48 pages • 1 hour read
Sarah AdamsPractice Makes Perfect
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 11-20Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 11 Summary: “Annie”
Annie is doing her weekly grocery shopping when Will appears with an empty basket. Annie has the afternoon off work to visit her grandmother, Silvie, who has Alzheimer’s. Though she believes hearing about her life will bore him, Will appears interested. He even admits that he has read the steamy historical romance book she gave him at the flower shop. She attempts to get him to admit to revealing a steamy scene as his favorite part, but when he jokingly calls her Angel Annie, she shuts down. She admits she doesn’t appreciate the nicknames everyone uses for her, which imply that she’s too nice to have any substance. He promises not to do so again.
They discuss guidelines for Will’s coaching: that there will be nothing more than platonic friendship between them and that their agreement will remain a secret, even from Annie’s judgmental sisters. They plan to begin lessons that night, in his room at Mabel’s Inn. He leaves without buying any groceries after jokingly slipping a box of condoms into Annie’s basket.
Chapter 12 Summary: “Annie”
Annie and Will develop a plan to sneak her into Mabel’s Inn without anyone finding out and spreading gossip throughout the town. Will plans to show Mabel a piece of bad siding on her inn to draw her away from the front desk long enough for Annie to slip in undetected, but Noah, Emily, and Harriet—an elderly busybody who has a rivalry with Mabel—show up unannounced, complicating the plan.
Chapter 13 Summary: “Annie”
Will secretly rips off a piece of Mabel’s siding in order to have something to show the group before returning to his room where Annie awaits. Will begins their lessons by proving he can seduce Annie with confidence. She doesn’t believe she’s capable because she’s not confident, but Will admits that he fakes it by showing the nervous tremble to his hand. They talk of Will’s adventures around the world—skydiving, hiking, scuba diving—and Annie claims she just wants to be happily married in Rome, doing mundane family activities. Will doesn’t believe her but decides to help her achieve this goal through date coaching. He offers her company on any adventures if she ever decides that the dream life she has described isn’t for her after all.
Chapter 14 Summary: “Will”
The next morning, Will attempts to fix Mabel’s siding while contemplating how to approach the situation with Ethan and Hannah. His conversation with Annie the night before made him realize that deep down, he might wish for a life with someone, but his fear of failing is too great. Mabel interrupts his floundering with the siding to admit she knows about his escapade with Annie the night before and promises to keep their secret.
Will accompanies Amelia to the farm where she plans to have her wedding. She takes a few pictures for her remote wedding planner before they trek back to her truck. They cross Annie in the flower field on their return, who is being friendly with James. Amelia teases Will about his supposed jealousy and makes it clear she’s playing matchmaker between Will and Annie.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Annie”
Annie meets Will at a local dinner for a practice date. Everyone who knows Annie gawks as he sits with her. Will takes Annie through how to have natural conversation since her greatest insecurity is rambling without a filter when nervous. Will asks about Annie’s feelings for James under the guise of potentially tailoring their lessons specifically to him if she’s interested, but Annie only sees James as a brother.
Will gives Annie a list of ice-breaker questions to resort to when conversation lulls. He asks her about something she wants but is afraid to do, and Annie admits to wanting a tattoo before asking about his own. Will reveals that there was a magnolia tree in his backyard growing up that became his safe haven for “when [he] needed to get away” (126). When Will mentions that Annie is sexy with or without a tattoo, she is at first flattered but realizes it might be a lie as part of the pretend date. The realization upsets her, and she bails.
Chapter 16 Summary: “Will”
After working the remainder of the day for Amelia, Will spends the evening searching for Annie. He finds her at her flower shop, where Annie explains her hurt. Will apologizes and admits that everything he said is true, explaining everything he finds attractive about her. The admission causes Annie to request a change in her agreement: She wants physical coaching as well. They begin with kissing, which rapidly turns heated, and Will forces himself to stop. As Annie is closing up the flower shop, Will asks her about her favorite flower, which she tells him are magnolias.
Chapter 17 Summary: “Annie”
Annie joins her siblings at The Pie Shop for their usual Saturday night hearts tournament but feigns illness to meet up with Will when she catches him lurking outside. Will has made Annie an appointment to get the tattoo she’s always wanted.
Chapter 18 Summary: “Will”
Will instantly regrets bringing Annie to a tattoo parlor and attempts talking her out of it, but Annie is determined to see it through. She gets a small book tattooed on the back of one shoulder to represent something she’s passionate about. Will kisses the shoulder.
Chapter 19 Summary: “Will”
Will guards Amelia at the local farmer’s market and is distracted for the very first time while on the job by Annie who’s working a nearby booth. Amelia mentions that Will has to accompany her on a trip to LA for TV interviews. He acts nonchalant about spending that time away from Annie, but later that night, he sneaks out of Mabel’s Inn and drives to Annie’s house to say goodbye.
Chapter 20 Summary: “Annie”
Will knocks on Annie’s window and sneaks into her bedroom. He explores her room and finds a framed photo of the last family picture taken before Annie’s parents’ death. Though she insists the hurt has dulled over time, Will comforts her with a hug anyway. He reveals that he’ll be gone for work and wants to exchange numbers “in case [she has] any tutor-related questions” (163). Annie enters her contact information into Will’s phone, but instead of leaving, he makes himself comfortable on her bed and picks up her latest historical romance, reading where it left off—a steamy scene. Annie wrestles for it back, which ends in her straddling Will.
Chapters 11-20 Analysis
Though Will’s point of view significantly suggests his ability to see past the widespread generalizations of Annie’s character, Annie doesn’t know this for herself. When he jokingly calls her Angel Annie, she’s hurt by the nickname. Though everyone else in Rome views her this way, “from Will [she] can’t stand it” (86). Will is not from Rome and therefore provides an opportunity for Annie to break away from the reputation everyone else knows her for. When it becomes clear that Will, too, might believe in those same faulty perceptions, Annie is disappointed.
Though being a nice person or innocent woman is not an inherently bad thing, and the townspeople don’t necessarily mean it that way, Annie can’t help but feel the “negative connotation[s] when they say it” (86). The generalizations imply, to Annie, that people think she has no substance or “that because [she’s] sweet, [she] do[esn’t] have as much to offer” (86). These connotations greatly affect Annie’s Confidence and Individuality by causing her to internalize these negative qualities and making her feel as though she’s trapped in this one reputation for life without hope for escape. Annie keeps her passion for reading steamy romance novels a secret because it doesn’t fit in with the image everyone else has carefully crafted of her. In fact, she’s embarrassed about her love for these books, having been taught by the comments of others, especially her sisters, that this hobby would be hilariously out of character for her. Annie puts herself in a box in order to not draw attention to herself or create a conflict she will have to find a way out of. She funnels everything she shares about herself through this filter and limits what others understand of her. Though she doesn’t like hiding these things about herself and feeding into everyone’s expectations, she cannot bring herself to suddenly behave differently and surprise everyone.
The Passivity of Excessive Kindness is part of this reputation. When everyone views Annie as sweet, she struggles to act in ways that might negate this perception, even when it may be to her benefit. Standing up for herself and making others uncomfortable in the process is impossible, so when Annie faces a situation or a person that she has an issue with, “[she] usually just keep[s] it bottled up” (87). This passivity harms Annie’s life in multiple ways. She allows herself to be treated poorly by dates, stays home while her sisters go on a trip to Mexico without her, and allows them to laugh at and mock the idea of her entertaining a relationship with Will.
As Will begins to coach Annie in dating, she blossoms. Where normally, she clams up on dates rather than speaking freely for fear of judgment, Annie “can spill her guts and nothing bad happens” with Will (120). For the first time, Annie explores the various aspects of her individuality that she has been neglecting and finds joy in doing things that are shockingly out of character, such as getting intimate with Will and considering a tattoo. Annie also gains confidence in herself. In the opening chapters, Annie believes she doesn’t stand a chance at obtaining Will’s affection, especially if in competition with her gorgeous, outgoing, confident sisters. As their lessons progress, however, Annie begins to see herself a woman through Will’s eyes and as just as worthy of attention as Emily and Maddie. Annie learns how to have respect for who she truly is because Will respects her in this way.
As Will and Annie grow closer, they begin to recognize the flaws in their false beliefs. Annie realizes that the perfect partner she’s envisioned might not be what she wants, but rather what everyone expects of her. Annie begins to believe that “marriage isn’t going to give [her a] happily ever after” (125). Yet she can’t quite pinpoint what’s causing the void in her life. For the first time in Will’s life, he’s overthinking aspects of his life and unable to stop his growing feelings for Annie. Will’s always been impulsive; he “joined the military when [he] went to the grocery store for milk and the recruiting tent was parked out front” (148). He makes huge decisions, like joining the military or sky diving from a plane, impulsively and without regret. Yet his relationship with Annie is forcing him to slow down and do the much-needed soul searching he’s been avoiding for years, such as facing The Impact of Childhood Experiences on the way he approaches life. Through these uncomfortable moments of introspection, Will is forced to reconsider his views on life and love. Slowly, Will warms to the idea of his younger brother marrying after years of singlehood and eventually considers the possibility of a long-term relationship for himself, despite his ingrained fears.
