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Booktalk
#1
When asked how she is dealing
with her father’s death, seventeen-year-old Macy Queen automatically answers,
“fine”, although nothing could be further from the truth. Macy bears
her grief silently, as she attempts to be the perfect daughter, student,
and girlfriend. Macy’s brainy boyfriend is off at “brain camp” for
the summer, and Macy takes over his boring job at the library reference
desk.
At one of her mother business parties, Macy meets pregnant Delia, the owner
of Wish catering and her quirky and chaotic crew. Macy takes a part-time
job working for Delia and gets to know Delia’s nephews Bert and Wes, and
her neighbors Kristy and Monica. Through Wish catering, Macy sees
what unscripted life is like, and she begins to understand that life does
not have to be perfect.
She and Wes become friends and through a game of Truth, Macy learns to
feel comfortable expressing her feelings. They seem to be falling
in love, but each has a commitment to someone else on hold during the summer.
Suddenly, Macy begins to wonder if she was better off keeping her feelings
to herself. (Elaine Meyer. elaine.meyer@woodbridge.k12.nj.us,
School Library Media Specialist, Colonia High School, NJ)
Booktalk #2
“For any one of us our forever
could end in an hour, or a hundred years from now. You can never know for
sure, so you'd better make every second count…What you have to decide is
how you want your life to be. If your forever was ending tomorrow, would
this be how you'd want to have spent it?” A year and a half after the death
of her father, Macy is the perfect, in-control child, who is her workaholic
mother's dream. But when her boyfriend leaves for summer “Brain Camp,”
and Macy spends all day at the boring library desk job, she begins to wonder
if she really likes this quiet, controlled, and supposedly perfect life
that she has shut herself into. On a quiet weekend, she steps away from
her routine and gets a job at Wish Catering. But the Catering job turns
out to be much more. As Macy forms unexpected friendships with her co-workers,
she not only learns something about herself, but also about moving on.
In one of her best novels, Sarah Dessen explores grief, friendship, and
the emotions of a teenager who is trying to figure out who she really is
and how she wants her forever to be. (Prepared by: Mollie Carter, SCASL
Young Adult Book Awards)
Booktalk #3
When Macy’s father dies, her
mother buries herself in her work, expecting her daughter to do the same.
Macy has always been responsible and well-behaved, but she finds herself
wanting more than high SATs and her mother’s approval. A summer waitressing
job introduces Macy to handsome Wes, a former reform school student, and
to his relatives and friends who work at blue collar jobs and live a very
different life from Macy and her mother. (Jean B. Bellavance for
Pennsylvania
Young Reader's Choice Awards, 2006-2007)
Booktalk #4
Macy’s super-smart boyfriend,
Jason, is going off to Brain Camp and Macy has to figure out how she's
going to live without him for a whole summer. He seems to have his life
all planned out while she is struggling to get by. She needs the comfort
of the stability he provides, and, she might even love him. Yes, she's
taking over his job at the library information desk. Yes, they can always
email – but it’s not the same as actually being there.
After losing her father almost
two years ago, Macy and her family have been trying to cope with their
grief, and it hasn't been easy. Her mother is consumed with work; her sister
is busy with her new husband; and Macy, well Macy is just trying to be
perfect. It takes the arrival of a chaotic catering crew to shake up Macy’s
orderly existence. As she gets to know Delia, the disorganized caterer;
Kristy, the burned beauty; and brothers Bert and Wes, Macy finds new ways
to deal with her grief and her life. As she begins to find strength in
herself, she learns about life, love, and the “truth about forever.”
(Colorado Blue
Spruce Young Adult Book Award Nominees 2007-2008) |
