Summer Character Analysis in Wonder

Summer is one of August's closest friends at school. She sits with him on the first day of school because she felt bad seeing August eating alone, but she soon discovers that he's fun. She especially likes him because he still likes to play foursquare and other kid-appropriate games, rather than "hang out" and talk about dating and crushes like her other, more mature classmates. Though Summer treasures her friendship with August, she also experiences some desire to be popular. She's thrilled and nervous to get an invitation to Savanna's Halloween party, as Savanna is extremely popular. However, she soon realizes that the party is an attempt to pull her into the fold of popular kids and encourage her to drop August, something Summer refuses to do.

Summer Quotes in Wonder

The Wonder quotes below are all either spoken by Summer or refer to Summer. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Knopf edition of Wonder published in 2012.

Hey, the truth is, if a Wookiee started going to the school all of a sudden, I'd be curious, I'd probably stare a bit! And if I was walking with Jack or Summer, I'd probably whisper to them: Hey, there's the Wookiee. And if the Wookiee caught me saying that, he'd know I wasn't trying to be mean.

Related Characters: (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 62

Explanation and Analysis:

How I found out about this is that Maya Markowitz told me that the reason she won't play Four Square with us at recess is that she doesn't want to catch the Plague. I was like, "What's the Plague?" And she told me. I told Maya I thought it was really dumb and she agreed, but she still wouldn't touch a ball that August just touched, not if she could help it.

Related Characters: (speaker), , ,

Related Symbols:

Page Number and Citation: 120

Explanation and Analysis:

Summer Character Timeline in Wonder

The timeline below shows where the character Summer appears in Wonder. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...sits down, takes a bite of her unappetizing mac and cheese, and introduces herself as Summer. When one of Summer's friends invites her back to their table, she insists that their... (full context)

August and Summer decide that their table is the "summer table," and they go through all of their... (full context)

...yanks his backpack away from her and leads her through the crowd. He waves at Summer when she yells goodbye, but he avoids Mom's questions about her. (full context)

...comment and can't quite figure out why he feels mad at Mom. She asks about Summer again, and August responds that they met at lunch. He says they're like Beauty and... (full context)

...if, for example, a Wookie started going to school, he'd probably stare and talk with Summer and Jack about it. Regardless, kids gradually get used to August, and by the end... (full context)

...he can have a big party. He wants to invite his entire homeroom class plus Summer—even Julian, so that nobody gets their feelings hurt. A few weeks later, Mom tells August... (full context)

The day after August's birthday party, Summer asks what he's going to be for Halloween. She explains that they can wear costumes... (full context)

Summer says that some kids have asked her why she hangs out with "the freak" so... (full context)

Summer admits that August's face does take some time to get used to. However, she doesn't... (full context)

While playing foursquare one day, Summer learns about the Plague. Supposedly, anyone who touches August has thirty seconds to wash their... (full context)

Summer is thrilled to get an invitation to Savanna's Halloween party because Savanna is the most... (full context)

When Summer knocks on Savanna's door, Savanna asks outright where Summer's boyfriend is. Summer has no idea... (full context)

At school the next day, Summer tells Savanna that she had to leave the party because she ate bad Halloween candy,... (full context)

Finally, August looks Summer in the eye and tells her that she doesn't have to be friends with him.... (full context)

Summer warns her mom about August's face, but Summer's mom still looks surprised when August walks... (full context)

...new person. He's thrilled that in his next life, he'll get a new face. Awkwardly, Summer asks August what exactly is wrong with his face. August shrugs and explains that he... (full context)

For the next month, August and Summer hang out often after school. On the day of the Egyptian Museum exhibit, the students... (full context)

Jack has no idea what Summer's "Bleeding Scream" comment means. He explains that one day, he and August were friends and... (full context)

...about the science fair. Jack's mind wanders and as it does, he suddenly realizes what Summer meant by "Bleeding Scream"—it was August in the costume that day. August heard him talking... (full context)

...him an email apologizing for what he said. Over text, Jack explains to August that Summer told him "Bleeding Scream." Jack confirms that he did indeed punch Julian and assures August... (full context)

...tries to send them back to their original table, but Jack gets up and accepts Summer's invitation to sit with her and August. (full context)

...because he just wanted to be normal for a little while. He was surprised when Summer sat with August and figured that she was just doing it to be nice. Now,... (full context)

The next day at lunch, Summer pulls out a piece of paper with a list of who's on Jack's side, who's... (full context)

Summer declares that they're too young to be dating anyway. August agrees but jokes that it's... (full context)

...that call him a freak and an orc, but August refuses to report the notes. Summer, August, and Jack leave notes in Julian's locker, but theirs aren't mean. They make up... (full context)

...August and Jack to their staging area. Another teacher gets them in seats and soon, Summer arrives. She's wearing a bit of makeup, and August compliments her. Jack offhandedly says that... (full context)

...his parents and other relatives to hug him. They start taking pictures, and Dad calls Summer and Jack over to take a group picture. August doesn't even think about his face... (full context)

...students that Mr. Browne receives over the summer. Henry's mentions not being friends with jerks, Summer's talks about not hurting people's feelings, and Julian's says that it's good to start over.... (full context)