The Truth About Forever

Even though this is my first Sarah Dessen novel I feel like she is the YA version of Nicholas Sparks. Her novels could easily be made into movies. The plot just flows smoothly you never get to the part where you say Oh this is boring. She makes the most common things seem interesting. I can say with certainty that The Truth about Forever won’t be the last Dessen book I will read.

After her father’s death Macy is trying so hard to be the perfect daughter, sister and girlfriend. Her mother is always tied up in work, her boyfriend dumped her over an email and her now she is stuck doing a summer job she hates, just so she wouldn’t fail him. Everything changes when she meets Delia and her catering crew. She finally relaxes and slowly lets go of the sorrow. I read a bunch of reviews where people were nagging about how Macy couldn’t stood up for herself, but you know what? Everybody has had the same problem in their life. They say I am not going to let them push me around but it takes a lot of courage to finally put up a fight. So I had a lot of respect for Macy and she is a sort of person I would like to hang around with.

The romance was slow and came a little too late for my taste but I didn’t care much because Wes was such a sa-wooning character as the girls in this book say about him. He is an artist with a troubled and painful past.

If you are, like myself, a fan of Elizabeth Scott, Jennifer Echols, Jenny Han or any other YA contemporary author, you will enjoy books by Sarah Dessen.

I loved this book and Sarah Dessen is such a great writer.

Macy has her life all mapped out- to be the perfect daughter, perfect girlfriend, perfect student with perfect grades and for the summer, work in the boring library and study for the SATs to get a perfect score- but unexpectedly found friendship in chaos, disorganized and just plain imperfection... and started to change or maybe just started being herself and enjoy life.
She deals with the stigma of seeing her dad die and learns how to let go with some help from the imperfect world.

This is a heartwarming story which made me laugh, cry and just read.

This was the first Sarah Dessen book I ever read, and I haven't stopped reading her books since. It's truly a beautiful story of love and finding yourself. This book has some of the greatest characters of all time! So hilarious.

Reader reviewed by Ruthie

Sarah Dessen has never been one of my favorite authors and I never did understand how she has such a huge fanbase...until now. The Truth about Forever did it for me. It was such a real, such a great, book. I loved it! This is one of those summer books that you can read over and over and over again. The characters are realistic ans the story is so sweet. This is the perfect summer pickup, on or off the beach.

Reader reviewed by Jewelie

As you might have noticed from the title of this review, this book was absolutely FANTASTIC!!! From the beginning up until the very last words of this book, Sarah Dessen creates a world of love, longing, and hope. I adore this book to no end, and I have forced many friends to read it!!! (of course all of them loved it too!!) The plot mixed with the characters and spiced up with a seriously amazing crush, makes this book one of my favorites! If you are the type who loves a good romance, this book is absolutely for you!!!! I give it 5/5 stars, because Sarah Dessen has never let me down yet! Give it a try!!!

Reader reviewed by The Library Lurker

I'm just going to start by telling you that this is a reread. Yes, I've
read it before. "Then why are you reviewing it?" you may ask. Well, when
I read it last it was at least three years ago, so consequently I
remembered next to nothing about it. Is it weird that I'm happy about
that? Because I am, I'm really really happy that I could read this book
again like I was reading it for the first time.



I love Sarah Dessen. She is one of my favorite authors, and now this is
one of my favorite books by her, next to This Lullaby. The way she
writes is just spectacular. One passage in particular stood out to me:

               

            We Just sat there for a second, none of us talking. In
the middle of the clearing, someone was playing with a flashlight, the
beam moving across the tree overhead, showing bits and pieces of
branches and leaves, a glimpse her and there, then darkness again. I
knew that in the last few minutes everything had changed. I'd tried to
hold myself apart, showing only what I wanted, doling out bits and
pieces of who I was. But that only works for so long. Eventually, even
the smallest fragments can't help but make a whole.



When I read it I just thought that it was beautiful. The imagery
especially. I could never write something like that, something so
perfect. Which is why her books blow mind mind. They not only have a
good story, but good writing to match, something that's hard to find.



Anyway, on to this story in particular. Macy was a good protagonist. At
times I wanted to smack some sense in to her, or her mother, but that's
just part of the experience. Wes was...wow. What do I say about Wes?
Basically he's everything that you could ever want in a guy. Ever.
Smart, nice, caring, an artist, sa-woon worthy. What more is there to
ask for? All of the other characters were awesome too, and so three
dimensional. All of them had TONS of personality and they weren't just
there doing nothing. That's another thing that I like about Sarah Dessen
books.



The story line was, of course, great. Macy's dad died about a year and a
half before the book starts. She and her mother really haven't gotten
over it, just pushed it aside and only focused on work and school.
Macy's "perfect" boyfriend Jason is going away to Brain Camp for the
summer and Macy takes over his job at the library. Just another boring
summer. Until she meets the workers of Wish Catering and Jason breaks up
with her because she's getting too attached. Then her summer's not so
boring anymore, and she learns a lot about herself along the way.



Basically this book was spectacular. I'm happy that I read it again.

Reader reviewed by Daisy

         Macy Queen is trying to be a
perfect, good teen. She has a perfect boyfriend who is off at Brain Camp, a
boring summer job at the library where her coworkers are silent with jealously,
and she will study all summer to get the perfect score on her SATs.

         However,
Macy meets the wonderful, funny and lively Wish Catering crew. They are opposite
of what she strives to be: chaotic, imperfect, but all the more fun. Soon, Macy
is part of their wacky family and with the help of Wes, lovely Wes, she
starts to look at life differently. Can she ever stop grieving with her mother
about her fathers death and will she finally just be herself?

         Hats
off to Sarah Dessen. A heartwarming tale to be told to everyone.

Reader reviewed by Bernice

Macy finds true friends through her summer job at Wish catering. With the pressure of being perfect and living up to the expectations of her mother, Macy sees the truth in imperfection, and she realizes that no one can be perfect. She's finally able to get over the death of her dad by hanging around her humorously chaotic employees. And she finds out what true love really means.
I loved how the Wish caterers were simple and yet they led complicated lives, but they were happy with what life threw at them. My two favorites were Monica and Bert, because they were kind of in the back round a lot of the time, and to me, they made the story come alive. Its sweet, and I cried at the end. It's also a great book that I recommend to anyone who loves a happy ending.

Reader reviewed by Cara

I love this book. I have read it many times and I don't think I could ever get tired of it. All of my friends have read it now and they all love it. It's touching but hilarious as well. The main character is my favorite because I think a lot of people my age can relate to her and all the situations she has gone through.

Reader reviewed by Sarima89