The Truth About Forever

After reading many reviews of Sarah Dessen's books, I finally gave it a chance and tried her delicious writing. First of all, notice that the person that are writing here is an assumed nostalgic one, so I ask that you fall under any sentimental exaggeration. The Truth About Forever has the simplest plot you can imagine, full of everyday situations and common dialogs made by truly believable characters. Sarah Dessen tells the story of Macy, a teenager who lost his father just over a year, lives with her mother - who hides her feelings under work - and are dating Jason, a "genius" boy who will spend the summer vacation at Brain Camp. We can easily identify ourselves with Macy and her will - or the others - to be perfect, to have the perfect boyfriend, the perfect job, the perfect life. She thinks this is normal, this is happines, this is future, until she meets the not perfect at all Wes, Bert, Kristy, Delia and Monica, who are part of Wish Catering. And can I say? I've never liked chaos so much in my life! These characters are fantastic, full of flaws, super funny and will make Macy smile and feel a happiness like she's never imagined possible. And Wes? This artist character will make Macy's little heart beat faster, will make her hands sweat and will take her breath away. Without even notice, he will make Macy understand that nobody and nothing is perfect and they will give joy and happiness a new meaning. The most amazing about this book is that nothing is fanciful, everything is beautifully simple and plausible. The author's ability to talk about teenage feelings and situations makes everyone drooling and wish getting back adolescence. Yes! I saw me backing to my adolescence at every page, every accelerated heart, every hand that drenched by anxiety, every folly of a friend, every spoken word without thinking, every declared truth. I don't know what is it about YA books that teens don't read as teenagers - I speak for myself, which was a fan of authors such as Agatha Christie and Sidney Sheldon. It seems we care more for the YA when this teenage phase is over, when what is left is just the nostalgia and fond memories of moments that do not come back. Or at least they didn't, until I met Sarah Dessen. Thanks, miss Dessen! *** (I'm really sorry about any mistakes this review may contain. English is not my first language and I'm just trying to improve it)

This is the rare book that brings together the two sides of me: mother and daughter. The mom in me wanted to wrap my arms around the main character and shelter her from all the pain, but the teenager in me understood the bumpy process she needed to go through to figure out who she needed to be. In my humble opinion, Judy Blume is the authority on teenagers and coming of age stories. But, dare I say... Sarah Dessen is this generation's Judy Blume. And I can say that with some authority, since I have a preteen daughter who I know would love this book and I devoured all of Blume's books during my own teenage years. Macy faces all the typical facets of teenagerdom, but all of that seems inconsequential when she witnesses her dad die. To cope, Macy surrounds herself with safety and routine. Unfortunately, safety is keeping her from living, something she's not aware of until Delia and her band of helpers come to cater one of Macy's Mom's parties. Then her "safe" boyfriend, gone for the summer to Brain Camp, sends her an email asking for a cooling off period. How do you cool off something that never had any heat?! Macy joins the catering crew and slowly comes back to life, bringing a damaged Wes, who lost his mother to cancer, on the journey with her. More than anything, I wanted Macy to embrace life and start enjoying youth, but I also wanted Wes to heal and be part of Macy's new life. One of the characters gives this advice in the book: "For any one of us our forever could end in an hour, or ... years from now. You can never know for sure, so you'd better make every second count." Great advice for young and old, and I'd classify this book as making your reading time count! Thanks to Sarah Dessen's excellent story and character development, I can't think of a reader who wouldn't love this book. Okay, maybe male readers who only want action or people who insist a story must have a paranormal angle. And, wait, if you've never been a teenager, you might not understand. All others, get your box of Kleenex, find a comfortable spot to sit, and dive in. You'll be glad you did.

"But here was only one truth about forever that really mattered, and that was this: it was happening." The Truth About Forever is such a beautiful story that I wished I could live in Macy's shoes. I kept thinking to myself that this is going to happen or that is surly going to happen but it never worked out how I thought it would. That was both a good thing and a bad thing. Most of the time I wanted to throw this book across the room or throw this book at someones head or want to go inside the pages and throttle someone. If a book can get me to feel like that then it a page-turner and an amazing read. I would recommend this book for anyone who loves to read a story with no paranormal preference or want to read a story about real life situation and relationships then this is a book for you.

I have very high standards for books. I've read several of Dessen's works and while I didn't like all of them, I loved this one. When I read Along for the Ride and This Lullaby, I enjoyed them because of her writing style but I had a difficult time in both cases connecting to the main character and as a result I probably wouldn't read them a second time. I say this as a disclaimer because I realize a lot of five star reviews are filled with compliments about the book and it makes them seem one-sided. At this point, I've read The Truth About Forever five times. Each time I read it, I find something new to like about it. I laugh in places, cry a little in places, and it always cheers me up by the end because it ends on a positive note. Having lost my own father, witnessing his death much like Macy did for her own father, I found these scenes and anything to do with her grief to be easy to connect to and extremely realistic. The EZ products arriving being a message from her dad was a great addition. Macy, as a character, is an average girl who tries to be perfect. At one time in her life she was a fiercely talented runner (a mile in 5:05 min is something to brag about) but she gave this up after her dad passed away. Since then she has recurring nightmares about trying to run and failing at it. Since her father's death she's taken up yoga, gotten involved with several school clubs, and is a hardworking student-striving for perfect grades. All of this happens after she meets Jason Talbot who "embodies perfection." Realistically, he embodies arrogance and immaturity but once you see his parents and a couple of his peers, it's understandable where he gets it. Some readers may have a problem with the portrayals of these characters as it will seem shallow and one-sided at times but I can tell you from experience that people like this really do exist. Macy and her mother have an unspoken contract regarding their relationship. Macy is supposed to be the younger version of her mother while Caroline, Macy's older sister, was more like the father. What we find out immediately is that neither one of them truly knows the other very well but this is reconciled in a fitting way. My personal favorite scenes were those with Wish Catering. Seeing Macy's perfect world so free of chaos get shattered for a few hours every night was hilarious. Eventually, it got her to realize that it was impossible to control the things around her. Her mother undergoes a similar experience, but I don't want to give anything away. People who have gone through the shocking loss of a loved one will truly appreciate this book. It's much more than a love story (though it's a wonderful love story, as well). It's about growing, changing, and accepting the things you can't control. It's also about realizing that right now isn't forever and life is always changing.

I was getting a bit lazy with my reading and I decided to give a Sarah Dessen book a read because I had read her book called Just Listen and I remember that I really enjoyed reading that book as well. After finishing it I realized that this was the book I needed to read. I can really agree with Macy about the way she felt in the beginning of the book. She was really upset by losing her dad but she met people that really showed her that they way she was "living" her life wasn't living at all. My friend and I had a similar discussion about this whether we are really living or we think we are. Life can get us in such a routine that we don't see the other possibilities. Especially now when everyone is stuck at home and everything is becoming a routine you realize how much you miss those spontaneous moments where they weren't planned in you daily schedule. I also find myself a bit envious of Macy. She was able to make a change in her life with the help of her friends, she realized that what she was doing wasn't really living. When schools were open before Covid started to really worsen I cherished ever single day with my friends because there was never a boring day with them. But even having amazing friends and truly an amazing life in my opinion life really felt like a routine that you couldn't really escape, so many expectations with no room for mess ups because you didn't want to look like you were struggling. I now realize how important it is to recognize these feelings and share them with the people you are close to. In every moment there is always something new to learn and each book is a very valuable lesson even if it doesn't really seem like it. I know that I won't be forgetting this book and I will make sure to implement what I have learned here into my daily life. So just a message for me if you are still here live life, you don't always need to think of the consequences. Don't focus on your future or past live in the moment because you will never get it back, cherish the time you spend with the people you love and work your hardest to make them your priority. A life without love and people in your life is truly one that no one would want to live in I promise you.

All in all, I liked the book. It was a little slow moving, but you can't help but fall in love with Wes, along with the main character and I found her responses to situation frequently relatable. Pros: Well-written Complex characters Wes is awesome Cons: Slow-moving Reads a little more like a third person book, even though it's written in first person In my personal opinion, a little too much details about unnecessary actions or places This wasn't an all-time favorite for me, but it really was an interesting and enjoyable story. And I really liked the way it ended.

I love Sarah Dessen's characters, and the ensemble of 'The Truth about Forever' didn't disappoint. At first I wasn't sure I would like Macy, she seemed too meek and easily pushed around. However I was soon 'rooting' for her! The subject matter deals with grief and the strange things it does to us. Grief is universal but also unpredictable. And Dessen manages to capture that beautifully. We see various characters dealing with it in their own ways (some better than others). The book is also about being true to yourself, that sounds a bit corny, but it is handled really well, and certainly the hardest thing to do when you are a young adult. Despite the heavy subject matter; and Macy dealing with the loss of her father and the impact that has had on her family, it is still hilarious at times. Just like life I suppose. I really laughed out loud a few times. And found myself saying 'Aww', especially around one of the minor characters Bert. I loved him, he really wears his heart on his sleeve, whether it's with too much cologne or driving like a grandma! For Dessen fans there is a tie in with her other books. I love that- makes me feel like I am part of a secret club, and keeping in touch with old friends. But if you haven't read any of her other books it makes no difference to your enjoyment of the story I can assure you. It's just a little bonus for die hard fans! A great read for young adults, and those beyond- I enjoyed it immensely and am far beyond being a 'young' adult!

I was hooked from the beginning , which is always a good sign in a book. Macy, the mc, has gone through quite a bit in her young life. As she steps out of her comfort zone and begins to grow , instead of staying stagnant as she had been , you see such a development of her character. It's a beautiful transition as she learns to deal with life and how to handle her emotions. Great book, recommend it.

Sarah Dessen is absolutely phenomenal and her writing speaks to the soul. While many put her under the genre romance, I think that her books are so much nore than that. Family, friendship, loss, identity, self acceptance and of course, love. Hands down one of my favourite authors!

I read this book at the age of 15. I took it on holiday with me and literally read it about 6 or 7 times in the space of two weeks. I have never been able to finish a book, then turn it back to the first page and start reading it all over again, until I found this book. I have been a fan of Sarah Dessen from about the age of 14. I have read all of her books and even now at 22 I am still excitedly anticipating the release of her latest book. Back to this one. This has always been my favourite purely for the reason that it's exceptional. Sarah has the ability to make you feel what the character feels which I think is absolutely incredible and most authors don't accomplish it. The relationships between the characters was amazing and I actually felt like I was there, I was part of this weird little family that Macy had found. The storyline was brilliant. If I was to summarise it I would say, it's a coming of age story of a teenage girl feeling the pressure of school, family, work and annoyingly "perfect" boyfriend. She finds an escape from everything with an interesting group of people who would change her life completely. I can't really say anything else about it without giving too much away. All I can say is I don't think this book will ever get old. It has humour, it has sadness, and it has acceptance. It purely brilliant and I don't think I will ever tire of reading it. If you purchase a book today, make sure it's this one. You will not regret it.

LOVED this story. It was filled with all kinds of fun and quarky characters, but also characters who felt as real as the air I'm breathing. It hit so close to home with the main character grieving the loss of her father. The book dealt with grief and loss in a very real way, and helped me make sense of things I've never really thought through since facing similar grief of my own. It is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend to all.

A good read

I bought this book because I love to read and found this a very good book and would read it again. The only thing I found was that even though they are different books they more or less follow the same story but with different characters and settings.