The Truth About Forever

Infobox Book
name = The Truth About Forever
title_orig =


image_caption =
translator =
author = Sarah Dessen
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
genre = Young adult
publisher = Viking
release_date = May 11, 2004
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 374 pp
isbn = ISBN 0670036390

"The Truth About Forever" is Sarah Dessen's sixth novel. It was published in hardcover on May 11, 2004 and in paperback on April 6, 2006.

"The Truth About Forever" is a novel by Sarah Dessen, which depicts the different aspects of Macy Queen, a 17-year-old girl with a sad past, and her life. She meets a dark, handsome, mysterious boy named Wes one day while a catering service was at her house. The two end up playing a game called Truth, in which one must answer truthfully everything that the other asks. They eventually fall in love. As the book progresses, Macy meets Kristy, who is wild and energetic; Monica (monotone), who is Kristy's slow and quiet sister; and Bert, Wes's younger brother, whom she considers rather odd. Macy struggles with her relationship with her mom but gradually strengthens it with the help of her older, artsy sister.

Characters

Macy Queen - Macy is the protagonist of this book. Much of her youth was spent running with her father. Unfortunately, his fatal heart attack was the end of her running life; however, after meeting Wes and the Wish Catering crew, she learns both to run again and open up to others, slowly, but surely.

Deborah Queen - Deborah is the mother of Macy and her sister Caroline. She is a real estate agent who is still mourning the death of her husband, forgetting her daughters, and their needs, in the process. She does not openly admit her emotions until the end of the book.

Jason Talbot - Macy's brainy boyfriend. His perfection is the additive to Macy's life. While away at his ever-so-dull brain camp, Macy's life as well as her relationship with Jason were put on hold, due to many things. She was proclaimed, "not in line with his goals" and "not focused enough" (as Kristy kindly tells everyone in the Wish crew).

Caroline - Macy's sister, who used to be the trouble-maker of the house and who is now married to a man ten years her senior. Macy describes her as the emotion of the family. She tries to heal her mother through enforced plans for her dead father's wooden house by the sea.

Delia - Delia is a pregnant mother who inherited Wish Catering after her sister passed away. She likes a little bit of disorganization now, thinking that some things are meant to be the way they are, even when they are broken, imperfect or chaotic, as it's the universe's way of providing contrast. For example, she refuses to fill the huge hole in their street, nor let Pete, her husband, trade in her van (which has inoperating A/C when the radio is on), nor hire an extra partner to help her with catering after 'Wish' (her sister Melissa) died. She plays a motherly role to the teenagers working under her: Wes, Bert, Kristy, Monica, and Macy. Her mantra when under stress is "Please God I'm begging you."

Kristy - Kristy is one of the servers for Wish Catering. She was involved in car accident when she was 12, which left her with scars and temporarily bald. Free and willful, she is constantly looking for an "extraordinary" boy and wears rather flashy clothes. Since her mother left, she has lived with her younger sister, Monica, of whom she is protective, and her grandmother.

Monica/Monotone - As her nickname indicates, she speaks everything in the same tone- in fact, the only words she ever seems to say are "Mmm-hmm", "Bettaquit" and "Donneven". Kristy's less flamboyant sister, she is an accident-prone server for Wish Catering. She is a tall blonde, smokes regularly and moves slowly. She "inhales" books. Simple actions seem to exhaust her too.

Wes - Delia's older nephew, who also works for Wish Catering and handles the bar. Highly attractive, he makes sculptures of hearts in hands and angels out of common yard junk, a feat he practiced while he was incarcerated in juvenile hall. He doesn't care about looks or perfection, believing the flaws in people are what make them attractive. He was once arrested for breaking into a house with a group of his friends, though they stole nothing. He cares for those around him, especially Bert, as when his mom was terminally ill he could not be there with her and Bert. Wes is the one that opens up Macy's head to thoughts other than the SATs and being perfect for her boyfriend, Jason. In Just Listen when Annabel, Owen, and Rolly go to the World of Waffles for breakfast Annabel describes the people around her she describes Wes and Macy.

Bert- Wes's younger brother, Bert shares the same features, but is built on a shorter, rounder frame. He has the tendency to take everything very seriously and believes the end of the world is soon approaching. After getting his driver's license, he gets an old ambulance, which had been sloppily painted over, naming it the 'Bertmobile'.

External links

* * [http://www.sarahdessen.com/forever.html Sarah Dessen's The Truth About Forever page]