The Truth About Forever and many more

It’s really hard to type with a band-aid on your finger. Not just any finger either, no, it had to be on my pinkie, the finger we all learned in elementary school is used to hit the backspace key, and I, being very indecisive when I write as well as typo-prone, use that key a lot. I just thought I should mention that before I begin.
It’s all Jessica’s fault. I thought that was another point that needed mentioning before I begin. You see, last year, in Spanish 3, our little corner of the room got into a discussion about our favorite books and authors instead of learning the pluperfect tense, and Jessica suggested that I read The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen. You can probably see where this story is going, yes, now I’m hooked on Dessen. Here’s why:
1) She creates her own little world in each book and then, generously, lets me visit. I know that this can be said about many authors, and should not necessarily qualify someone for greatness, but in Dessen’s case, it does. She doesn’t just create a world, she creates a world that is almost impossible to leave. While I do not think of Dessen herself as a “friend”, I do consider her characters as “friends”.
2) She makes her books relate to the reader. In each book I find myself thinking at least ten times through the course of the book “wow, this reminds me so much of something in my life” or “wow this character is just like me!”
3) Her books are never predictable or cliché. The girl doesn’t always get the guy. In fact, sometimes the guy goes to jail. The books don’t always have happy endings, but even when they don’t, they aren’t depressing, the characters walks away smarter. As do I.
4) Her books always teach me something. I always walk away from a book with a new understanding of the world around me, and I always close the book better off then when I opened it. After all, isn’t that really the sign of a good book, and an even greater author?