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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
Yep, you heard me. I don't like Sarah Dessen books because it's too realistic. That's totally insane, right?
This is why I'm going to say you don't have to listen to my opinion on this. Dessen's writing is fantastic, and all her characters (for the most part), are believable. The reason I don't like them is because I'm one of those girls who doesn't like being realistic. I like fairy tales and romance that lights up a room, where the two people are obviously soul mates. The pattern I've noticed with this book and the only other Dessen book I've read, Along For The Ride, is that the romance actually happens like it would in real life, meaning the feelings develop at a painfully slow pace and nothing too heart stopping happens at all. Most of the scenes are pretty much every day life stuff.
My favorite character was Delia, which I find interesting because she may be the first female character I've actually really really liked in a book. She was great, and I could picture her clearly.
I had one other problem with this, though: Macy's mom. And honestly, it's because I relate. Macy's mom has this perfect little mold in which she wants Macy to forever stay. She doesn't accept her when she changes, even though she changes for the better. My dad is just like this, never accepting anything I do on my own. And I suppose I should have felt good about relating to it, but it just made me really mad because Macy was understanding to her mom, even though her mom didn't deserve it. Which is so dumb for me to think that, because that's obviously the better thing for Macy to do. I don't know, basically, the two reasons I didn't like this book were because of personal problems.
Ages 14&up: Cussing. Drinking. Some sexual talk.
Continuing my Sarah Dessen backlist kick, I picked this book up in early June while I was travelling to visit family. This book felt like the opposite of my High School experience in many ways. Macy has her life organized and put together because her own mother's life as a writer is completely disorganized. Macy rebels against touchy-feely relationships because her mother falls in and out of love and marriages like the changing of the seasons. So Macy has the perfect distanced boyfriend who is helping her build her resume and structure her time efficiently and productively, and Macy takes no time to be a teenager figuring her way in the world.
Macy's sister is really bothered by this fact, and continues to encourage Macy to go out and have some wild times. This was one part of this book that was supposed to be a "good thing" but really just rubbed me the wrong way. I think it's okay for teenagers to be organized if they want to be. Macy's sister was trying to get her to have some fun, but fun doesn't have to be High School parties and late nights out. In the end, Dessen reveals a nice compromise between Macy's previously boring life and what her sister thinks she should be doing.
I love Macy's catering job with Wish. Those scenes perfectly describe the controlled chaos that is the food industry. I love working in the food industry for all of the chaos and last minute changes that are required. The people Macy meets while working at Wish are these incredibly full humans with all of their own drama and goals and experiences that open up a full world of possibilities to Macy. I love Wes's art.
If you're not one for touchy-feely teen coming of age stories, don't bother picking this book up. It reads just like all of Sarah Dessen's other books, which I'm discovring is something I really enjoy. I love character driven novels, I love reading about people exploring every day life.
A magyar kiadással két problémám volt. Először is, a címe szerintem félrevezető, mert az eredeti “The Truth About Forever“az egész regénynek más hangsúlyt ad, mint a Tökéletes. Azzal a címmel olvasva Macynek azzal kell szembenéznie, hogy semmi sem tart örökké és be kell látnia, hogy ez még nem feltétlenül rossz, vagy éppen bizonytalanságra ad okot. A regényt ilyen szellemben olvasva nem a tökéletesség mibenléte volna a fő mozgatórugója. A másik pedig, hogy bár a fordítás élvezetes volt, a könyv tele volt helyesírási hibákkal elírásokkal amelyek itt-ott zavaróak voltak.
Részletesebben: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2011/02/19/sarah_dessen_tokeletes/
When Jason leaves for a prestigious summer "Brain Camp," Macy feels lost. She hates her summer job at the library, but soon finds herself working for Wish Catering, a job her mother thinks is beneath her, but one where Macy finds new friends and a sense of deep connection that helps her finally begin to work through her grief.
Moving and hopeful.
This book conveys the message of the beauty of imperfection. The appealing effect of chaos in the middle of a well-organized life.
I know nothing's perfect, that's what it was all about. But Wes was close to it - to perfection. He was just (as the author said) strikingly gorgeous.
Other than that, I don't know but I understand Macy's dilemmas. About Manda and Bethany. About her mom.
Yes, this book was great.