The Truth about Forever

The Truth about Forever, by Sarah Dessen, was a fun read, which was quite interesting to read a second time. I had previously read the book several years ago, but found I understood it better and enjoyed it more the second time. One thing I picked up on the second time was the structure of the chapters, and how they were parallel to the plot. At the beginning of the book, the first several chapters were consistently about either her parents or her job at the library—two boring, and connected topics. For the majority of the novel, however, Dessen alternated chapters between the parents/library theme and an exciting job at “Wish Catering” and the unusual people there. Overall, the book was about the main character’s, Macy, struggle balancing these two parts of her life. Towards, the end of the book, these topics collided. The last several chapters were about how her mother reacted with her new life at Wish, and how she dealt with her mother’s reaction. Chapters did not and could not alternate, for they began to mesh together, just like Macy’s two separate lives.