From the very beginning of the novel, Jeanie fears that she won’t fit in with her new community in Dream Harbor unless she reinvents herself into someone completely new, establishing the trajectory of her character arc toward self-love and acceptance. When she meets Logan, Jeanie “trie[s] to channel Aunt Dot’s free-spirit vibes,” believing she needs to fit a certain archetype of the “friendly neighborhood coffee-shop owner, ready with a smile and your favorite drink” in order to belong in the town (11, 12). Though she’s spent time in Dream Harbor as a child, Jeanie still feels initially unnerved by how different life the small town is compared to her previous life in Boston. Laurie Gilmore portrays Jeanie’s efforts to start her life in Dream Harbor with a clean slate through her attempts to assimilate with her neighbors in various ways—coming to town events, joining the book club, and doing whatever she can to please her community without considering her own needs and desires. She examines the mannerisms, dress, and behaviors of her community like an anthropologist, at one point noting the following: 

Chunky scarves that looked like a grandmother had knitted them [seem] to be integral to the look of Dream Harbor as well.