I actually first read this book about 5 or 6 years ago, when one of my classmates lent me her copy. Me being me, ended up falling in love with the book and hunting down (and buying) the exact same copy as the one I first read.
If you haven't heard of the book, The Truth About Forever is a very sweet novel about letting go and starting anew. Macy, the titular character, is still struggling to deal with her father's untimely death. She does this by trying to turn into the perfect daughter - straight As, model behaviour, the whole package. But when she meets Delia and the rest at her mom's event, she's sucked into the world of catering Delia-style, where the chaos so nicely juxtaposes the order of her life.
And of course, there is the romance between Wes and Macy. I find it so sweet that they were first friends before falling in love, unless you believe Kristy, in which case Macy was the only one that didn't see it. But it felt real to have Macy go from barely-able-to-speak-two-sentences when she first met Wes and then to teasing him and playing Truth as she gets to know him better. It seems that a lot of heroines are either "fall-in-love-at-first-site" or "hate-till-love". Either they know how to hold a proper conversation straight away, or they can't until they're actually in the relationship. Isn't it nice to see one heroine that takes the middle road?
This novel is also about relationships. Apart from the friendships and romance aspects, Macy also has to deal with her family. Yup, this is a very well-rounded novel. As Macy's family is torn by grief, they all react in different ways which subtly drives them apart. Well, at the very least, it drives Macy's mom apart from her daughters, since she seems to go into denial and just ends up working harder. But of course, there's a happy ending for this too.
Overall, this is a fantastic book. It's the first Sarah Dessen book I read and definitely my favourite one(:
I have read a few of Sarah Dessen's novels and this one is the one I always come back to. While Dessen's novels do share a similar plot line, I really loved how this one flowed. I loved all of the characters, except for Jason, and Amanda and Brittany. Wes is so great!! Reading about him makes a person actually want to believe in the stuff that romance novels preach. Macy is funny and cute. While at first she doesn't know who she is, once she finds herself, she takes everything with stride and doesn't try to hold back anymore.
ReplyDeleteYay! I agree with you~ The book is wonderful isn't it? The subject material is not as "exciting" as the other YA books out now, but I think this is wonderfully written and super engrossing.
Delete^_^