Tino and Lea give Rowan a custom surfboard made with her father's old stringer and inscribed 'Find your line'; she accepts and agrees to surf again.
- At dawn, Rowan panics on the first set but catches a wave and rides it, laughing and crying.
Loneliness, Belonging, and Found Family
Kelsey is lonely and friendless in Hawaii with a busy father, while Rowan has isolated herself after loss. The surf shop, beach gatherings, and Bagel draw them into a makeshift family with Tino, Lea, Howie, and later Everett. Kelsey and Rowan both find people who see and listen to them.
- Kelsey is mocked by Brie and Chelsea before Rowan intervenes; later Bagel snuggles against Kelsey and Tino tells her she already made a friend.
- Everett reflects that eating shrimp at the North Shore with Kelsey and Rowan felt 'Like a... Family.'
- Rowan fears walking away from the makeshift family she has grown attached to when Everett returns to New York.
- Kelsey says she wants what they have here with Rowan.
Surfing as Identity, Confidence, and Life Philosophy
For Rowan, surfing is lost identity, grief, and regret; for Kelsey, it becomes confidence, joy, and belonging. The book repeats lessons that surfing is about mindset, instinct, falling, and riding what shows up. Reclaiming surfing parallels reclaiming self.
- Rowan tells Kelsey the third rule is no being crappy to yourself and that surfing begins with mindset and the competition starts with yourself.
- Rowan tells Kelsey surfing is like life: you cannot control the wave, you just ride what shows up and try not to panic.
- Kelsey stands wobbly but radiant on her board; Rowan says Kelsey needs the water and that the ocean can give so much more than it takes.
- Rowan finally paddles out, catches a clean wave, stands, and rides forward as the beach cheers.
Control, Letting Go, and Learning to Listen
Everett tries to manage Kelsey, Rowan, and the hotel through rules, schedules, and fixing, but the story pushes him to listen and let go. Tino and the ocean teach him that not everything can be planned or controlled. He eventually turns down the promotion and chooses a life he cannot fully manage.
- Rowan tells Everett, 'You hold on too tight' and 'I know when to let go'; Everett replies, 'I don't let things break.'
- Tino tells Everett, 'Ocean don't like plans. You've got to listen to her, not manage her.'
- Everett asks Rowan to move to New York without discussing it; Lea says, 'Does he know you at all?'
- Everett turns down the Senior VP promotion, saying he does not want to go back to New York and does not want to leave Kelsey or Rowan.
Class, Authenticity, and Belonging to Place
The book sets local Hawaiian community, authenticity, and belonging against wealth, tourism, and corporate luxury. Rowan mocks Everett's suit and curated resort details, while Matthew argues Purity is a luxury brand, not a community center. Everett and Wolfe side with the property belonging in Hawaii, and Everett ultimately chooses Hawaii over New York.
- Rowan mocks Everett's expensive suit and taste for 'oysters and caviar,' while Everett calls her surf shop life 'nothing to show for your life.'
- Matthew calls the cultural programming carefully curated authenticity and warns they run a luxury hotel, not a community center.
- Wolfe rejects Matthew's proposal to cut community partnerships, reduce the HOki Foundation donation, replace local contractors, and cancel cultural programming.
- Rowan tells Lea that Hawaii is 'home' and 'my line,' and Everett decides to stay for good.
Love, Vulnerability, and Choosing Connection
Rowan and Everett's attraction begins amid conflict and becomes a secret summer affair with rules, then real love. Their incompatible worlds force a breakup, but Everett's choice to stay lets them reconcile. The book ties love to honesty, risk, and showing up.
- Everett says, 'There may be rules in place, but this isn't just sex. Last night proved it.'
- Rowan tells Everett she surfed again and loves him; Everett says he loves her too, and they have sex.
- Rowan tells Everett she loves him enough to let him and Kelsey go; they kiss and have sex, and when Rowan wakes, Everett is gone.
- Everett arrives at the beach picnic in the yellow chicken shirt, tells Rowan he turned down the promotion and is staying for good; they reconcile, kiss, and plan to tell Kelsey together.
Symbols and Motifs
The Ocean and Waves
The ocean represents healing, freedom, identity, risk, and a life philosophy of riding what comes rather than controlling it. It is where Rowan confronts grief and where Everett finds peace.
- Rowan freezes with her board at the shoreline, imagining a future with Everett and Kelsey that will never be, and returns the board without surfing.
- Lea tells Rowan, 'Don't drown on land.'
- Tino tells Everett to take a board into the ocean and ask why he would move to Hawaii; Everett's body answers 'Peace.'
- Rowan paddles out in the epilogue, catches a clean wave, and rides forward as the beach cheers.
Surfboard with Jack's Stringer and 'Find your line'
The custom board made with Rowan's father's old stringer and inscribed 'Find your line' symbolizes legacy, grief, and reclaiming joy. 'Find your line' also stands for the belief that every wave has a rhythm and life works the same way.
- Tino and Lea give Rowan a custom surfboard shaped with her father's old stringer and inscribed 'Find your line'; she accepts and agrees to surf again.
- Rowan explains her tattoo 'Find your line' means every wave has a rhythm and life works the same way, a belief from her father.
- Rowan sees her board, which Tino waxed, and her youth club students wave from the shallows.
Bagel the Rabbit
Bagel is a companion adopted after Rowan's father dies, representing comfort, chosen family, and a gauge of trust. His reactions mark emotional shifts, from Rowan's isolation to Everett's gradual acceptance.
- Rowan reflects on adopting Bagel after her father's death.
- Bagel refuses Rowan's command to stay home, hops to the door, and blocks it until she relents.
- Bagel snuggles against Kelsey, bonding with her, and Tino says any friend of Bagel's is a friend of his.
- Bagel growls at Everett and attacks his shoelace, but later no longer growls when Everett rubs his head and accepts a mint as a truce.
Rowan's Tattoos
Rowan's tattoos mark personal history and identity: a shark tooth, a chest tattoo for her father, and the 'Find your line' belief. They are visible signs of grief, memory, and the philosophy she carries.
- Rowan reveals her hip tattoo is a shark tooth and her chest tattoo is for her father.
- Rowan automatically touches the tattoo by her heart when she feels her father's presence after Kelsey learns to surf.
- Rowan shows Everett her tattoo and explains its meaning.
- Everett thinks of Rowan's tattoo 'Find your line' when Wolfe asks if he draws lines.