Literary Devices in The Truth About Forever
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Ah, the grand old city of… oh, um. We have no idea. Let's start over.Ah, the grand old state of… nope. Still no clue.We never find out where exactly Macy and her family live, so it's probably n...
Narrator Point of View
This is Macy's story through and through. And we're not complaining—after all, we kind of like the girl.Seeing the story through her eyes allows us to connect with our leading lady in a way we co...
Genre
Okay, gumshoe. Get ready. What clues do we have that this book is young adult literature? Maybe that it's about a teenage girl (a.k.a. a young adult)? Oh, and that it's written to appeal to other y...
Tone
You = Macy's BFFIt's a little unusual that Macy never shares any of her thoughts, feelings, or memories with anyone in her life—and yet, she's telling us, a bunch of complete strangers, every las...
Writing Style
Chatty Kathy—er, MacyDoesn't The Truth About Forever just feel alive to you? It's so chock full of dialogue, it's almost like watching a movie:"I thought the only rule was you had to tell the tru...
What's Up With the Title?
What is the truth about forever, anyway? The first one to talk about "forever" in The Truth About Forever is actually Kristy. Let's take a look:"If your forever was ending tomorrow, would this be h...
What's Up With the Ending?
Fast forward all the way to the last paragraph: Macy and Wes are jogging on the beach in the morning sunshine, truly together at last. Sigh. But wait a second. Do you remember how Macy's dad died?...
Tough-o-Meter
The Truth About Forever is pretty much as true to life as it gets—with Macy as narrator, we get the story mainly through her thoughts and a ton of dialogue. Macy does throw in a few SAT words and...
Plot Analysis
Girl, InterruptedMacy Queen is just trying to keep it together. In the exposition, we learn about how her dad's death has changed her, and how she's trying to deal. He's Just Not That Into YouWhe...
Trivia
Sarah Dessen has made her way to the big screen. The 2003 movie How To Deal, starring Mandy Moore, is a combination of the her novels Someone Like You and That Summer. You thought her name sounded...
Steaminess Rating
There are exactly four kisses in The Truth About Forever.Just watch out for the two not-cool incidents: (1) when a drunk guest at a catering event paws Macy while trying to clean some spilled wine...
Allusions
The Bible Shakespeare's Macbeth Albert Camus Helen Keller (7.225)Darwin (9.11)Tammy Wynette (11.118)Pink Floyd (7.58)