Who Dies In 'The Summer Of Broken Rules'?

In 'The Summer of Broken Rules', the death that shakes everyone is Meredith's sister, Lulu. She died before the story starts, but her absence is felt everywhere, especially during the family's annual game of assassin. The way Lulu's death impacts Meredith is heartbreaking—she's stuck in grief while everyone else moves on. The book doesn't just focus on the loss itself but how Meredith learns to live with it. There's a moment when she finds Lulu's old playlist, and it wrecks her all over again. The story makes you feel the weight of losing someone young, how it lingers in little things like inside jokes no one gets anymore.

The central death in 'The Summer of Broken Rules' is Lulu, Meredith's older sister, whose passing before the novel begins casts a long shadow over the family's summer gathering. What's compelling is how the author handles grief non-linearly—flashbacks show Lulu vibrant and alive, contrasting sharply with Meredith's numbness during the assassin game they used to play together.

What makes this stand out is the ripple effect. Lulu’s boyfriend, Wit, is now dating someone else, and Meredith can’t decide if that’s betrayal or just life moving on. The parents’ strained smiles at family dinners reveal how they’re barely holding it together. Even the setting—a beach house filled with Lulu’s favorite books and half-finished art projects—becomes a character in its own right, haunted by what’s missing.

The novel avoids melodrama by focusing on small, crushing details: Meredith wearing Lulu’s old hoodie, the way her cousins avoid mentioning Lulu’s name during the game. It’s not about the death itself but how everyone orbits around the emptiness it left. By the end, Meredith starts to heal, but the book never suggests grief just disappears—it just changes shape.

Lulu’s death in 'The Summer of Broken Rules' isn’t just a plot device; it’s the emotional core that drives Meredith’s journey. The brilliance lies in how the author never shows Lulu’s actual death—instead, we piece together who she was through Meredith’s memories. There’s a scene where Meredith finds Lulu’s hidden notes in a library book, and it’s like getting a postcard from the past.

What’s refreshing is how the story avoids clichés. Lulu wasn’t perfect—she forgot birthdays, borrowed clothes without asking, and once dyed Meredith’s hair pink as a prank. That realism makes the loss hit harder. The assassin game becomes a metaphor for grief: you never see the shot coming, and afterward, you’re left paranoid, waiting for the next blow. Meredith’s eventual decision to scatter Lulu’s ashes in the ocean feels earned, not rushed—a quiet moment of letting go without forgetting.