Found Family in Rewind It Back: How Rio DeLuca Finds Home in Chicago

Thematic Claim: Love Is Learned Through Chosen Bonds

In Rewind It Back, Liz Tomforde argues that authentic love—both romantic and platonic—requires a supportive network of chosen people who model trust, forgiveness, and unconditional belonging. The novel traces Rio DeLuca's journey from a man shaped by his parents' betrayal to someone who finally understands that family isn't defined by blood but by the people who show up. His found family in Chicago, a tight-knit group of friends and their partners, provides the emotional grounding he needs to reconcile with Hallie Hart and embrace a future rooted in mutual care rather than inherited guilt.

Tracing the Theme Across the Plot

Part 1: Isolation and the Need for Connection (Chapters 1–6)

When the novel opens, Rio is emotionally adrift. He has just bombed a second date, hides his lack of casual hookups from his friends, and faces a career decision that could take him back to Boston—a move driven by guilt toward his mother rather than genuine desire. The first evidence of his found family appears in Chapter 1 (book overview page): Rio visits his best friend Indy and her husband Ryan, confessing his loneliness. His group chat with friends becomes a lifeline, but he still feels like the odd man out among couples.

In Chapter 6, Rio attends Sunday dinner with his Chicago found family—Indy, Ryan, Zanders, Stevie, Kai, Miller, Isaiah, Kennedy, and their children. The women immediately notice his distraction and, when Stevie outs his encounter with Hallie, they corner him for the truth. Indy persuades him to give Hallie a chance on the house renovation. This scene establishes the found family's role as both a support system and a moral compass. They don't just provide company; they actively push Rio toward emotional honesty.

Part 2: The Found Family as Catalyst for Reconciliation (Chapters 10–14)

The found family's influence deepens when they intrude on Rio's first design walk-through with Hallie (Chapter 10). Indy, Stevie, Miller, and Kennedy arrive unannounced, offering Hallie immediate warmth and acceptance. Their presence signals that Hallie, too, could become part of this circle. The women's easy camaraderie—their teasing about the boombox, their excitement to meet "Hal"—shows Hallie what she's been missing since leaving her own support system behind to care for her father.

A turning point occurs in Chapter 13, when Rio's friends appear at his door with four children, needing a last-minute babysitter. Indy slyly suggests he call Hallie for help. This moment transforms Rio from a passive recipient of help to an active participant in building connection. By the end of that evening—after Rio has fixed Hallie's car and they've watched Moana with the kids—the found family has engineered the first real step toward reconciliation. The children (Taylor, Iverson, Navy, Max, and baby Emmy) symbolize the future family that could exist if Rio and Hallie rebuild their relationship within this community.

Part 3: Emotional Breakthrough and the Integration of the Past (Chapters 26–46)

The found family becomes essential to Rio's emotional breakthrough in Chapter 31, when he attends a girls' night and, after prodding from Indy, Kennedy, Stevie, and Miller, reveals the full history of his childhood with Hallie, their secret romance, and the six-year rift caused by his parents' divorce. The friends tell him bluntly that he has been waiting passively, not Hallie. This intervention is the catalyst for Rio's unscripted apology and declaration of love—the climax of the novel.

The epilogue (Chapter 46) seals the thematic arc. At the housewarming party, Rio reflects on his eight closest friends: "I watched my eight closest friends fall in love / I watched Hallie, with so much goddamn pride, as her heart softened again." He concludes: "Besides Indy, we're all a bunch of transplants from other places who found a home in the windy city . . . and with each other." The found family has become the permanent foundation for his life with Hallie, replacing the broken model of his biological family.

Character and Symbol Connections

Characters as Pillars of the Found Family

• Indy and Ryan: Indy is the first friend who pushes Rio toward Hallie (Chapter 6). She holds the spare key to his house and embodies unconditional support. Ryan, a fellow athlete, grounds Rio with practical advice and humor.
• Zanders and Stevie: Zanders, Rio's teammate, becomes a confidant during the Boston trip (Chapter 26). He tells Rio not to let his mother's opinions control his life. Stevie, the flight attendant-turned-wife, adds warmth and perspective during the girls' night.
• Miller and Kennedy: These two women model healthy relationships—Miller with a single dad and his son, Kennedy with a devoted husband. Their presence normalizes second chances.
• Wren Wilder: Though not part of the original friend group, Wren becomes Hallie's first Chicago friend and a bridge between the two worlds. She alerts Rio when Hallie's father is hospitalized (Chapter 26), triggering his cross-country flight.

Symbols That Reinforce the Theme

• The Shared Roof: The roof connecting Rio and Hallie's childhood homes symbolizes the private space where they built their early bond. In the epilogue, Rio plans to propose there—transforming a symbol of secret love into one of public commitment witnessed by their chosen family.
• Boombox and Mixtapes: Music is the language of the found family. The boombox appears during the girls' intrusive visit (Chapter 10), and the mixtapes (especially the relationship playlist in Chapter 43) document the emotional history. The found family uses music to evoke shared memories and create new ones.
• Rio's Tattoo: The tattoo over his heart—Hallie's last name in her handwriting from a mixtape—is a permanent symbol of a promise made within a community. It represents the loyalty he learned from his found family, who taught him that love is worth marking.
• Jersey Number 38: Revealed as Hallie's birthday (Chapter 38), this number connects Rio's public identity as a hockey player to his private love. The found family celebrates this revelation, integrating Hallie's significance into his career.

Complexity and Contradiction: The Biological Family Tension

The theme of found family is complicated by Rio's relationship with his mother. Throughout the novel, Rio feels torn between his loyalty to his mother—who is understandably wounded by her husband's affair with Hallie's mother—and his desire to be with Hallie. The found family helps him see that his mother's pain should not dictate his choices. In Chapter 26, when Rio tells his mother that Hallie lives in Chicago, her hurt reaction reveals the ongoing conflict.

The novel ultimately resolves this tension not by dismissing biological family but by expanding the definition. In the epilogue, Rio's mother begins dating his uncle Mikey, and she reconciles with Hallie's father. The found family becomes the bridge that allows biological family to heal. Rio's mother attends the housewarming with Mr. Hart, and the two former best friends hug "the way you do when you see a long-lost friend again." Found family doesn't replace blood—it models how blood can reconnect.

5 Study Questions and Answers

1. How does the found family in Rewind It Back differ from traditional depictions of family in romance novels?

Unlike many romances where love blossoms in isolation, the found family in Tomforde's novel is an active agent in the reconciliation. Indy, Stevie, Miller, Kennedy, and the others don't just provide background support; they engineer situations that force Rio and Hallie together (the babysitting plan, the game invitation, the girls' night intervention). This makes the love story communal rather than individual, suggesting that lasting love requires a supportive network.

2. In what ways does the found family influence Rio's decision to stay in Chicago rather than move to Boston?

Initially, Rio considers moving to Boston to be near his mother. But his found family gives him reasons to stay: the Sunday dinners, the kids who call him "fun uncle," the deep friendships. In Chapter 43, Rio reveals he chose to re-sign with the Chicago Raptors—a decision made concrete by the found family's presence. The house he bought was always meant for him and Hallie and their Chicago community.

3. How does the character of Wren function as a link between Hallie and the found family?

Wren—neither from Rio's original circle nor Hallie's past—becomes the neutral ground. She hires Hallie as a designer, lives next door to Rio, and later alerts Rio about Mr. Hart's hospitalization (Chapter 26). Without Wren, Hallie might never have moved to Chicago or re-entered Rio's orbit. Wren's move away at the novel's end (Chapter 46) signals that Hallie has fully integrated into the found family, no longer needing a personal bridge.

4. What does the shared roof symbolize in relation to the found family theme?

Originally a place of secret teenage romance (Chapters 7, 14, 15, 30), the roof becomes a public symbol in the epilogue when Rio plans to propose there—now surrounded by their Chicago friends. The roof connects the two houses (biological families) and becomes the site where the found family celebrates the union. It represents the transformation of private love into communal, witnessed love.

5. How does the novel address the potential conflict between found family and biological family, and what resolution does it offer?

Rio's mother initially resents Hallie because she represents the affair that destroyed her marriage (Chapter 44). The found family helps Rio see that his mother's pain, while valid, should not control his future. The resolution comes when Rio's mother begins dating Uncle Mikey and reconciles with Mr. Hart (Chapter 46). The found family doesn't replace biological family but teaches both generations how to forgive and rebuild. The novel argues that both types of family can coexist and even heal each other.

For a deeper look at the characters who form this found family, explore our pages on Rio DeLuca, Hallie Hart, and the symbols that tie them together.