History Literature / OneFatSummer

* CorruptHick: Downplayed version. Willie Rumson's uncle is the sheriff, and its implied and outright stated that his influence keeps Willie from getting in trouble for some of his sketchier activities. Of course this protection doesn't extend to covering up an assault charge if Willie goes too far.

* AdultFear: Over the course of the book, Bobby is kidnapped by a group of townies (here called year-rounders) and is threatened with a gun by a deranged thug.

** Bobby disappears from the island, causing Willie to flee the lake to avoid a murder charge. Willie decides to try to blow put one of Bobby's knees.

** A minor exception for Dr. Kahn. While he doesn't actually seem to care about Bobby, per say, he gets very angry and Rumson and his friends when they harass Bobby while he's on the job. He even threatens retaliation against the business owned by two of the gang members' father if they don't leave Bobby alone. That being said, he never thinks to file an official complaint against them, and is indirectly responsible for the Make-Out Island incident when he keeps Bobby past dark and let's him walk home alone.

** Bobby gets one of these in the sequel novel. One of the children he's looking after, overstressed with too many activities, burns down Camp Mohawk's outdoor theater to take the pressure off. Bobby figures this out, but the boy's father has pull with the camp. Suddenly Bobby is being asked to instead help shift the blame to Willie Rumson, currently on a mess of drugs after being caught committing arson and unable to mount a defense for himself. Bobby has no reason to help Rumson, and the Father points out how badly a juvenile record will mess up his already [[SpoiledRotten troubled]] [[KidsAreCruel son's]] life. Not to mention wreck Bobby's chances of getting another job with the camp next summer. Ultimately Bobby recognizes letting Rumson get framed and the kid off the hook will do far more harm than good, so he decides to reveal what he knows.

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* WrongForTheRightReasons: Bobby notices his normally benign parents fighting more often, followed by his father having to return to New York for work reasons. At first Bobby thinks his Dad is having an affair, a fear he shares with Michelle, only to find out instead that Marty, in an effort to provide for his family, has lost his shirt in the stock market and is desperately trying to recoup the financial losses.

* CorruptHick: Downplayed version. Willie Rumson's uncle is thd sheriff, and its implied and outright stated that his influence keeps Willie from getting in trouble for some of his sketchier activities. Of course this protection doesn't extend to covering up an assault charge if Willie goes too far.

Stuck working as a "lawn manager" for Dr. Kahn, a stingy real estate owner determined to work the boy to death before he makes a dime, Bobby soon finds he has another problem. The local teen who had the job last summer is lurking around every corner, just waiting to get a Bobby alon and pay him back for stealing the job.

* CensorSteam: Used interestingly in the movie. Bobby stares at a mirror that been fogged up after he's taken a hot bath, the surface fogged over with steam. He wipes away only enough of the mirror to reveal his face, leaving the rest of his body a blur. Given his stated body image issues and Book!Bobby's use of escapist fantasy, it isn't hard to guess what Movie!Bobby is thinking.

* PostStressOvereating/*ComfortFood: Part of the reason for Bobby's weight problem. Vividly shown after his horrible first day cutting Dr. Kahn's lawn when he returns home and raids the fridge. His mother and father come home to find him wolfing down a tub of ice cream.

** Bobby finds one in the shack on Make-Out Island in an attempt to regain some dignity before trying to make it home. It's best not to think about [[{{Squick}} it too hard.]]
** The movie has his mother catching him in one when she unexpectedly returns to the lakehouse halfway through the [[FilmOfTheBook movie]]. It actually throws him off enough he can't come up with a convincing lie to cover for Michelle.

* KarmaHoudini: Rumson can feel like this if you've only read the first book. Despite mugging, kidnapping, and lethally threatening the main character, the book ends without him suffering anything worse than getting beaten up by his victim. The second book averts this, however, revealing that he set fire to Dr. Kahn's house and, in place of prison, is now on so many anti-psychotic drugs he's only barely functional.

* TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay: The choice between taking a summer job or going to summer camp is presented as this. All Bobby wants to do is load around the lakehouse for the summer. Whether this becomes a TheWindowOrTheStairs choice based on the events of the book is open to interpretation.

* TheEasyWayOrTheHardWay: The choice between taking a summer job or going to summer camp is presented as this. All Bobby wants to do is load around the lakehouse for the summer. Whether this becomes a TheWindowsOrTheStairs choice based on the events of the book is open to interpretation.