The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

A year and a half after her father's death, Macy is trying to be perfect. Trying not to grieve too much or upset her mother in anyway, she has pretty much withdrawn into herself. Facing a summer at the information desk with two snotty girls who clearly think she is not good enough, Macy is just trying to hang on. That is until she meets the catering crew at one of her mother's parties. Drawn to their chaotic but loveable style, Macy begins to pull out of herself and look around at the world and maybe finally deal with the loss of her father.

First, a small rant. Student workers at the information desk answering actual reference questions? No. I don't think so. At least not at any library I have worked at and certainly not high schoolers. That is what librarians are for. Allow me to get on my librarian soapbox for a minute. Not everyone who works at a library is a librarian. Shocking I know. Librarians are usually the one working the reference desk and do a lot in administration. Childrens programs are often (but not always) run by librarians. Same for teen programs. Usually there is a librarian in charge in either case. Librarians go to school to obtain their MLIS (Masters of Library and Information Science or the ilk) and have been trained to do this work. It may seem strange to an outsider and no one is expecting the public at large to know the difference between a librarian and a library specialist (paraprofessional). But the distinction is there. *end soapbox* So 3 high schoolers working the information desk is probably not a thing that would happen. Maybe it does and I just have never encountered that kind of library. But at most they would be pointing out the bathroom and where to find a novel. Not answering in depth reference questions. This aggravated me as it seemed there was no librarian (or adult for that matter) in charge of these girls and there clearly would have been in a real world situation. /rant

Anyway, this was a much better Sarah Dessen for me. I read This Lullaby a few years back and walked away with a sort of meh impression of Dessen. I couldn't figure out the hype. But I've recently gotten into a contemporary kind of mood and thought I'd give Dessen another try. This was better. I didn't feel too old to be reading it unlike the last book. I still don't think I'll ever be a Dessen superfan but I don't think I'll go 3 years in between books either.

Macy's mother is a ridiculous kind of mother though. I know she is dealing with a lot but she makes absolutely no time to talk to her daughter or understand her daughter's new friends. So it's no wonder their relationship has deteriorated to its current state. And Macy doesn't really help either with all her pretending to be fine-just-fine. If you say that enough then the person asking will start to believe you. It was nice to see her journey to opening up and exploring a new world and finding happiness. I liked Macy and I felt sorry for her. I liked Wes and the other people who work at Wish, the catering company Macy goes to work for. They are a motley crew but good people and a great group of friends for Macy. I do wish the ending hadn't wrapped up as neatly as it did. More needed to be explored between Macy and her mother. I would have liked to have more of their relationship and less of Macy and Wes. But maybe that's just me.