That Summer by Jennifer Weiner: 20-Question Quiz on Plot, Characters & Themes

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner: 20-Question Quiz

Test your knowledge of Jennifer Weiner's That Summer with this 20-question quiz covering plot, character motivation, themes, and synthesis. The quiz spans the entire novel, from the 1987 Cape Cod prologue to the 2019 coda. Answers and explanations appear at the end. For deeper discussion, visit the main book page, questions and answers, or the ending explained.

Plot and Sequence (Questions 1–8)

1. From which boarding school is Beatrice expelled at the start of the novel?

   • A) Melville
   • B) Emlen Academy
   • C) Exeter
   • D) Andover

2. What gift do Diana's sisters give her for Christmas before her summer on the Cape? (Short answer)

3. What is the name of the Provincetown restaurant where Diana, using the name Dee Scalzi, gets a job as a waitress?

   • A) Moby Dick's
   • B) The Abbey
   • C) The Lobster Pot
   • D) PJ's

4. How does Diana first make contact with Daisy Shoemaker?

   • A) Through a mutual friend
   • B) Through misdirected emails
   • C) At a cooking class
   • D) At a Cape Cod beach

5. What does Diana do after confronting Brad Burlingham in Baltimore? (Short answer)

6. How does Hal react when Daisy confronts him at Diana's cottage, calling him a rapist?

   • A) He apologizes and begs for forgiveness
   • B) He dismisses the accusation
   • C) He threatens Diana
   • D) He confesses and breaks down

7. In the coda, what is Beatrice doing on a hot August afternoon?

   • A) Swimming to a sandbar
   • B) Paddleboarding across Cape Cod Bay
   • C) Sailing with her father
   • D) Walking along the beach

8. What does Daisy do immediately after learning the truth about Hal from Diana?

   • A) She calls the police
   • B) She packs for herself and Beatrice and leaves Hal
   • C) She confronts Danny and then stays with Hal
   • D) She books a flight to Europe

Character Motivation (Questions 9–13)

1. Why does Diana initially agree to meet Daisy in New York? (Short answer)

2. Why does Hal call Daisy "little bird"?

   • A) It is an infantilizing pet name from A Doll's House
   • B) It is a term of endearment from their college days
   • C) It refers to her love of cooking
   • D) It is a nickname she chose herself

3. What motivates Beatrice to spray-paint "RAPIST" on a classmate's door at Emlen?

   • A) She was dared by friends
   • B) Her friend was assaulted and wouldn't report it
   • C) She was angry about a poor grade
   • D) She wanted to get expelled

4. Why does Michael Carmody initially keep his distance from Diana, only holding hands and kissing? (Short answer)

5. What is Diana's primary motivation for creating the fake identity of "Diana Starling"?

   • A) To get a job as a consultant
   • B) To get close to Daisy and confront Hal
   • C) To escape her past and start fresh
   • D) To make new friends in Philadelphia

Theme and Symbol (Questions 14–17)

1. What does the yellow bikini symbolize in the novel?

   • A) Wealth and privilege
   • B) Youth, innocence, and the promise of summer
   • C) Rebellion against authority
   • D) Freedom from family constraints

2. What does the cottage in Truro represent for Diana?

   • A) A reminder of trauma
   • B) Sanctuary and healing
   • C) A financial burden
   • D) A place to hide from the world

3. In the scene where Diana and Daisy part after their first meeting, what does the "magic hour" symbolize?

   • A) A moment of beauty and connection
   • B) A time of danger and deception
   • C) A symbol of the class divide
   • D) A reference to photography techniques

4. What does the starfish symbolize in Diana's story?

   • A) Fragility and vulnerability
   • B) Healing and regeneration
   • C) The vastness of the sea
   • D) Hope for the future

Synthesis (Questions 18–20)

1. How does the novel's use of multiple points of view complicate the reader's understanding of responsibility for the assault? (Short answer)

2. Compare the ways Daisy and Diana each reinvent themselves over the course of the novel. (Short answer)

3. What does the novel suggest about the role of bystanders, particularly Danny and Daisy, in perpetuating harm? (Short answer)

Answer Key

1. B) Emlen Academy — Beatrice is expelled from Emlen in Chapter 1 after spray-painting "RAPIST" on a classmate's door. The dean says Emlen is not the right fit, and she transfers to Melville.

2. A yellow bikini — In the prologue, Diana's sisters Julia and Kara give her a yellow bikini for Christmas, which becomes a symbol of her summer transformation and the innocence she loses.

3. B) The Abbey — In Chapter 7, Diana walks down Commercial Street in Provincetown and is hired by manager Reese Jenkins at the Abbey, an upscale restaurant with a history as a church.

4. B) Through misdirected emails — Daisy discovers she has been receiving emails meant for another Diana and begins corresponding with her, leading to their meeting in New York.

5. Diana tells Brad she wants him to live with what he's done, then returns to Cape Cod; six days later she learns he has died by suicide. — In Chapter 23, Diana confronts Brad at his apartment, and he admits his role. She tells him she wants him to live with the consequences, but he later dies by suicide, leaving Diana with guilt.

6. B) He dismisses the accusation — In Chapter 34, when Daisy calls Hal a rapist, he dismisses it and refuses to acknowledge the truth, prompting Daisy to demand a divorce.

7. B) Paddleboarding across Cape Cod Bay — The coda opens with Beatrice on a paddleboard, reflecting on the changes in her family and her new life as a "washashore."

8. B) She packs for herself and Beatrice and leaves Hal — In Chapter 30, after learning the truth from Diana and confirming it with Danny, Daisy packs for herself and Beatrice, withdraws Beatrice from school, and leaves Hal.

9. Diana wants to confront the wife of her rapist and the sister of the boy who watched, as part of her plan to make Hal acknowledge what he did. — Diana creates a fake identity and befriends Daisy to get close to Hal and force a reckoning, though she finds herself genuinely liking Daisy.

10. A) It is an infantilizing pet name from A Doll's House — In Chapter 24, Beatrice points out that "little bird" comes from Ibsen's play, and Daisy identifies with Nora's subordination, recognizing the belittling nature of the nickname.

11. B) Her friend was assaulted and wouldn't report it — Beatrice explains in Chapter 13 that she painted the word after a friend was harassed by a boy who wouldn't take no for an answer, and the friend wouldn't report it.

12. Michael is patient and respects Diana's boundaries, waiting for her to be ready; he knows she has been hurt and does not push for physical intimacy. — In Chapter 17, Michael courts Diana through fall, winter, and spring, only holding hands and kissing until Diana initiates intimacy in April.

13. B) To get close to Daisy and confront Hal — Diana's plan, revealed in Chapter 31, is to target Daisy, the wife of her rapist and sister of the boy who watched, as a way to force acknowledgment and accountability.

14. B) Youth, innocence, and the promise of summer — The yellow bikini appears in the prologue as a gift that represents Diana's hopes for her first summer of freedom and romance, and it later becomes a symbol of what was taken from her.

15. B) Sanctuary and healing — For Diana, the cottage in Truro becomes a place of recovery after years of trauma, where she builds a new life, adopts a dog, and eventually finds love with Michael.

16. A) A moment of beauty and connection — In Chapter 7, Diana and Daisy walk outside during "magic hour" after their first meeting, a fleeting moment of warmth and understanding before Diana's deception continues.

17. B) Healing and regeneration — The starfish appears in Chapter 16 as a symbol of Diana's slow recovery and her ability to regenerate her life, much like a starfish regrows a lost limb.

18. The multiple points of view—Diana, Daisy, Beatrice, and Hal—reveal how responsibility is diffused and denied. Diana's perspective shows the lasting trauma; Daisy's shows the complicity of silence; Beatrice's shows a younger generation's awareness; and Hal's section shows his refusal to accept guilt. The novel asks readers to consider not only the perpetrator but also the bystanders who enabled him.

19. Daisy and Diana both reinvent themselves through the Cape and through female friendship. Diana creates new identities—Dee Scalzi, then Diana Starling—to confront her past, while Daisy leaves her marriage, starts cooking at The Abbey, and gains independence. Both find healing in the same coastal setting and in their connection to each other.

20. The novel suggests that bystanders who remain silent are complicit in harm. Danny witnessed the assault and never told Daisy before her marriage; Daisy's mother knew and said nothing. Their silence allowed Hal to continue his life without consequences, and the novel argues that accountability extends beyond the perpetrator to those who enable him.

For further analysis, explore the questions and answers or the ending explained page.