The Truth About Forever (2004) is a young adult contemporary romance by Sarah Dessen. The novel follows Macy Queen, a teen girl struggling to heal from the tragic death of her father, only to find that the answers lie not in chasing perfection and control but embracing the unpredictable and chaotic joys of life. The Truth About Forever is Sarah Dessen’s sixth published novel and won the 2004 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for Urban Fantasy, the 2007 South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Books, and the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award. The novel explores themes including The Illusion of Perfection, Diverse Manifestations of Grief, and Embracing the Unpredictability of Life.

This guide refers to the e-book edition published in 2004 by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group.

Content Warning: The source material features depictions of codependency and the death of a parent.

Plot Summary

The day after Christmas, Macy Queen’s father dies of a heart attack during a morning run. Macy wakes to join him minutes after he leaves but is unable to reach him in time to save him. A year and a half later, Macy has lost her passion for running, and she and her mother, Deborah, struggle to cope with the grief of his death.

Just after her father’s death, Macy meets the intelligent Jason Talbot, who seemingly has all the answers. Macy begins dating him, convinced he’ll be able to make sense of her broken pieces. After over a year, though, their relationship still lacks deep physical and emotional affection.

At the beginning of summer, Jason leaves for Brain Camp, an eight-week program for high achievers. Macy takes over his job at the library information desk while he’s gone. The position is miserable because Jason’s coworkers, Amanda and Bethany, are very condescending. Macy writes an email to Jason explaining her situation, but he is apathetic toward her struggles. Macy responds to the invalidation of her feelings by pulling Jason closer and saying “I love you” for the first time.

When the chaotic Wish Catering team works a job for Queen Homes, Deborah’s real estate development company, Macy meets pregnant Delia, her nephews Wes and Bert, Monica, and her sister Kristy. After several accidents, Macy helps the team and surprisingly enjoys the fast-paced environment. When Delia offers her a job, Macy declines, but when the library doesn’t improve and Jason’s next email suggests they take a break because things are becoming too serious and he needs to focus on his goals, Macy changes her mind.

Delia allows Macy to begin immediately. The night is chaotic, with disasters around every corner, which stresses Macy out. However, the team handles each disaster with calm and confidence. At the end of her first night, Kristy invites her out with the crew to drive around in Bert’s converted ambulance named “the Bertmobile,” but Macy declines the offer.

One night, Delia frantically calls Macy to help make 200 sandwiches for a catering event the following day. Macy agrees but gets stuck in a massive pothole that Wes must tow her out of. As Macy makes sandwiches with Delia, Delia explains how her sister, Melissa, who was Wes and Bert’s mother, died of breast cancer and left a huge hole in her life. Like the pothole, Delia believes that some gaps in life are meant to be endured. Macy relates Delia’s outlook to the hole that her own father left in her life, wondering if instead of avoiding it by pretending at perfection, she should acknowledge and work through it.

Macy’s sister, Caroline, returns to town and suggests renovating their father’s dilapidated beach house. Deborah is against any mention of her late husband, instead wondering if they should just tear the house down. Caroline wears her down, assuring that she’ll handle the renovations and all they’ll have to do is come visit for a week at the end of summer.

Macy becomes friends with the catering team members and finally agrees to join the team in the Bertmobile and attend various parties. As Macy’s friendship with Kristy and Monica grows, they help her see how Jason is not good for her. Meanwhile, as Macy plays competitive games of “truth” with Wes where they divulge all their secrets with one another, he becomes the only person Macy can be fully herself around. Macy learns that Wes is an artist who makes the beautiful sculptures she’s seen around town, and when she comes upon his booth at the local farmer’s market one day, he gives her one for free. Wes went to Myers School for four months as punishment for breaking into someone’s house with friends, an act of rebellion after his parents’ divorce. While there, he met his current girlfriend, Becky, who is in and out of trouble and is stuck in Evergreen Care Center until the end of summer.

Macy and Wes become closer, but with the impending return of their partners, both are hesitant to acknowledge their growing feelings for one another. Their game of truth comes to a head when Macy asks what one thing Wes would do if he could do anything. He passes on the question, which means that if Macy answers his next question, she’ll win. Afraid to let the game end, Wes decides to wait to ask the next question.

When Deborah learns of Wes’s past and believes the Wish Catering team is a bad influence, she forbids Macy from seeing them outside of work. Deborah also mentions that Jason is coming to town to visit his grandmother, who has fallen ill. The following day, Wes visits Macy at the library while she waits for Jason to arrive. When he mentions how the team could use her help on the latest chaotic catering job, Macy realizes she’s had enough at the library and doesn’t plan to re-enter a relationship with Jason. Macy quits and leaves with Wes.

The catering job goes eerily well but ends in chaos after Delia’s water breaks. When Macy returns home, Deborah grounds her, forcing her to quit her catering job and work for her at Queen Homes. For weeks, Macy accepts her miserable reality. Jason, who has left again for Brain Camp, apologizes to Macy over email and expresses hopes to reconcile. Macy panics at the idea of returning to her life before. She sneaks out to find Wes and admit her feelings for him, but Wes acts strangely, insisting he’s got errands to complete. Macy believes that Wes has lost interest in her after realizing she’s not as perfect as she pretends to be.  She later sees Wes at World of Waffles with his girlfriend, Becky, and assumes he’s rekindled their relationship.

Macy allows two weeks to pass without answering Wes’s calls. Deborah becomes more and more stressed as she prepares for her gala celebrating the launch of her luxury townhomes. When Caroline announces the beach house renovations are complete and Deborah declines a visit, claiming work is most important, their family issues are thrust into the light. Caroline calls out Deborah’s failure to properly confront her grief over her husband’s death and blames her for making Macy miserable by secluding her from her friends.

When Deborah’s perfectly planned event rapidly falls apart, she hires Delia’s catering team to save the day. Kristy mentions that Wes broke up with Becky weeks ago, causing Macy to regret pushing him away. As the start of Deborah’s gala draws nearer, the disasters reach epic proportions, causing her perfectly composed demeanor to shatter. Macy seizes the opportunity to bond with her mother about the grief over her father’s death. Caroline and the Wish Catering team resolve all the issues during Macy and Deborah’s absence. The gala is a resounding success, and, for the first time in a while, Deborah smiles genuinely.

Jason arrives at the gala to speak with Macy about their relationship, suggesting they make lists to consult whenever they come across issues in the future. Macy, who’s come to learn that not every situation can be predicted, is not interested in continuing their relationship. When Wes departs after leaving a new angel sculpture in Macy’s yard, depicting herself, she chases after him. She adds a new rule to the truth game, stating that for her to win, she must answer the question Wes passed on: What one thing would she do, if she could do anything? Macy answers the question by kissing him. After reconciling, Macy, Caroline, Deborah, and Wes spend time at the renovated beach house, where Wes and Macy spend their mornings going on runs while playing more games of truth.