45 pages • 1 hour read
Mikki Daughtry, Rachael LippincottAll This Time
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Character Analysis
Kyle
Kyle is the central protagonist and first-person narrator of the novel. He is a young man who struggles through trauma and transition, but is also characterized by generosity and sensitivity. Kyle’s first transition, that of graduating high school, embodies a trope seen in young adult fiction. In high school, Kyle was popular and had a girlfriend he loved. On the surface, his life looked flawless. But he was also trapped by his desire to have the perfect life, and often ignored the signs that his relationship was not ideal.
The second transition occurs when he gets in the car accident with Kimberly. When he believes Kim to be dead, he struggles with Grief and Guilt and to understand a life without her. Kyle’s mother, Marley, and Sam help him transition through this pain, showing the importance of friendship, love, and emotional support. They help him see that just because Kim’s life is over doesn’t mean that his is. They encourage him to let go of the past, think less about perfection, and embrace happiness. A third transition occurs when Kyle and Marley enter a romantic relationship. He surprises himself with how quickly they connect. His fourth transition is waking up from his coma and discovering that his life with Marley was a fantasy.
This is yet another loss, even greater than when he thought that he lost Kim in that no one else can understand it. Kyle must come to terms with the fact that Kimberly, whom he mourned, is alive and that Marley, whom he loved, doesn’t exist. Kyle trusts his intuition above external realities; he senses that Marley is real and discovers her in the hospital. Kyle grows as a character; instead of focusing on himself, he learns to support Marley through her own transitions. Kyle’s flaws include a controlling nature and his desire to fix problems without addressing their source. In establishing a new and real relationship with Marley, Kyle learns how to understand people’s needs and meet people where they are. He lets go of his desire to control everything and supports Marley in a way that is best for her, but not ideal for him. Kyle becomes the Prince Charming of this fairy tale, saving the damsel in distress after she saves him.
Marley
Marley is the secondary protagonist of the novel. Her role is crucial to Kyle’s character development. She and Kyle bond through mutual trauma. Both have survivor’s guilt, Marley after the death of her twin sister Laura and Kyle after Kimberly’s supposed death. The foundation of their friendship is shared experience.
It’s easy for Kyle to connect with Marley. She’s a good listener and encourages his dreams. When Kyle wakes from his coma, the reader learns that the real Marley’s trauma is deeper than that of her dream counterpart. Depressed and suicidal, she doesn’t believe herself worthy of happiness.
Marley is characterized by her relationship with flowers and snails. The snails symbolize Marley’s empathy, severe shyness, and desire to hide from the world. Flowers show how Marley communicates through stories. Storytelling is fundamental to Marley’s character. It provides her with a way of coping with her twin’s death. Marley also uses stories to connect with Kyle in his coma, demonstrating the power of fiction and imagination. Her stories have real-life impact, and help save Kyle’s life.
Marley’s stories are happy, a contrast with her depression. When she is in a coma and wants to die, her stories, retold by Kyle, save her. They help her to live for the future and resolve her guilt about Laura’s death.
Sam
Sam is Kyle’s best friend and helps propel Kyle’s growth. Their friendship demonstrates the need for Kyle to understand his loved ones better. Sam has been in love with Kimberly for a long time. In reality Kyle doesn’t see this, but in a coma his subconscious knows. Sam has his own version of survivor’s guilt, believing that he’s responsible for Kyle losing his football career. Sam avoids happiness with Kim due to guilt. Sam helps Kyle understand that Kyle needs to be a better friend.
Sam has a difficult time accepting Marley because he still loves Kimberly; when he mourns her death, he is also mourning the possibility of what could have been between them. Outside of the coma, Sam remains a steadfast friend. He wants Kyle to get better, and refuses to play along with Kyle’s controlling nature. Sam challenges Kyle to live in reality.
Kimberly
Kimberly is most important in her hypothetical death. For the majority of the novel, Kim is a specter that haunts Kyle. She is his high school girlfriend, a part of Kyle’s perfect image. But Kim has secrets, such as her enrollment at Berkeley and her desire to break up with Kyle. When Kyle is in his coma, he dreams that Kim is dead. Throughout, he has nightmares that she’s haunting him.
The guilt of outliving Kim weighs heavily on Kyle, especially because he regrets that they wasted their youth pretending to want to be in a relationship with one another. When Kyle wakes up, he has finally moved past Kim’s death only to discover that she’s actually alive. He dreamed of her in his coma because she was physically present in his hospital room. Kim is not a stagnant character. At first, Kim’s guilt over the accident makes her force a continuation of their relationship. Ultimately though, she agrees with Kyle that their relationship was about settling for one another. Kim and Kyle remain good friends, and she helps Kyle pursue a relationship with Marley.
Laura
Laura is an important character in that she weighs heavily on Marley’s conscience. The gravestone Marley visits symbolizes Laura, though Marley actually meant the gravestone for herself. Laura looms largely, as Marley’s biggest conflict is moving past her death.
