Allergic

Megan Wagner Lloyd, Illustr. Michelle Mee Nutter

Fiction | Graphic Novel/Book | Middle Grade | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-6

Chapters 7-9

Chapters 10-13

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Sebastian’s Facts Notebook

Maggie’s friend Sebastian creates a notebook of the facts that he and Maggie find interesting. This notebook symbolizes Sebastian’s loyalty to science and facts. Before coming up with the idea for the notebook, Sebastian demonstrates his commitment to scientific information when he researches allergy shots and food allergies because he doesn’t understand why the shots don’t help with this type of allergy. He has a wealth of knowledge about allergies because of his love for the truth and because he and his sister both have serious allergy conditions.

When he creates the notebook, he documents various things, such as the fact that California was once underwater and that people often falsely think all Californians go to the beach a lot. This second fact shows how fact and opinion are different things and that popular beliefs aren’t necessarily true. Maggie wants to avoid the truth of her allergies, but Sebastian knows that she won’t succeed. The notebook is an apt symbol for his character because recording facts helps people value the truth, face obstacles, and remember what they find interesting, which are all central to Sebastian’s approach to life.

The Friendship Necklace

Maggie purchases a friendship necklace for Claire. The necklace is a heart that is broken in half, and each girl is intended to wear one half. Maggie is wearing hers when she discovers that Claire has adopted a puppy. This causes a rift in their relationship because Maggie knows she can’t be in Claire’s house if a dog lives in it. In addition, she’s jealous because Claire seemingly gets anything she wants, and she knows Maggie can’t have a dog, which is what she wants most in the world. In frustration, Maggie rips off her necklace, breaking the chain. This represents the damage Claire did to the relationship through her thoughtlessness and the further damage Maggie’s reaction to Claire’s behavior does to their friendship.

Later, another breach in their friendship occurs when Maggie, angry that her family found out about her pet mice, blames Claire for her heartbreak since Claire suggested that Maggie get the original mouse. This argument demonstrates that Maggie isn’t willing to take responsibility for her emotions, decisions, and actions. Eventually, however, she and Claire make amends, and Maggie admits that she was equally responsible for the decision, thus taking responsibility for her actions. Maggie finally gives Claire the friendship necklace, and the two resolve to try to mend Maggie’s. This demonstrates their willingness to work on their friendship and mend it when it’s broken. The friendship necklace remains a symbol of their relationship, and it’s an apt symbol because it’s a physical object that can be broken and one that girls the age of Claire and Maggie often give each other.

Maggie’s Bedroom

Children often don’t get to decide how to decorate their homes, so their bedrooms become important because they’re the one area they have most ample control over. When the novel opens, Maggie has a yellow bedroom with some pictures taped to the walls. This represents her identity in an earlier stage of her life. When she asks to redecorate the whole house, her mother recommends that she focus on her own room first. This causes Maggie some consternation because she doesn’t know what she wants to do to her room. At one point, she laments how her room used to feel like her but no longer does.

The last chapter illustrates an important growth period for Maggie because she has become acclimated to her new school and her new sister. On a trip to the aquarium, Maggie decides to be a marine biologist. She previously aspired to be a veterinarian but no longer can because of her allergies. After this, she’s depicted in her room, which has changed: It’s now teal and has more mature pictures of sea creatures. Since Maggie has learned to accept change, she is able to find something that fits her, and she reflects this by changing her bedroom. By the novel’s end, she knows who she is. Thus, her bedroom symbolizes self-identity and acceptance of change.