The Truth About Forever

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

Reader reviewed by VampGirl

Macy Queen is looking forward to a long and, boring summer. Her boyfriend is going away to a math camp. Shes stuck with a dull-as-dishwater job at the library. And shell spend all of her free time studying for the SATs or grieving silently unexpected death. But everything changes when Macy is  out at one of her mothers open house events, and she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew. Before long, Macy joins the Wish team. She loves everything about the work and the people. But the best thing about Wish is Wesartistic, insightful, and understanding Weswho gets Macy to look at life in a whole new way, and really start living it.

Reader reviewed by vivalana

Macy lives with her mom and has another sister who is already married.  her father past a year or so earlier from a heart attak.  she takes a job at the library as a favor to her to her boyfriend but than quits after her two coworkers get on her nerves.  after that she takes a job catering were she mets wes.  it turns out they both have stuff in common than they ever imagined. as macy and wes start getting to know each other macy finds herself facing some repressed feelings.

opinion i really loved the book and the characters in it.  my favorite part was when wes saw Macy and her ex boyfriend talking, at the party, and walked away but than macy ran after him to kiis him.  though i liked the book i really got annoyed by macy's exboyfriend.  and i think that macy was so studious in the beginning so she wouldn't have to face the feelings from her dads death.  i could really emphasice with her character because one minute her life was full of joy and she lived in a family house and the next minute she lives in a quiet house with her life changing dratically.  i really hope u guys get a chance to read this book.

Reader reviewed by mockock

when i started to read this book, i was a little sad, and i hate sad books, i like happy and romantic books, but when i started to read this book, i fell in love. this book shows how hard it is to be your self after being not your self for a long time.. for falling in love with the person you cant be with forever, and for always being safe and never having fun after a bad thing happend in your family. Sarah Dessen made the characters likable and lovably, expecially Wes, my favorite character. Definently read this book, its AMAZING!
with lots of love,,
girls walking on clouds<3

Reader reviewed by Cassie

Macy Queen lives in a big house, goes to a great school, and has a boyfriend with the potential of a next Alburt Einstein.  However, behind the fake smile is a girl who misses her father. Macy's father died of a heart attach a year ago, and while her mother and her pretend they are "fine, just fine."  Macy can't help but be torn between the grief and the self-guilt.  However, a boy named Wes meets Macy, she's never really been the type for Artists, so this should be different.

Sarah Dessen throws another great novel at the reader.  The Truth About Forever is a great story with an excellent message.  Dessen writes more novels alike this one, however this is in the top 3.  I would recommend this book for ages 13-18.  Not only has this story caught my attention about love and loss, I can't wait to see what else Dessen has in store for her new novels.

Reader reviewed by BooksObsession

Review:

The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen, is one of my favorite books,
written by one of my favorite authors! The entire time I was reading
this intriguing story, I felt like I was seeing the world through
Macy's eyes and stepping into her shoes. Sarah Dessen's writing is so
clear and vibrant, each sentence is full of detail. I fell in love with
Wes's character from the very beginning of the novel. Even though the
ending was some-what predictable, the charming characters and
interesting plot will keep readers flipping through pages, anxious to
see what will happen next. I could re-read this novel over and over for
many years to come.



Quote:

"Once, I didn't care so much about appearances. I knew the basics: that
I was somewhat short for my age, with a round face, brown eyes, and
faint freckles across my nose that had been prominent, but now you had
to lean in close to see. I had blonde hair that got lighter in the
summer time, slightly green if I swam too much, which didn't bother me
since I was a total track rat, the kind of girl to whom the word
hairstyle was defined as always having a ponytail elastic on her wrist.
I'd never cared about how my body or I looked -- what mattered was what
it could do and how fast it could go. But part of my new perfect act
was my appearance. If I wanted people to see me as calm and collected,
together, I had to look the part."



Rating:

Plot: A

Originality: B

Development of Characters: A+

Entertainment Level: A

Recommend to others: A+

Overall feeling at the end: A

Grade = A

Reader reviewed by Iryna

Macy's summer
stretches before her, carefully planned and outlined. She will spend
her days sitting at the library information desk. She will spend her
evenings studying for the SATs. Spare time will be used to help her
obsessive mother prepare for the big opening of the townhouse section
of her luxury development.

But Macy's plans don't anticipate a surprising and chaotic job with
Wish Catering, a motley crew of new friends, or . . . Wes. Tattooed,
artistic, anything-but-expected Wes. He doesn't fit Macy's life at all
so why does she feel so comfortable with him? So . . . happy? What is
it about him that makes her let down her guard and finally talk about
how much she misses her father, who died before her eyes the year
before?

Sarah
Dessen delivers a page-turning novel that carries readers on a roller
coaster of denial, grief, comfort, and love as we watch a broken but
resilient girl pick up the pieces of her life and fit them back
together.