The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

I want to start by saying I love Sarah Dessen. I have read most of her books and they are all so brilliant. The Truth About Forever is no different. Macy Queen is looking at a long and boring summer working at the library. The only reason she is working at the library is to hold the position for her boyfriend, Jason who will be away at brain camp all summer.

Macy has been kind of lost since her father’s death last year. Macy’s live changed the morning she changed her mind about skipping her morning run with her father. He had a heart attack and died right there in front of her. Everyone is her family is handling it differently. Her mother has removed almost all traces of Macy’s father from their home, Macy has strived to be a perfect helper for workaholic mother, a perfect contrast to her older sister Caroline's wild days, and a perfect girlfriend to her genius boyfriend.

Then Macy is dumped by Jason while he is away at camp. Now she is stuck working at the library with girls who hate her and left with nothing but studying to pass the time until she meets the employees of the completely unorganized and chaotic Wish Catering. She even finds herself working for Delia the pregnant owner of the business. And for once she enjoys the chaos that comes along with this bunch. Kristy, the crazy outgoing girl who will not take Macy’s attempts to remain antisocial slide; Monica, the girl of few words (she rarely talks but when she does it is packed with meaning); Bert, the youngest of the bunch who thinks the end of the world is near; and Wes, Bert’s older brother who spent time in a reform school after his parent's divorce and then lost his mother to cancer.

Wes and Macy seem to bond from the start. He has a girlfriend who is away just like Jason is for Macy. Their friendship quickly becomes more even though Macy won’t allow herself to see it. I have to say that I love books that introduce you to something at the beginning and then at the very end reveal it to you again and suddenly it all fits. This book provides one of those “ah ha” moments and I was left with tears in my eyes. It is the relationships she makes through Wish Catering that finally allow Macy to accept her father’s death and realize that “Forever” this moment you are in now. It can be a second or a lifetime but that is what makes it so precious.

This is a wonderful book, but I expected nothing less from Sarah Dessen.