The Truth About Forever

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

It seems that Macy wont allow herself to enjoy her life. While her boyfriend is away, she passes her time working a dull library job, studying for the SATs even though its the summer, and silently grieving the death of her father.

Then change comes to her life in the form of a second job. She decides to take it and learns to love the rest of the catering staff. She also falls for the gorgeous boy Wes. They get to know each other, but Macy finds out that Wes is more deep and complicated than she imagined. She also forges friendships with the other girls on the catering crew. It seems as if shes finally learned to let loose and have fun.

But then shes brought down by her mother whos worried because Macy isnt acting like her normal self. Macys sister Caroline stands up for Macy, saying that Macy needs to learn to have some fun. But Macy reverts back to her normal shell of a self, and the relationships she made over that summer start to crumble until she realizes she needs to take charge of her life.

The Truth about Forever is a beautiful and amazing story. I never regretted picking it up from the library and am glad I finally have a copy of my own. Its about a girls struggles to find out what she really wants her life to be. I highly enjoy all of Sarah Dessens stories even though they are all a bit similar. I honestly can find no faults in this novel. I recommend this to every teenage girl.

Reader reviewed by rene

the Truth about Forever was an amazing book by Sarah Dessen. Macy i sreaching her senior year of her perfect life. she has a great geniouse boyfriend and has her SATs down. but when things with her and jason are over seh goes looking for something more. and she finds it the truth about forever has taught me many things and i really enjoy all the crazy characters[:

Reader reviewed by The Story Siren

Ive been wanting to read this book for a long time and finally got around to getting a copy and sitting down and doing it. Believe it of not my first Sarah Dessen novel was Just Listen. Sarah who? I know I was hiding in a rock underneath six maybe seven feet of densely packed soil, anywho, after I read Just Listen I was an instant fan. I read some of her earlier work, which was a lot different that her recent novels, but still enjoyable. And everyone I talked to insisted that I had to read The Truth About Forever, and I have. Finally.

Sarah didnt disappoint. The Truth About Forever is on my top favorite list, following Just Listen and This Lullaby.

Macy is dreading her summer working at the library while her brainiac bf goes to brain camp. Where else would teenage adolescents spend their summer! Needless to say their relationship isnt the best. Personally I think Jason has intimacy issues, but that is a whole other story. When the non-intimate Jason breaks up with Macy via email (how tacky right? I know?) for saying I love you, of all things! Macy finally has the push she needs to break out of her shell.

The shell she has been in since she saw her father die. She has this routine, I guess you would call it that but I say, the girl has no life! Anyway she ends up taking this catering job at night along with her responsibilities at the library. Who wouldnt kill for a job at the library, hello first dibs on books! But Macy must not care much about first dibs on books because she hates her job at the library or maybe she just hates the two snobs she works with, either way she finds some kind of refuge working at the catering gig.

She also meets the handsome and mysterious Wes. Wes, the wonderful guy that he is, finally gets Macy to open up about the death of her dad and deal with it. Which makes him totally boyfriend material in my mind, but for Macy the answers arent so easy or maybe there just aren't that simple.

Even though the story was about dealing with grief which isnt exactly the easiest or happiest of topics, the story was fun and thought provoking. The truth about forever is that it changes, forever can mean something one day and change the next. What you have to do is figure out what forever means for you today.

Reader reviewed by Molly

The Truth About Forever's cover art enticed me, it looked so mysterious. But I never realized how much the book could capture me. I fell into step with Macy Queen, the star of the book, who is so scared to show emotion that I was constantly afraid for her to explode.

It is a said memoir that so many teenage girls are vulnurable to keeping their feelings locked up inside, and that they are so scared to share things. Her mother is too busy to show her grief that she is hiding, and Macy is caught up in her own world of trying to acheive perfection. She wants order, she wants everything to be the same. She wants to be strong for her mother, wants her mother to believe she's fine. At first. I took this as she was afraid of change, afraid of reactions. It was a very thought provoking book. She loses her boyfriend due to a break, the boyfriend that pushes her away so much but she is so sure loves her. She meets a chaotic catering team that she soon joins, leaving her other morbid job behind. She meets amazing people, and a boy named Wes, who changes her life incredibly. It was so easy for even I to fall in love with the boy who captures Macy just as she is about to fall. Its forbidden love, but they both realize its love, nonetheless.

When Macy's mom tries to take it all away from her, Macy tries to forget, to go back to that life of oder. She sinks back into her old hole, refusing Wes and becoming monotone and miserable.

Until she takes Wes's advice and shows her mother her affection, without holding back, and breaks free of the clammy shell she was so desperatly trapped in. She wanted her mother to see she needed her, but in the end shows her mother instead of waiting on her to see it. She becomes, in essence, a changed girl who is ready to live without a list of schedueled events, who is ready to actually live. I wanted to scream at Macy, cry with Macy, and show Macy throughout the book that life gets better, even when its down. She learns things like that from all of the catering crew, and in the climax of the book, realizes shes ready. She knows the answers. She can be herself, and not worry about what holds her down throughout the book - the expected in our society today - perfection. The book captured me, and I couldn't put it down. It was sad, and made me cry, but also happy. It shows you that forever means so many different things, and you should live every moment like its your last, because waiting and being on a scheduele only makes it feel shorter.

Reader reviewed by Mary

A truly beautiful book, this story details the life of Macy. Macy has a perfect boyfriend, the perfect job and the perfect life. Except her dad died recently, her coworkers dislike her and her boyfriend wants a "break". Then Macy meets Wes from Wish Catering, a catering company which is in complete chaos. Through the game of truth is learns the truth about perfectionism and finds her self in the process.


Sarah Dessen is an awesome writer whose novels can truly resonate in the hearts of her readers. Anyone who has ever wanted to be perfect can relate to Macy. You should read it!

Reader reviewed by Kristin

The Truth About Forever is about Macy, a girl who hides behind order and her grades due to her father's death, is taking over her "perfect" boyfriend's job at the library this summer. Through many events, she meets the Wish Catering crew which has people so much different than what she's use to and they all teach her a lesson or two.

When I first read the book, it was...amazing. I know that sounds really cliche, but it really spoke to me. I felt like Sarah Dessen (the author) really wanted me to know that life is to be experienced not just "lived" and people keep their feelings bottled up inside for they don't want to cause or receive pain.

On a lighter note, as a girl, I wished for a guy like Wes, Macy's new friend. He had the personality, the humor, and even the looks. Wes was a very charismatic, funny good-looking guy who had great perspective on things.

Reader reviewed by Pageant Babe

I was on the search for a perfect summer book when I came acoss this book on amazon.com, the story line appealed to me and so I went to my public libary just to find they din't have a copy. Three book stores later I found it. It was so worth the search. Since this book I have read a few more Sarah Dessen novels. Sarah is a very talented writer. Her story lines are well written. The book is about a girl named Macy whos life is turned upside down after the death of her father. She becomes a perfectionist and dates a boy who goes off to a summer program for smart teenagers. Macy is then alone for the summer working for Jason at there libary. Macy is bored and uphappy until she meets the Wish Catering crew



Wes. Like Macy, the handsome, creative Wes also has a troubled childhood, when his mother died and he was sent to jail. However, the two end up becoming friends thanks to a game of Truth. Amember of the wish crew is a boy named Wes who has also had a hard time. He lost his mother and was sent to jail. The two become fast friends when they begain to play the game of "truth"

Reader reviewed by clarice

A girl takes her boyfriend's job at the library while he is at camp. Her mom is a real sales houses and she gets stuck helping her mom out. She gets a job at the catering business and falls for a guy named Wes even though she tries not to. She changes a lot for the better during her job at the catering business and her mom can't cope with it.

Reader reviewed by Jelly Bean. =)

I fell in love with this book from the moment I read the first page. In this book, you get to ride along with Macy as she works for WISH Catering and meets a group of people who change her for the better.

This book is excellent and enjoyable for everyone. Sarah Dessen wrote this book wonderfully. If you're looking for a sweet read or just plain bored, this is definitely the book to choose!

Reader reviewed by Tori

When I looked at the blurb inside the flap of Sarah Dessens The Truth About Forever at the library, the mention of "a boy with a past" very nearly made me cringe and shove it back on the shelf. I've read one too many novels about the bad boy who either turns out to have a heart of gold or eases the main character off of the yellow brick road. As it turns out, Wes is my favourite character. He tells his 16-year old younger brother to use his inside voice, he sculpts scrap metal, and he knows just how to make a girl feel better.

Okay, you might say, but you didn't know that at the library. Why did you take a chance?

Because the blurb wasn't about a girl learning to love, or rebelling against her parents, or trying to escape the overwhelming shadow of a sibling. It was about a girl struggling to find her voice, which, when you look at it, encompasses all three possible situations. It looked like a book about a real person. I didn't realize just how hooked I was until page 208, when Wes and Macy, the main character, are eating waffles and sniffing their syrup-scented pencils.

If youve ever felt like your voice was lost in the mire of high school politics, youll see your own struggle echoed in Macys. If the urge to dump greasy movie popcorn over the smartest arrogant girl in school has ever poisoned your mind, youll cheer for Macy when she hops the hurdle like a track star. And if youve ever felt like chaos is the best part of your life, youll chuckle at Macys boss, who is eight months pregnant and thrives on bedlam.

Not just another teen chick lit novel, The Truth About Forever is poignant and satisfying. Its a book for a humid summer evening at the cottage, sitting on the dock and dangling your toes tantalizingly as the sun dips lower and makes you rush inside to read the final pages. The Truth About Forever is well worth the mosquito bites.