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.
Symbols & Motifs
Flowers
Daughtry and Lippincott use flowers to create a line of communication between Kyle and Marley. Marley is painfully shy and finds being vulnerable difficult. Rather than tell Kyle her feelings, Marley uses flowers to convey what she wants to say. Just as Kyle gives gifts as representations of his feelings, Marley gives flowers as a gift of her emotions. Marley gives Kyle a daisy, the symbol of hope, to prompt his growth away from despair and grief. The cherry blossom symbolizes a new start, which characterizes Marley and Kyle’s relationship and their individual journeys to happiness. The hydrangea symbolizes gratitude, which is how Kyle and Marley feel about one another after seeing each other through arduous challenges. The peony is a symbol of good luck and fortune, which represents Kyle’s new internship and school. Flowers add to the fairy tale tone of the novel. In fairy tales, symbols are important ways of creating meaning. In writing their own version of a fairy tale, Daughtry and Lippincott use flowers to represent the growth and purity of Marley and Kyle’s relationship.
Snails
Snails become a symbol of Marley’s kindnessKyle is moved by Marley’s attempts to save the snails; she plucks them from around the pond to make sure that no one steps on them. This demonstrates that Marley has a deep respect for life and is eager to help more vulnerable creatures. Marley dresses as a snail for Halloween because she relates to the snail’s nature. Like a snail, she is slow and likes to hide. Marley’s snail shell is her silence and her stories, places and spaces that she can curl up into and be herself. When Kyle wants to win Marley’s trust, he helps her pick up snails around the hospital courtyard. This communicates to Marley that Kyle is patient and willing to meet in her safe space. Kyle cares about life just as much as Marley; he proves this by giving her space while helping her on her mission.
Storytelling
The entire existence of Marley and Kyle’s relationship is based on a story, developing storytelling as a motif in the novel. Kyle starts believing in himself and in his new future because of Marley’s vivid imagination. Storytelling becomes a vehicle in which characters can become the best versions of themselves. Stories also reflect Marley’s internal life. She may not speak, but she creates her own worlds and messages in her yellow notebook. Storytelling keeps Marley invested in her life in times of tribulation, and provides an inside look into her dreams and anxieties. Through her stories, she can choose to revive her sister or find love in fantastical places.
Daughtry and Lippincott encourage readers to treat real life as a story worth reading and telling. Storytelling also has the power of saving lives.
