The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
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.
A girl who is in search of perfection finds her perfect life doesn't look exactly like she planned.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This is required reading for YA fans! (Here's my list of amazing YA books).Let me start with the elephant in the room. Before I met my husband I was in love with someone else. I have never gotten over him and still think of him often. That's right, I am talking about my first fictional boyfriend, Wes. And he lives in the pages of The Truth About Forever. Now before you go on and on saying that you also loved Wes, let me tell you that our love is good and it is true- so don't go trying to make it anything other than that with your false tales of your swooning heart! Now that we've gotten that out of the way, you can see why Wes is the first thing mentioned under things that I liked in this book.This is a reread. To be truthful, I reread this book every year. Every. Year. Since it was published. I told you my love for Wes was real! So to be clear, this was published in 2004. I'm pretty certain I read it back to back when I got it, so that brings my total to 15 times read! I guess you could say I like this book.Sarah Dessen came out with a gauntlet of perfect YA books in the early 2000s. And don't let this whole "YA" tag fool you. She writes heavy topics that also happen to have swoon worthy love stories in them.In this book, Macy is trying to cope with life after her dad died. Dessen does an amazing job of giving you all of the feels of loss, and the repercussions of choosing the way you're going to mourn. Macy is a crazy flawed character. She is insecure and wants total control. She never speaks her own voice and she hides in other people's shadows. And she is somehow so likable.Macy and her mom have so many realistic interactions that it is sometimes stressful to read. Me being me, I wanted all Wes scenes all day long. The worst part about this book is going from being with the fictional love of my life, directly into the next scene of a crappy interaction with Macy's mom! I found myself saying, "I don't care about your mom damn it! I want Wes!" And then the librarian would graciously ask me to lower my voice and refrain from using curse words while watching my kids play at the library.Have I ranted on and on about this book enough to convince you to read it? No... okay here comes my second wind.Just kidding. Go get this book!Ps. You can order a personalized book from Sarah Dessen here. I personally would like a dedication stating that she acknowledges that I am Wes' true love but that she felt she couldn't write about our nonfiction love so she wrote Macy instead. That's reasonable, right?
This is a great summer read! But since it is required reading- pick it up any time!
Listen to my "The Truth About Forever Mini Playlist:"-Summertime romance by Johnnyswim-Something Stupid by Michael Bublé ft Reese Witherspoon- Catching Feelings by Justin Bieber-I Run To You by Lady AntebellumPicture the following actors as the characters in this book:Wes: Bob Morley, Shawn Mendes, Liam Hemsworth, Logan LermanMacy's mom: Lauren Graham, Julia Roberts,Macy: Dakota Fanning, Lily Collins, Emma WatsonKristy: (way younger) Kirsten Dunst, Jennifer LawrenceMonica: Taylor Momsen, Carly ChaikinJason: Michael Welch, Freddie Highmore, Lucas TillBert: Jack O'connell, Taron EgertonEat: MeatballsDo: Go for a RunWatch: A news special on Armageddon