Predictions

I think in my book Macy will finally stand up to the girls at the library who are mean to her, then she will quit and start working more with Delia. I think this because at the end of the chapter Macy was talking about how she wasn't going to try and be perfect anymore.  I also think that she will tell Delia about her dad and then Macy will tell Delia everything that she has kept bottled up for so long. After this I feel like Delia will become close to a second mom to Macy instead of just her boss. Through both of these things I think that both of the characters will become very developed.

Theme

So far I think one of the themes in my book, The Truth About Forever, is one should not care what anyone else thinks about them and one cannot be perfect.  I think this because in my book Macy is always trying to be the perfect student, kid, employee, and she is so afraid of making mistakes and worried about what people will think of her if she does something wrong that she lets worry take over her life. On pages 112-113 Macy finally realizes that she can’t please anyone and even if she tries she will not succeed.  It says, “Then, about a year and a half too late, it hit me.  I was never going to be perfect.  And what had all my efforts gotten me, really, in the end?  A boyfriend who pushed me away the minute I cracked, making the mistake of being human.  Great grades that would still never be good enough for the girls who Knew Everything.  A quiet, still life, free of any risks, and so many sleepless nights to spend within it, my heart heavy, keeping secrets my sister had empowered herself by telling. This life was fleeting, and I was still searching for the way I wanted to spend it that would make me happy, full, okay again.” (Dessen 112-113). This passage from the book showcases how Macy realizes that she should let go of all her worries and insecurities and do what makes her happy.

Summary

In my book right now there is a lot going on. Macy is taking on two jobs, her boyfriend ended their relationship, her moms business isn't doing very well, she's beginning to have feelings for a new guy, you get the idea. It's all raining over her once so calm life.  She doesn't know how to handle it all and thats why she turns to catering with Delia, for some reason the chaos and people provide comfort for her. In hidden ways, Delia and her employees are teaching Macy many life lessons and Macy has yet to realize it. All these little lessons will eventually benefit Macy and help her move on from all her struggles.

Connections

Text to Text: On text to text connection, The Truth About Forever had a big connection to the book The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks.The connection I made was that in both of these books the main characters dads both died, and they regretted their actions towards them before this happened. In the book The Truth About Forever, Macy regretted that she didn't wake up to go running with her dad, if she had, he might not have died from the heart attack he encountered while running. In the book the Last Song, Ronnie regretted how badly she treated her father and how much she ignored him. Once she found out that he was going to die she quickly changed her attitude and tried to make up for all the times she had treated him badly. Overall, both Ronnie and Macy lost someone they loved and felt like they both could have been better daughters to their fathers.

Text to Self: I connected the character Delia to myself. On page 93 of The Truth About Forever Delia says, "It's not that I believe everything happens for a reason, it's just that... I just think that some things are meant to be broken. Imperfect. Chaotic. It's just the universe's way of providing contrast, you know? There have to be a few holes in the road. It's how life is." I think that what Delia means by this is that if you never have anything bad happen to you or if you avoid all imperfections, you won’t know how to handle anything big that happens to you, like something bad or life changing. I agree with her when she says this because all life’s imperfection and chaos is just preparing you for the future.

 Text to World: I connected the worlds “knowing” to this book. Once Macy’s dad died, everyone knew, and Macy was no longer Macy, she was “the girl whose dad died”. In many cases this still happens today, if something tragic happens everybody knows about it so they often do things out of pity and don’t know you for who you really are.

Summary

I am currently reading the book The Truth About Forever. It is about a girl who is trapped in her inner thoughts because of the death of her father. She strongly believes that it is her fault that he dies. When he woke her up and asked her if she wanted to go running with him, like they always did, she said no and continued to sleep. After a few minutes she decided to get up and go running. She started down the usual route and found her dad suffering from a heart attack, and later to find that was what killed him.

Now that she has this heavy burden weighing her down she becomes lonely and lost in her thoughts. This is what urges her to join the catering business, chaos and all, with Delia. This made her feel like she was apart of something and she never felt alone. She also has a special connection with Wes, who also works with Delia, and after her recent break up with her boyfriend, she clicks with him even more. I am really enjoying this book and can't wait to read more.

Characters

I am reading The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen and there are two main characters so far.

One of the main characters in this book is Macy Queen. She is a very introverted person. She keeps mostly all her thoughts to herself because she doesn't really know how to express them. Part of the reason why she is this way is because her dad died, and she thought it was her fault. She was woken up by her father and he asked if she wanted to go running with her and she said no. Five minutes later she decided that she would go so she went outside to find that her dad had a heart attack and needed to be rushed to the hospital. She often feels guilty because she knew that if she had decided to go running with him right when he asked her she would have been there to help him. She also feels like she is always alone and made fun of by all the very intelligent people. This is when she decides to join a catering business with Delia who is almost the exact opposite of Macy.

Delia is a very open minded and out going person.  She runs a very chaotic beusiness and finds joy within it.  She also belives that everything happens for a reason and you shouldnt fight that reason. I believe that once Macy opens up to Delia aboaut what happend to her dad, Delia will come back to talking about this again. Delia is very nice, open, and compasionate in this book and I feel like more character traits will be revealed as i get further into the book.

Book Recomendation: "Safe Haven"

Safe Haven is about a woman named Katie who is married to an abusive man, Kevin, and doesn't know what to do.  She has tired to escape multiple times, but each time he will hunt her down and bring her home and beat her.  Katie finally comes up with a master plan to escape from Kevin and she runs away to Southport, a small town in North Carolina. She meets a man named Alex and his kids, Kristen and Josh. She begins to fall in love with whole family but in the back of her mind she knows Kevin is looking for her... but she was more worried about whether he would actually find her or not.




I highly recommend the book Safe Haven to anyone who likes realistic fiction.  This book was the most suspenseful book I have ever read, it was really hard to put down.  I find suspense very important in a book because without it there is nothing that motivates me to keep reading.  Also Nicholas Sparks leaves you with a lot of foreshadowing which makes you question and predict what is going to happen next, which makes you an active reader. I think that one of the best features this book has to offer is that it is told in many different point of views which lets you know what everyone is thinking and doing in the book.