The Cellar

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses abuse; sexual exploitation and assault; death by suicide; abduction; and graphic violence.

Summer is 16 at the start of the story (July 2010) and turns 17 while she is trapped in the cellar. Before Clover abducts her, she is a well-adjusted teen who is happy to celebrate the end of a school term with friends and displays confidence and independence in her insistence on walking alone to the pub. Through flashbacks, Summer demonstrates that she is happy to develop a relationship with Lewis and cares deeply for him—even when his slightly irritating behaviors interfere with her plans (such as having a birthday celebration for him) or her need to be on time (for example, to his cousin’s wedding).

Summer’s easygoing character changes drastically due to her experiences. After a traumatic abduction, Summer must quickly learn to give up all control and freedom if she wants to stay alive while in the cellar. Clover controls what the Flowers wear, whether they have food or other supplies, and whether they get movies or books. He also controls their fear by forcing them to watch him murder sex workers. As the days become weeks, then months, Summer’s loss of control and freedom erodes her identity, and her once hopeful focus on Lewis and her family becomes a burden of pain that she believes makes her the worst off of the four Flowers.