logo

61 pages 2 hours read

Elle Kennedy

The Deal

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2015

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Summary and Study Guide

Overview

Written by Elle Kennedy, The Deal (2015) is a new adult sports romance novel that follows Hannah Wells and star hockey player Garrett Graham as they strike a mutually beneficial deal to achieve their individual goals but develop an unexpected romance in the process. In exchange for Garrett’s help in boosting her social confidence so that she can secure the affections of a popular football player, Hannah agrees to tutor Garrett in a difficult philosophy class to help him maintain his academic standing and his place on the team. 

Hailed as a best-selling author by The New York Times, USA Today, and The Wall Street Journal, Kennedy is a prolific contributor to the new adult genre and has published a wide range of romance series, including the Briar U, Campus Diaries, Avalon Bay, Out of Uniform, and After Hours series. The Deal is the first installment in her popular Off-Campus series, which consists of five installments.

This guide refers to the 2015 Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of sexual content, rape, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, death, substance use, and cursing.

Plot Summary

The novel alternates between the first-person narrations of Hannah Wells and Garrett Graham, both of whom are students in a difficult philosophical ethics class at Briar University. However, while Hannah achieved an A on the midterm, Garrett failed and is now desperate to keep his grade point average high enough to keep playing hockey, so he grovels until Hannah agrees to tutor him for the midterm retake. In exchange, he must pretend to date Hannah so that she can catch the attention of her real crush: a football player named Justin Kohl.

Neither Garrett nor Hanna sees this arrangement as a risk. Garrett has no interest in romantic relationships because he prefers to focus on hockey, and Hannah is wary of deep romantic entanglements after a traumatic experience of being drugged and raped at a party when she was 15. As time goes by, Hannah, a music major, divides her free time between tutoring Garrett and practicing for the upcoming winter showcase (a prestigious music competition that may help her land a much-needed $5,000 scholarship and ameliorate her family’s financial constraints). However, her duet partner, Cass, is making rehearsals difficult with his unreasonable demands.

While tutoring Garrett, Hannah also meets his friends—Dean, Tucker, and Logan—the latter of which develops an unrequited crush on her. As Garrett and Hannah share details about their personal lives, their friendship grows. Garrett reveals that his mother has died and hints at the emotional distance between him and his father, Phil Graham, who happens to be a famous hockey legend. As Garrett’s hockey season progresses, he continues to ignore his father, who shows up to every game. Meanwhile, Justin begins to show interest in Hannah, but Garrett convinces her to fake date a little longer and show up together to a weekend party that Justin will attend.

During a bantering moment in a tutoring session, Hannah proves her kissing prowess by spontaneously kissing Garrett—a heated moment that lasts until they are interrupted by Dean’s arrival. After this incident, the two do not speak until the day of the party. When they show up together, Garrett is relieved that Justin is not in attendance, as he is enjoying having Hannah to himself. Justin finally arrives and steals Hannah away. Later, when Garrett shows his jealousy, Hannah asserts that she and Garrett are just friends. The following day, Justin asks Hannah out on a date for next Sunday. Garrett then calls and invites her out to the bar for Dean’s birthday the following night.

At ethics class the next day, Garrett learns that he received an A-minus on his midterm retake, and he asks Hannah to consider having a drink with him to celebrate. (Hannah hesitates because, unbeknownst to Garrett, she was once drugged and raped at a party. Earlier, she lied to Garret, claiming that this experience happened to a friend of hers, not to her directly.) However, Hannah agrees to Garrett’s invitation because she trusts him. 

She enjoys the evening until she encounters into her ex, Devon, who raises her old insecurities about her inability to achieve an orgasm during sex due to her traumatic past. Hannah stays the night at Garrett’s place—a platonic arrangement. When she wakes up the next morning, she propositions Garrett, explaining that she was raped at age 15 and has had trouble with sex since then. She asks Garrett to have sex with her so that she can work through this issue. When they meet up that evening, Garrett attempts to pleasure Hannah, and when she has some difficulties, Garrett suggests that they bring themselves to climax separately. The trial works, and Hannah is elated to have made some progress. After crossing this boundary, they realize that they are starting to develop real feelings for each other. While Garrett is open to this development, Hannah refuses to recognize these feelings right away.

On Halloween, Hannah keeps Garrett company when she discovers that he doesn’t like the holiday due to memories of his father’s physical abuse of him and his mother. They become sexually intimate, and Hannah has her first positive, complete sexual experience.

Garrett invites her to a hockey game and kisses her in front of everyone, creating the impression that they are dating. On the bus ride back to campus, however, Logan reveals that he overheard Justin talking about his upcoming date with Hannah. Garrett visits Hannah to ask about the rumor and is devastated to learn that it is true. He admits that he wants an official relationship with Hannah. She agrees and cancels her date with Justin. Hannah and Garrett enjoy a few weeks of dating. 

Weeks before the showcase, Cass drops Hannah from the act. Hannah gets special permission to perform an original song for the showcase and then spends every moment perfecting it. When Garrett’s father threatens to cut him off financially if he doesn’t visit for Thanksgiving, Hannah accompanies Garrett to the event. There, they meet Phil’s girlfriend, Cindy, and discover that Garrett’s father is physically abusing her, too. After dinner, Phil pulls Garrett aside and demands that he break up with Hannah, whom he believes is a distraction from hockey. Garrett refuses and also accuses his father of abusing Cindy.

Garrett and Hannah continue dating. One day, Hannah runs into Rob Delaney, a friend of the man who raped her. (Rob lied while testifying against her in court.) When Garrett learns about this, he confronts Rob, and the altercation turns violent. In order to lessen Garrett’s punishment for starting a fight, Hannah gives him permission to tell his coach about her past with Rob. Garrett’s punishment is lenient. The next day, Phil visits Hannah at work and threatens to cut Garrett off financially if she doesn’t break up with him. Hannah submits to Phil’s demands, telling Garrett that she wants to see other people. Garrett is heartbroken and doesn’t believe her.

Hannah performs at the showcase, pouring all her emotions into the piece, and wins the competition. Afterward, Garrett confronts her, claiming not to believe her reasoning for breaking up. Throughout the holidays, Hannah mourns her lost relationship, and whenever she runs into Garrett, he asks about her nonexistent dating life and remains determined to discover her real reason for ending their relationship.

When Hannah returns to campus, she attempts to date other people, but no one will give her a chance. Hannah soon learns that Garrett warned all the men on campus that he would personally beat them up if they dated her. Hannah angrily storms to the locker room and confronts Garrett, finally admitting that Phil forced her to end the relationship. Garrett is both amused and annoyed. He explains that after his birthday, he was able to access a trust fund that his mother’s parents left him. He paid back everything he owed his father and is now free from Phil’s control. Garrett and Hannah reconcile, reaffirming their love. By March, they are still happily together. Garrett’s team is now competing for the hockey championship, and Hannah is rehearsing for the spring showcase. A week later, Garrett wins the Frozen Four championship game with his team and celebrates with Hannah. His father is still in attendance, but this time, no one gives him any attention.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text

Related Titles

By Elle Kennedy