That Summer is Sarah Dessen's first novel, published in 1996. This novel and Dessen's Someone Like You, are the basis for the film How to Deal. That Summer by Sarah Dessen portrays the struggles of a fifteen-year-old trying to accept the major changes in her life over which she has no control. With her parents' divorce, her father's second marriage and her sister's upcoming wedding, Haven feels she has no control over her life, so she dwells on memories of the summer that Ashley dated Sumner Lee and her family life seemed perfect. When Sumner Lee returns to Lakeview, Haven believes fate has sent him to remedy the past in some way, but she soon learns her memory does not mirror the actuality of the past. That Summer is a novel that explores the mindset of a teenage girl coming to terms with the past, accepting the present and looking forward to the future.