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A review by yohina1989
The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen
3.0
Finally, I am no longer a Sarah Dessen virgin!
Now with that out of the way, let’s get to the story. Macy’s dad passed away a year and a half ago. Since then, things hadn’t been the same. Macy never truly grieved for her father. Instead, she focused on being the perfect daughter and dating the perfect boyfriend. Until her boyfriend goes to a camp for the summer and she’s left behind with a long summer working at the library where her co-workers hate her.
“It’s not that I believe everything happens for a reason,” she said. “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.”
The book started really slow for me. Since it’s my first Dessen book, I’m not sure if it’s her writing style, or just Macy as the narrator, but it was way to calm for me. I couldn’t sense any excitement in Macy most of the time, so as the day dragged on for her, the story dragged on for me. The only time there was even a hint of fun was when the people of Wish Catering showed up. Unlike Macy, who likes everything perfect and planned and organized, Wish was chaos. Things went wrong all the time for Wish Catering, and somehow Macy found herself getting sucked into this world, away from her routine and plans.
Suddenly I just missed my mother – who once stared at the ocean, who laughed huge belly laughs – so much it was like a pain, something throbbing.
The book focused mainly on Macy finally letting herself grief and getting over her father’s death enough to move on with her life. While the story was almost too normal for me, slowly but surely I saw Macy change little by little throughout the book. It just happened at a turtle’s pace for me. At page 300 I was ready for Macy to stand up for herself against her mother and just let out all her feelings, but she just couldn’t.
“You,” I said, “have this whole tall, dark stranger thing going on. Not to mention the tortured artist bit.”
Then there was Wes. I definitely didn’t “sa-woon” over him. Usually, when I read about a swoonworthy hero, I can imagine him perfectly in my head, but with Wes, I really couldn’t. He just didn’t have that alpha maleness. Also, half the time I can’t tell what he’s thinking. The only reason I know he liked Macy was probably from the blurb. He never really showed any outward emotions toward Macy. No wonder Macy was clueless. I couldn’t get that he liked her either. I liked that they were good friends first though, but I just wish it didn’t take them the entire book to get together. There were just not enough sigh worthy moments in the book, in my opinion.
Regardless, the story, while not my usual cup of tea, was still enjoyable. There was just something relaxing when reading about regular teenagers having regular problems. If only this book had wittier dialogue, and more emotional outburst, I’d have enjoyed it a lot more. But if contemporary YA is your thing, I’m sure you will love it. Will I read another Sarah Dessen book? Probably. But that’ll be a while from now.
Now with that out of the way, let’s get to the story. Macy’s dad passed away a year and a half ago. Since then, things hadn’t been the same. Macy never truly grieved for her father. Instead, she focused on being the perfect daughter and dating the perfect boyfriend. Until her boyfriend goes to a camp for the summer and she’s left behind with a long summer working at the library where her co-workers hate her.
“It’s not that I believe everything happens for a reason,” she said. “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.”
The book started really slow for me. Since it’s my first Dessen book, I’m not sure if it’s her writing style, or just Macy as the narrator, but it was way to calm for me. I couldn’t sense any excitement in Macy most of the time, so as the day dragged on for her, the story dragged on for me. The only time there was even a hint of fun was when the people of Wish Catering showed up. Unlike Macy, who likes everything perfect and planned and organized, Wish was chaos. Things went wrong all the time for Wish Catering, and somehow Macy found herself getting sucked into this world, away from her routine and plans.
Suddenly I just missed my mother – who once stared at the ocean, who laughed huge belly laughs – so much it was like a pain, something throbbing.
The book focused mainly on Macy finally letting herself grief and getting over her father’s death enough to move on with her life. While the story was almost too normal for me, slowly but surely I saw Macy change little by little throughout the book. It just happened at a turtle’s pace for me. At page 300 I was ready for Macy to stand up for herself against her mother and just let out all her feelings, but she just couldn’t.
“You,” I said, “have this whole tall, dark stranger thing going on. Not to mention the tortured artist bit.”
Then there was Wes. I definitely didn’t “sa-woon” over him. Usually, when I read about a swoonworthy hero, I can imagine him perfectly in my head, but with Wes, I really couldn’t. He just didn’t have that alpha maleness. Also, half the time I can’t tell what he’s thinking. The only reason I know he liked Macy was probably from the blurb. He never really showed any outward emotions toward Macy. No wonder Macy was clueless. I couldn’t get that he liked her either. I liked that they were good friends first though, but I just wish it didn’t take them the entire book to get together. There were just not enough sigh worthy moments in the book, in my opinion.
Regardless, the story, while not my usual cup of tea, was still enjoyable. There was just something relaxing when reading about regular teenagers having regular problems. If only this book had wittier dialogue, and more emotional outburst, I’d have enjoyed it a lot more. But if contemporary YA is your thing, I’m sure you will love it. Will I read another Sarah Dessen book? Probably. But that’ll be a while from now.