Product Description

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&150so 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38749 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-11
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

Amazon.com
With her sixth novel, award-winning author Sarah Dessen offers up another generous helping of finely crafted storytelling about real teens dealing with real life. In The Truth About Forever, when asked how she is coping with her father's death, invariably seventeen year old Macy Queen's answer is "fine," when nothing could be further from the truth. In actuality, she is drowning in grief while maintaining a flawless façade of good grades and unblemished behavior. Though she feels lost when her boyfriend heads to "Brain Camp" for the summer, she finds herself a job with the quirky Wish Catering crew, and meets "sa-woon"-worthy Wes, whose chaotic lifestyle is in direct opposition to her own. As the two share their stories over the summer, Macy realizes she can no longer keep her feelings on ice. Though it feels like her future endedwith her dad's death, Macy's learns that forever is all about beginnings. Dessen charts Macy's navigation of grief in such an honest way it will touch every reader who meets her. All of the Dessen trademarks are here: a girl in transition, a wonderfully fleshed out cast of secondary characters, and of course, the luminous, powerful writing itself. The Truth About Forever will more than satisfy Dessen's legion of fans, and will win her countless more as well. Highly recommended. (Ages 12 and up) --Jennifer Hubert

From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up–Macy, 16, witnessed her father's death, but has never figured out how to mourn. Instead, she stays in control–good grades, perfect boyfriend, always neat and tidy–and tries to fake her way to normal. Then she gets a job at Wish Catering. It is run by pregnant, forgetful Delia and staffed by her nephews, Bert and Wes, and her neighbors Kristy and Monica. "Wish" was named for Delia's late sister, the boys' mother. Working and eventually hanging out with her new friends, Macy sees what it's like to live an unprescripted lifestyle, from dealing with kitchen fires to sneaking out at night, and slowly realizes it's not so bad to be human. Wes and Macy play an ongoing game of Truth and share everything from gross-outs to what it feels like to watch someone you love die. They fall in love by talking, and the author sculpts them to full dimension this way. All of Dessen's characters, from Macy, who narrates to the bone, to Kristy, whose every word has life and attitude, to Monica, who says almost nothing but oozes nuance, are fully and beautifully drawn. Their dialogue is natural and believable, and their care for one another is palpable. The prose is fueled with humor–the descriptions of Macy's dad's home-shopping addiction are priceless, as is the goofy bedlam of catering gigs gone bad–and as many good comedians do, Dessen uses it to throw light onto darker subjects. Grief, fear, and love set the novel's pace, and Macy's crescendo from time-bomb perfection to fallible, emotional humanity is, for the right readers, as gripping as any action adventure.–Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. Dessen returns to a familiar theme and recognizable characters: the "perfect" girl at odds with a controlling mother and keeping boys at arm's length because of father issues. Here the girl is Macy Queen. Her father has died, her mother can't grieve, and every time Macy tries to break out of the automaton state in which she is trapped, Mrs. Queen reels her back. Macy gets a job with a catering company, whose employees mirror and mask similar emotions to her own--among them, a girl who is scarred on the outside, but not on the inside, and two motherless brothers, the older of whom, Wes, helps Macy break through. As is often the case with Dessen, the novel is a mixed bag. Much of it is wonderful. At its purest, the writing reaches directly into the hearts of teenage girls: Macy's games of "truth" with Wes are unerringly conceived, sharply focused on both characters and issues. Yet a subplot about Macy's job at the library features cardboard characters and unbelievable situations. This seesawing between spot-on observations and superfluous scenes slows the pace and makes readers wait too long for the book's best moments. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Will not read another Dessen book, at least, not if she continues in this fashion
Honestly, people, this book is blatantly overrated. It was predictable, unoriginal, and just did not "wow" me at all. I've never read another Dessen book before, simply choosing to avoid them altogether, and reading this book made me realize why I do not like books like these. I'm not sorry that I took the chance in reading this, however, because now I can decidedly tell my friends to beware of Dessen's books, especially if they're looking for something with more substance.

I'm sorry, but this book just seemed so bent on getting two people together. At it's best, romance should be kept as a sub-plot, but readers like me will be horribly put to sleep if it's brought to the MAIN STAGE. This book did not excite me... I could not detect the rising action or climax anywhere, to be honest, and a story is not a story if it's all just one, straight line. I'm sorry, Dessen, but you have not convinced me.

Yes, it can be argued that the rising action and climax are held within the constantly rising relationship between Wes and Macy, but seriously. If there was any dent in Freytag's Triangle here, it would be a mere, solitary bump.

What was the purpose of this book? Why, to have a suffering teenager come to her senses and get together with the dreamboat guy. INEVITABLE. Please, please, find a different angle for your next book. It does not take much to convince me that complaints about all of Dessen's books being the same are valid.

It would be unfair to skim over the fact, however, that Dessen has potential! That is mostly the reason why I'm so angry. We have a writer who is terribly skilled at being constant to themes and such, but why must she use it to write fluffy, teenage romances?!

Dessen, I believe in you, I really do. I know this review was harsh, but it's because I KNOW you can do better than this.

Don't bore us with another hackneyed plot, please God I'm begging you. I know you have what it takes to do MUCH, MUCH better.

AMAZING!
I love Sarah Dessen as an author. This has had to be the best book of hers altogether. A timid almost perfect girl, who breaks out of her shell to show her daring and beautiful personality inside. LOVE THIS BOOK!

the best book in the world.
If you're a girl and you like teen romance books just read this. You'll love it.