This Summer Will be Different

Bridget is Lucy’s best friend and former roommate. Loyal, headstrong, and independent, Bridget is a constant source of support for Lucy, encouraging her to pursue her dreams and comforting her during difficult times. Bridget and Lucy are roommates from ages 23 to 27, when Bridget moves in with her fiancé, Miles.

Bridget and Lucy maintain an annual tradition of taking “girls’ trips” to PEI—during the first of these visits, Bridget establishes the rule that Lucy cannot fall in love with her brother. This rule stems from her trauma of losing her former best friend, Joy, after Joy broke up with Felix. Bridget’s insistence that Lucy stay away from Felix catalyzes the novel’s major conflict.

Though Bridget is a supportive friend to Lucy, she can be withholding about her own emotions and problems. Bridget refuses to tell Lucy why she fled to PEI weeks before her wedding because she fears that the news of her impending move to Australia will damage their friendship. Their mutual secret keeping eventually causes strain in their relationship that is only alleviated when they both confess.

Throughout the narrative, Bridget and Lucy are confronted by several profound changes in their lives and their friendship. In college, they were one another’s primary support, but new relationships enter their lives as they grow up and test their bond. Ultimately, they manage to stay close, and their friendship grows along with them as individuals. Fortune never sidelines Bridget and Lucy’s friendship as the novel’s central romance develops. Bridget always remains the most important person in Lucy’s life.

The novel concludes with Bridget and her family visiting Lucy at Primfield House. Their friendship has survived their maturation into adulthood and emerged stronger than ever.

Felix “Wolf” Clark is Bridget’s younger brother and Lucy’s primary romantic interest. Felix is a handsome, thoughtful, and bookish man whose turbulent romance with Lucy is the novel’s central conflict. At the novel’s start, Felix is charming but listless, reeling from the recent end of his engagement. In the present, he has grown into a self-assured and thoughtful man who has accomplished his dream of building a series of vacation cottages on PEI.

Lucy and Felix’s romance begins with a one-night stand. When they discover one another’s identities, they agree to keep their connection a secret from Bridget. Felix harbors deeper feelings for Lucy but keeps them to himself because he believes she doesn’t feel the same way. Throughout their relationship’s many ups and downs, Felix unfailingly shows Lucy care and kindness. He comforts her when she grieves the loss of her aunt and continually encourages her to pursue her dream of opening a flower farm, proving his suitability as a partner.

Felix has insecurities about love stemming from his ex-fiancée, Joy, ending their engagement after only a week. Despite this, he is willing to put his heart on the line again to pursue a relationship with Lucy. His relationship with Lucy causes him to realize that the breakup with Joy was ultimately for the best, as it eventually led him to the true love of his life.

Stacy is Lucy’s late aunt. She is an eccentric, free-spirited woman who lives by her own rules. As a child, Lucy often spent time in Stacy’s home, where she nurtured her passion for gardening and arranging flowers. Stacy provides Lucy with a safe space to be herself, away from the stifling expectations of her parents. She teaches Lucy about the importance of being true to oneself and the value of found family. Lucy says that Stacy is “the only person in her family who understood [her]” (217).

Though Stacy dies when Lucy is 25, her memory continues to influence Lucy, who thinks of her aunt during difficult moments and before making major decisions. Stacy’s legacy helps Lucy remain true to herself and reminds her that her family, whether by choice or by blood, should love her unconditionally.