50 pages • 1 hour read
Justin A. ReynoldsOpposite of Always
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Background
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Character Analysis
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaThemes
Lessons Learned Through Facing Repeated Challenges
While Jack is stuck in the time loop, he thinks it’s happening because he’s meant to change Kate’s fate and keep her from dying. In the book’s resolution, however, he comes to understand that he didn’t save her; it was never about that. He accomplishes something else by reliving those same months over and over. He’s granted the gift of do-overs, from which he learns important life lessons about effort, choices, and love—not only in romantic contexts but also in friendships and family dynamics.
In the initial state of Jack’s character arc, he experiences low self-esteem. He describes himself as an expert in almost—as in, never quite good enough to achieve his goals—and he believes anything good in his life can only be temporary. As a result, he’s afraid to take a chance on love. Kate’s entry into his life immediately influences Jack’s internal conflict against his self-doubt. She tells him, “Don’t be afraid. Take chances. And when those don’t work out, take more” (39). Jack heeds her advice, takes action, and finds love. When he experiences the pain of losing his newfound love through her untimely death, he does experience regret. Rather, he realizes the pain doesn’t outweigh the love and happiness he gains.
As for being the “Authority on Almost” (13), when Jack finds himself in a time loop, he comes to believe he finally has an opportunity to get everything right and make things better for everyone he loves. At one point, he notes: “The only thing that’s still broken is Franny and his dad. But there’s time to fix that, too. I can make that right. I’ll try until I do” (324). However, Jack must learn that doing everything perfectly and solving everyone’s problems isn’t what makes a person worthwhile, and often, it is not possible. He credits Kate and over three dozen replays of time for teaching him “that almost doesn’t have to be a bad thing” (444). He comes to understand that making an effort and doing everything he can is enough. In the process, he also realizes some circumstances are out of his control.
In narrating each timeline, Jack focuses on the choices he makes and his reasons for making them. When good intentions don’t lead to good results, Jack takes responsibility and accepts the consequences. He gets to see, through his time loop do-overs, how his choices play out and influence the lives and futures of those around him. He learns that the best results come from choosing the people he loves over himself, being honest with them, and trying again and again no matter how many times failure knocks him down. In his toast to his parents on their anniversary, he says: “Nothing good in life comes easy, but it’s about deciding each day that you will stick with it. You choose to stay, to work hard, to love, and you keep choosing” (263). Jack exemplifies this lesson by choosing to fight for Kate over and over, despite the pain he feels each time she dies, and expressing that love before he loses her. He realizes choosing to experience her love makes his life worthwhile.
Loving Someone with a Chronic Illness
Although Kate’s experience with sickle cell disease is not something of which Jack is immediately aware, his relationship with Kate ultimately gives him the experience of loving a partner with a chronic illness. Traveling back in time adds another layer to Jack’s experience, as he uses it to try to prevent Kate’s death—something that occurs in the first timeline of the novel. Through his relationship with Kate, Jack learns about the unique experience of loving someone with a chronic health condition—particularly what it takes to offer care during and navigate life-threatening complications due to the disease.
Once Jack becomes aware of Kate’s impending death, thanks to time travel, his life goals and motivations change. Being there for her, and ideally finding a way to save her, becomes his sole focus—so much so that he neglects his other friends and family. When Jack learns of Kate’s diagnosis and that she’s dying, he says, “My brain feels like it’s been tossed off a steep cliff” (251). This depicts the shock Jack feels upon realizing someone he loves has a lifelong diagnosis with painful symptoms and health complications that are life-threatening. He learns the gravity of Kate’s situation when Kate’s father tells him, “Stress is the last thing she needs. Stress could kill her” (339). Knowing Kate’s health is in such a vulnerable state puts pressure on those around her to insulate Kate from stressors. Though Jack understands human mortality, accepting its incursion into his life and its affecting Kate at a young age doesn’t come easily. He feels desperate. For example, he even considers robbing a bank or rigging the lottery to pay for potentially life-saving treatments for Kate. He’s overwhelmed by fear, to the point of acting irrationally and breaking laws in impulsive attempts to prevent her death. Luckily, Jack receives a gift that others in his situation aren’t afforded. He gets to redo the months before Kate’s death over and over. Not only does this allow him to spend more time with her, but it also gives him time to process his emotions and accept Kate’s illness.
With this gift of extra time, Jack learns valuable lessons about how to love someone with a chronic illness. His mother gives him simple but meaningful advice: “You make sure you’re there for Kate, okay, Jackie?” (255). This helps Jack know how to respond when Kate’s father urges him to leave her alone. Knowing that Kate often feels people ignore her opinion, Jack asks Kate what she wants and offers to be there: “If you want me here, Kate, I’ll never leave” (340). In this context, it’s exactly what she wants to hear. Kate’s advice to Jack early in the novel is especially significant when he understands his time with her is so limited. She tells him not to be afraid to take chances. He comes to realize that believing he has all the time in the world can lead to him allowing fear to hold him back until it’s too late. By taking risks to achieve his dreams and find love, he won’t miss out on happiness in his life. Similarly, Jack learns the importance of “expressing your love while you can” and adds, “Never take time, or love, for granted” (426). Jack heeds this advice, applying it to his romantic and platonic relationships. When Kate lives in the narrative’s last time loop, he sees himself loving entirely, despite the fear that he may lose Kate in the future.
Accountability in Interpersonal Conflict
Both Jack and Franny contend with interpersonal conflicts in Opposite of Always, and both must confront their roles in these conflicts. Franny’s contentious relationship with his father provides one example. Jack’s neglect of Franny and Jillian, as well as his family, to spend all his time with Kate provides another. In these two examples, Franny and Jack represent accountability differently, yet both conclude with a similar message: With loved ones, it’s always worth it to practice introspection and to keep working toward resolution through open communication and honesty.
Franny’s external conflict with his father goes hand in hand with his conflicted feelings about the relationship and himself. He feels pressured by his abuela to forgive his father and “be the bigger person” (76), but he’s angry that it’s on him to make things right when his father has hurt him so much. Franny recognizes his father’s past behavior as the source of their conflict. Franny is the child, his father is the adult, and The Coupon was separated from his family after committing crimes that sent him to prison. However, another part of Franny internalizes blame and thinks his father’s absence means he’s somehow not worthy of his father’s love. He asks Jack: “What’s so wrong with me that my dad would go out of his way to not be around me? How come my dad doesn’t want me, man? Why aren’t I good enough?” (76). While Franny’s value has nothing to do with the reasons for his father’s absence, he isn’t initially able to see this. In this conflict, Franny is taking undue accountability because he doesn’t know what else to think about his father’s choices. His father never explained them. It will ultimately take open communication and honesty from his father to show Franny that he’s not to blame and to help him forgive his father.
When Jack spends as much time with Kate as possible because he knows she’s sick, he neglects his friendships with and responsibilities to Franny and Jillian, as well as his parents. This leads to conflict. For example, he fails to tell his parents where he’ll be for prolonged periods, misses The Coupon’s homecoming dinner after explicitly promising Franny he’d attend, and flakes on Jillian. Initially, Jack continues to act selfishly, not considering his friends’ and family members’ feelings or how his actions hurt them. However, through them highlighting how his behavior has fallen short and negatively impacted them, Jack begins to take accountability for his past actions. He recognizes his selfishness and understands that he was wrong. In his apology, he’s honest about the motivators for his mistake—“I think it’s just that I’d finally gotten what I’d always wanted, what I saw my two best friends have” (215)—yet he still takes accountability for the way his relationship with Kate caused him to neglect other relationships. He tells them they deserve better and that he intends to do better in the future. Going forward, he doesn’t always succeed, but he keeps making the effort. In doing so, he maintains and repairs his relationships with loved ones and close friends.
