Just for the Summer

Amber Grant is Emma’s mother with whom she has a complicated relationship. Amber is chaotic and selfish, rarely contacts Emma outside of asking for money or favors, can’t keep a stable job, and hops from relationship to relationship. Amber’s ability to always keep moving and make impulsive decisions influences Emma’s coping mechanisms in adulthood.

While Emma is aware that Amber grew up in Minnesota, her life before Emma’s birth is shrouded in mystery. Her irresponsibility and impulsivity lead Emma to believe Amber had a rough childhood, and Amber’s insistence that Emma has no family outside herself only strengthens this hypothesis. Emma says multiple times that Amber “had been a single parent at eighteen with no family, no money, no support” (29). It’s not until later in the novel that Emma realizes Amber has been lying to her all this time. Amber comes from a large, rich, loving family but intentionally keeps this knowledge hidden from Emma.

While Maddy hates her, Emma views Amber through rose-colored glasses. Pairing closely with the rose imagery that is closely associated with Amber’s character, Emma romanticizes her childhood memories with her mother and has never let go of her foolish hope that her mother will someday love and care for her in the way she always should have. Emma prefers not to acknowledge her worst memories of her mother, but rather the moments Amber was at her best, where “you could meet her and walk away thinking you’d been in the presence of a Muse or angel. This witty, enchanting woman who made you feel interesting and special” (29). Despite having positive feelings toward her mother on the surface, Emma worries about Amber constantly. When Amber is gone, Emma worries about her well-being and safety. When Amber is present, Emma is on guard against the chaos that always ensues.

While Emma has an avoidant attachment style in relationships brought on by childhood trauma and neglect, Amber exemplifies a more immersive attachment style. As exemplified in her relationship with Neil, Amber becomes so invested in her relationship that it becomes all that matters to her. Amber also craves male validation and molds herself into whatever type of woman will please the man she’s interested in. This is only temporary because the technique isn’t sustainable, and it doesn’t address the underlying problems affecting Amber’s character. The brief mention that Amber cycles through manic and depressive episodes hints at a mood disorder, but the narrative’s decision not to include a diagnosis in the narrative heightens the authenticity of real-life portrayal. The fact that Emma learns to forgive and love her mother while also maintaining boundaries to keep herself safe from her furthers the theme of Destigmatizing Mental Health by showing that though actions and behaviors can cause harm, people with mental illnesses are still worthy of love and empathy.

Maddy is Emma’s best friend, foster sister, and fellow travel nurse. Aside from Amber, Maddy is the only other person Emma has a long-term, stable relationship with. As much as Maddy wishes Emma considered her moms as real parents, it was uncomfortable for Emma, who has always believed that no matter what Amber has done, that title will forever be hers. While Maddy and Emma are inseparable in many ways, they differ in their perceptions of Amber. While Emma practices empathy toward her mother, which results in a detrimental lack of boundaries, Maddy feels “furious on [Emma’s] behalf” (29). Maddy’s open hatred toward Amber is exhausting for Emma, who feels as though she must constantly remind Maddy that Amber isn’t as villainous as she seems. On Maddy’s side, while she admires Emma’s empathy, she worries about her lack of boundaries, which allows Amber to repeatedly hurt her and pile on the unresolved trauma that Emma still unwittingly deals with.

Maddy is dedicated to helping Emma live a productive life full of loved ones, adventure, and contentment. She acts as a mentor to Emma. This mentor role fits Maddy’s character as her dialogue is rife with lessons Emma will later learn and truths that Emma isn’t even aware she’s avoiding. Among these lessons and truths are Maddy’s assertion that “If [Justin] wanted to he would […] Also, if Amber wanted to, she would too” (173). Maddy juxtaposes Justin’s selfless love with Amber’s selfish disregard for Emma. While Emma isn’t receptive to the statement at that moment, Emma circles back to it later when her mother proves how deep her disregard for Emma goes, admitting that “Maddy had been right all along. She’d always seen Amber of what she was: someone who destroyed everyone and everything in her path” (353).

Maddy is a great friend to Emma—persistent, permanent, compassionate, selfless—but she frustrates Emma in many ways, namely her dedication to challenging Emma’s more problematic behaviors. Maddy is “obsessed with the idea of [Emma] being obsessed with someone” (171). While this annoys Emma, who claims to be content about her short-term flings and eventual bail-outs, Maddy tends to be right nearly always. Maddy becomes an influential player in furthering Emma’s relationship with Justin by subtly pushing Emma’s usual boundaries an inch at a time without going too far. Maddy’s persistence is also a testament to her ability to remain on Emma’s metaphorical island for so long when no one but Amber has achieved the feat. By the end of the novel, after months of therapy, Emma has healed enough to “say, with [her] whole heart, that [she] loved Maddy. She was one of the great loves of [Emma’s] life. And the thought that [she] would have given that up because of what Amber made [her] was a cautionary tale that [she] would never let [her]self forget” (377). Maddy’s years of persistence and dedication to Emma pay off in the final chapters, and Maddy is finally given the freedom to let go of her fears of Emma abandoning her in times of crisis. This newfound freedom from worry also allows Maddy to pursue a relationship with Doug, a friend of Emma’s half-brother, Daniel.