The Truth About Forever
by Sarah Dessen
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: May 11, 2004
A long, hot summer…
That’s what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs, and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the traumatic loss of Macy’s father.
But sometimes, unexpected things can happen—things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister’s project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the kind of boy who could turn any girl’s world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to question her sheltered life.
Is it really always better to be safe than sorry?
Quotes:
“It’s just that…I just think that some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic. It’s the universe’s way of providing contrast, you know? There have to be a few holes in the road. It’s how life is.”
“What you have to decide… is how you want your life to be. If your forever was ending tomorrow, would this be how you’d want to have spent it? Listen, the truth is, nothing is guaranteed. You know that more than anybody. So dont be afraid. Be alive.”
“Life can be long or short, it all depends on how you choose to live it. it’s like forever, always changing. for any of us our forever could end in an hour, or a hundred years from now. you can never know for sure, so you’d better make every second count. what you have to decide is how you want your life to be. if your forever was ending tomorrow, is this how you’d want to have spent it?”
“That was the thing. You just never knew. Forever was so many different things. It was always changing, it was what everything was really all about. It was twenty minutes, or a hundred years, or just this instant, or any instant I wished would last and last. But there was only one truth about forever that really mattered, and that was this: it was happening.”
REVIEW: (date read: May 8, 2014)
This is the first ever Sarah Dessen novel I’ve read and I could say that this started my addiction (in a good way, folks) to her novels. I love this book not only because of the characters (Wes will make you sa-wooon and Macy will make you want to give her strength to stand up for what she truly likes) but also because of the lesson about life it taught me. We always want our lives to be perfect, to go the way we planned it. but as Dessen said, sometimes in life, our plans may not go as we pleased, it may not be perfect, because once in a while, we need these imperfections to make us realize that it is okay to make mistakes whenever we take risks. There are times in love worth-risking for. Sometimes you just have to do it. Just like Kristy said, “you don’t think or plan. You just do it!”
Truth is an intriguing game to play. It could build a strong relationship out of it because you will the person just the way he/she is. There’s no barrier. Just Truth.
The Truth About Forever is written wisely. The characters are easy to relate to and love. This book has its own twists and turns which made me love it even more. All in all, it’s definitely a book to recommend to friends and family ❤
MY RATING: 5 OF 5!!! ❤
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
SARAH DESSEN is the author of twelve novels for young adults. All her novels have received literary nominations and awards. That Summer and Someone Like You were adapted for the movie How to Deal starring Mandy More. Sarah Dessen’s most recent novel is Saint Anything.
Sarah Dessen says, “As far back as I can remember, I’ve been writing. I’ve always had a wild imagination, and I love to embellish stories to make them more interesting. When I was a kid I created these intricate histories for all my stuffed animals and dollhouse families, which I would type out at this old manual typewriter my parents set up for me. I kept writing all through middle school, and in high school I got diverted a bit, but I picked it up again in college. I really didn’t think I’d actually be a writer – until I graduated and found that I just couldn’t stop and go get a real job. Even if I hadn’t sold a book by now, I’d still be writing. It becomes a part of you, just something you do.”
Ms. Dessen lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband, Jay, and teaches creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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check out her other novels here!
Title: Saint Anything
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: May 5, 2015
Peyton, Sydney’s charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion’s share of their parents’ attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton’s increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?
Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.
Title: The Moon and More
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.
Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo’s sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.
Emaline’s mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he’s convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?
Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she’s going?
Title: What Happened to Goodbye
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: May 10, 2011
Who is the real McLean?
Since her parents’ bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother’s new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out.
Title: Along for the Ride
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: June 16, 2009
It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.
A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.
Title: Lock & Key
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: January 1, 2008
Ruby, where is your mother?
Ruby knows that the game is up. For the past few months, she’s been on her own in the yellow house, managing somehow, knowing that her mother will probably never return.
That’s how she comes to live with Cora, the sister she hasn’t seen in ten years, and Cora’s husband Jamie, whose down-to-earth demeanor makes it hard for Ruby to believe he founded the most popular networking Web site around. A luxurious house, fancy private school, a new wardrobe, the promise of college and a future; it’s a dream come true. So why is Ruby such a reluctant Cinderella, wary and defensive? And why is Nate, the genial boy next door with some secrets of his own, unable to accept the help that Ruby is just learning to give?
Title: Just Listen
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: April 6, 2006
Last year, Annabel was “the girl who has everything” — at least that’s the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf’s Department Store.
This year, she’s the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.
Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen’s help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.
Title: This Lullaby
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: May 27, 2002
When it comes to relationships, Remy doesn’t mess around. After all, she’s learned all there is to know from her mother, who’s currently working on husband number five. But there’s something about Dexter that seems to defy all of Remy’s rules. He certainly doesn’t seem like Mr. Right. For some reason, however, Remy just can’t seem to shake him. Could it be that Remy’s starting to understand what those love songs are all about?
Title: Dreamland
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: September 1, 2000
Wake up, Caitlin
Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He’s magnetic. He’s compelling. He’s dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else–her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him?
Title: Keeping the Moon
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: September 1, 1999
Colie expects the worst when she’s sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira while her mother, queen of the television infomercial, tours Europe. Always an outcast — first for being fat and then for being “easy” — Colie has no friends at home and doesn’t expect to find any in Colby, North Carolina. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Cafe and meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, best friends with a loving yet volatile relationship. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along
Title: Someone Like You
Genre: YA Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Release Date: May 1, 1998
Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she’s carrying his baby, she was devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it’ll never break–because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.
Title: That Summer
Genre: YA Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Romance
Release Date: 1996
For fifteen-year-old Haven, life is changing too quickly. She’s nearly six feet tall, her father is getting remarried, and her sister—the always perfect Ashley—is planning a wedding of her own. Haven wishes things could just go back to the way they were. Then an old boyfriend of Ashley’s reenters the picture, and through him, Haven sees the past for what it really was, and comes to grips with the future.
mrylsliest 
