The Truth about The Truth About Forever

One of my most favorite things in life is when I am reading a good book and I can barely put it down. That was the case for me with Sarah Dessen's sixth book The Truth About Forever. Sixteen year old Macy Queen had the most dreadful summer to look forward too. That is until a chaotic catering company showed up at her front door one evening. Her dad had recently died of a massive heart attack while he went for a run that Macy had skipped out on because she wanted to sleep in longer. When she finally decided to get out of bed and meet her dad along their typical route she found him lying on the side walk, dead. The guilt that she had overtaken her life. On top of that, her "perfect" boyfriend and only real friend Jason left her for the summer to attend Brain Camp, a geeky summer camp where the most important thing was how to get into the best college. Since her father's death her sister and mother had both become extremely busy, just to numb the pain that they felt. The only excitement in her life was her less than fabulous job at the local library. These circumstances left Macy feeling completely and utterly alone, until Wish Catering Company walked into her life.

Wish Catering Company was a completely disorganized company that brought food to a client's house, prepared it, and served it. It was run by Delia, a spacey pregnant woman and operated by a group of not so "perfect" teens. When Wish was hired to cater a party hosted by Macy's mom at their house, they were less than prepared. Macy even ended up helping the Wish crew with the party, which began her friendship with the group of not so typical teens. Fun-loving Monica, quiet Kristy, goofy Bert, and artistic and understanding Wes taught Macy many lessons that summer. She learned how to cut loose and have fun, how to open her heart, and most important that it was okay to not be "perfect." In fact, it is the imperfections in life that make it most worth living.

This book definitely plays with the readers heart strings and I think is a perfect teen (and even adult) read. It follows the life of real teens and their real problems. It is definitely a far cry away from the cookie cutter YA lit books of the 1950s. The Truth About Forever shows how far the genre of YA literature has come. In the wake of her father's death, Macy cut all happiness out of her life. She told herself that what is okay to shut herself out from the rest world and to spend her time living safely. However, her friends from Wish opened Macy's eyes to the joys of living and loving. In the end, Macy learned that by living life safely, she actually stopped living. The Truth About Forever provides valuable lessons that I believe all teens can learn from.

I conclusion, I just want to leave you with a quote from the book.

"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."