ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
ANNE DAYTON graduated from Princeton University and is earning her master's degree in English literature at New York University. She works for a New York publishing company and lives in Brooklyn.
MAY VANDERBILT graduated from Baylor University and went on to earn a master's degree in fiction from Johns Hopkins University. She lives in San Francisco, where she writes about food, fashion, and nightlife in the Bay Area.
Together, the two women are the authors of Miracle Girls
ABOUT THE BOOK
Ana, Christine, Riley, and Zoe have grown closer than ever over the past few months, but summer is over and it's time to put their friendship to the test.It's been a little over a year since Christine Lee's mom passed away in a tragic car accident. Now her dad is engaged to Candace--"The Bimbo"--and Christine couldn't be less thrilled. When her attitude starts to take a toll on her schoolwork, the administration forces her to attend counseling sessions. At least she gets to skip gym class!
But with her father's wedding inching closer, Christine is growing even more bitter. To make matters worse, the Miracle Girls are beginning to drift apart. Christine's anger and the pressures of high school threaten to break the girls up when they need each other the most. Will they find a way to join together to help Christine come to terms with her mother's death . . . and her father's remarriage?
If you would like to read the first chapter of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, go HERE
My review:
This was a wonderful story. I actually got tears in my eyes at the ending. Any book that makes me sniffle from happy tears is a good book. That means I cared enough to feel something for the characters. These authors did a great job pulling me into Christine's world. She was very much a typical teenager so their perspective from Christine's point of view was excellently done. Those heart-engaging endings are the kinds of endings I love seeing in inspirational books. One that offers hope and healing and encourages young adults. It's so much the opposite of what teens read in secular YA fiction.
Anyway, because this story wasn't typical YA fiction I enjoyed that slight difference. There were no pat answers and healthy grieving was encouraged. The struggles the teens experienced were typical and well-done. Everything is "embarassing" at that age. Also, I didn't feel like a bunch of girls of verying ethnicities were thrown together to make a multicultural book happen. It flowed naturally and didn't seem forced. I appreciated that. I also appreciated the subplot involving Riley's brother Michael. I can't wait until that story comes out. I think it will be the best story of them all.
2 comments:
This book, Breaking up is Hard to do, sounds pretty real to life. That makes it a great book. Add me to any contests you have going. desertrose5173 at gmail dot com
I've only read the first chapter online, but I end up thinking, ""This year, TOO?" I want to know what happened LAST year, and how Christine and her friends fare as sophomores. I think the authors have written a winner, if the rest of the book is as good as it starts out!
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