All This Time
by Mikki Daughtry, Rachael LippincottPublished by: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on September 29, 2020
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Kyle and Kimberly have been the perfect couple all through high school, but when Kimberly breaks up with him on the night of their graduation party, Kyle’s entire world upends—literally. Their car crashes and when he awakes, he has a brain injury. Kimberly is dead. And no one in his life could possibly understand.
Until Marley. Marley is suffering from her own loss, a loss she thinks was her fault. And when their paths cross, Kyle sees in her all the unspoken things he’s feeling.
As Kyle and Marley work to heal each other’s wounds, their feelings for each other grow stronger. But Kyle can’t shake the sense that he’s headed for another crashing moment that will blow up his life as soon as he’s started to put it back together.
And he’s right.
Content Tags:
Perfect for readers who want:
- Fated love, verging on insta-love
- Realistic portrayals of coping with grief
- Dealing with love and loss
- Realistic portrayal of high school love
- Teens learning how to be better friends to each other
- A compelling character arc and growth
Many thanks to Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers and Rockstar Books for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Quotes are taken from an unfinished version and may differ from the final product.
I’ve heard such good things about Five Feet Apart, even though I’ve never read it or seen the movie. So many of my friends have recommended it that when I saw this book pop up, I figured I should give it a try, even though I don’t read a whole ton of contemporary romance. Hey, I like me an emotional read every now and then to undercut all the dark, stabby books I normally read, and this one definitely was filled with emotions.
So here are five things I think readers might particularly enjoy in All This Time.
1. An emotional portrayal of growing up and growing into one’s self.
As if being a teenager isn’t hard enough (and trust me, it is), Kyle has to really do some soul-searching and find himself during this book.
In the beginning, he’s a bit hard to stand. No, it’s okay, you can say it. He’s selfish, self-centered, with a very narrow worldview. Namely, if it doesn’t focus on him, he doesn’t care. Sounds kind of like a normal teenager, but at the age where it’s time he should start realizing and coming out of it. Which is where this book comes in.
Right from the very beginning, Kyle is delivered some hard life lessons and some real truths about his behavior. It’s pretty much laid out on the line, and he’s forced to face that he’s maybe not been the greatest person—a lousy boyfriend, a selfish friend.
Kyle’s arc in this book is a wonderful one, where he’s forced to really do some soul searching and confront his own demons, the biggest of which is just himself.
Dare I say that Kyle actually has to mature into a decent human being? Which is easier said than done, but watching the transformation is lovely. As an adult, it’s sometimes easy to forget that teenagers aren’t the best versions of themselves yet, and this serves as a nice reminder that we can all stand to grow from time to time.
“I’m still doing it. One step at a time,” she says. “Always forward. Never back. Just like you’ll do.” Her eyes grow serious. More serious than I’ve ever seen them. She reaches out and pulls me in for a hug. With her face buried in my neck, I can just barely make out her whisper. “You’ll fight to come back.”
Always forward, never back.
2. An adorable, supportive mother who’s trying her best to be there for her son.
How often do we get live parents in young adult books?! Especially supportive parents that are still alive. Okay, true, Kyle’s father is dead, but his mother is very much alive and involved in her son’s life.
For Kyle and his mother, grief seems to be something that bonds them, as they lean on each other to get through the tough times.
Family bonds is one of my favorite tropes, and it’s always refreshing to see. Plus, I do love it when parents embarrass their children. As a parent, it’s for sure my favorite pastime. Kyle’s mom is spectacularly supportive and equally embarrassing, and it’s a fantastic combination.
Sometimes my mom is right on the money when it comes to picking out clothes. And other times she holds up a blue pin-striped blazer for me to try on.
3. A meet-cute where two people help each other heal from their grief.
I can’t say too much about this, because discovering Marley is sort of the whole point of this book, right? So you’ll just have to wait and unravel the mystery that is Marley along with Kyle.
What I can say is that the portrayal of grief in this is raw and powerful and a force unto its own. It’s sometimes all-consuming, in the way that only grief can be. It’s a process, and the best thing about Kyle and Marley is that they allow each other to go through this process without trying to force each other to talk about it before they’re ready.
Either way, if you’re looking for an emotional read full of healing and moving on? This might do it for you.
4. Flowers with meanings used in the most adorable ways.
I tried to convince hubby to do this, because it’s is super freaking cute, but he’s not a flower person and he’s lame, so that didn’t work. This was one of the cutest things of this book, I thought! Especially the way Marley and Kyle used it as a form of communication when they were having trouble communicating.
The concept of flowers having symbolic meanings isn’t really anything new, but I still loved the way it was used in the book. I had never given it much thought, but considering these are two people who are grieving and having a tough time communicating their feelings, the use of flowers to have a significance and meaning was really cute!
“What do you want it to mean?” she asks, turning it right back around on me. It catches me off guard. She’s the first person to ask me something like that in a long time.
A new start. I catch the words just before they come out, the answer suddenly right in front of me. A way forward that doesn’t feel wrong.
5. Stories within a story.
As a writer, this was definitely one of my favorite parts. Because Marley’s a writer, too! Huzzah! Except, like most writers, she’s a shy bundle of nerves worried that her work isn’t good enough. Aren’t we all, sister?
That means there are story elements and allusions to telling stories woven into Marley’s dialogue, especially, which I felt was a really neat effect. It added almost a dream-like quality to the story.
There’s a super cute story about the Man in the Moon, which I absolutely loved to freaking pieces and which made me melt just a teensy bit. This was definitely one of my favorite aspects of the book!
“Yes, you do. We all do,” Marley says as she crosses her legs underneath her. “We’re telling a story right now. Deciding how to be, what to say, what to do.” She pushes her hair behind her ear. “That’s … telling a story.”
“That’s living.”
“Okay, so someone’s life story isn’t really a story?”
About Mikki Daughtry
Mikki Daughtry graduated from Brenau University, where she studied theatre arts. She is a screenwriter and novelist living in Los Angeles and is one of the authors of the New York Times #1 bestseller Five Feet Apart. When she’s not writing, she is watching old black and white movies, listening to Doris Day on repeat, or reading ancient Greek plays. The classics. Always.
About Rachael Lippincott
Rachael Lippincott was born in Philadelphia and raised in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She holds a BA in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, splitting her time between writing and running a food truck with her partner. Her debut novel, FIVE FEET APART, is a #1 NYT Bestseller.
3 winners will receive a finished copy of ALL THIS TIME (US only)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
✦ Week One ✦
9/7/2020 Kait Plus Books Spotlight
9/7/2020 Two Chicks on Books Spotlight
9/8/2020 Jazzy Book Reviews Spotlight
9/8/2020 BookHounds Ya Spotlight
9/9/2020 YA Books Central Spotlight
9/9/2020 Lifestyle of Me Review
9/10/2020 Abellafairytale Review
9/10/2020 Infinite Lives, Infinite Stories Review
9/11/2020 Do You Dog-ear? Review
9/11/2020 The Desert Bibliophile Review
✦ Week Two ✦
9/14/2020 Pages and Pugs Spotlight
9/14/2020 The Bookwyrm’s Den Spotlight
9/15/2020 notinjersey Review
9/15/2020 The Pages In-Between Review
9/16/2020 Book Briefs Review
9/16/2020 Rajiv’s Reviews Review
9/17/2020 The Book View Review
9/17/2020 Jotted by Jena Spotlight
9/18/2020 Fangirl Fury Review
9/18/2020 What A Nerd Girl Says Review
✦ Week Three ✦
9/21/2020 Emelie’s Books Review
9/21/2020 dwantstoread Review
9/22/2020 Popthebutterfly Reads Review
9/22/2020 The Clever Reader Review
9/23/2020 Gimme The Scoop Reviews Review
9/23/2020 Zainey Laney Spotlight
9/24/2020 BookishConnoisseur Review
9/24/2020 Reese’s Reviews Review
9/25/2020 Momfluenster Review
9/25/2020 Jaime’s World Spotlight
✦ Week Four ✦
9/28/2020 Sometimes Leelynn Reads Review
9/28/2020 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers Review
9/29/2020 stuck.in.the.stacks Review
9/29/2020 Book-Keeping Review
9/30/2020 The Mind of a Book Dragon Review
9/30/2020 A Gingerly Review Review
10/1/2020 Smada’s Book Smack Review
10/1/2020 Eli to the nth Review
10/2/2020 Becky on Books Review
10/2/2020 two points of interest Review
Similar books you might also enjoy:
This sounds adorable, and I love the quotes you chose😁 Definitely a book for when I’m in a YA contemporary mood.
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…THE TRIALS OF KOLI by M.R. Carey – Review
[…] This Time by Mikki Daughtry and Rachael Lippincott★★☆☆☆ || GoodreadsMaybe this isn’t a huge surprise, since this book is contemporary romance and […]