Review – Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt

Synopsis

Meet the miracle girls of Half Moon Bay … They may look ordinary, but each one is living out her second chance at life. Too bad it’s their last chance at surviving high school!

Ana Dominguez was happy in San Jose, but everything changed when her dad moved the family to Half Moon Bay, California, to open a law practice. Her parents think she’s settling into her new school nicely, but she has them fooled. Riley, the most popular girl in school, has picked Ana as enemy #1, and Tyler, Ana’s crush, doesn’t even know Ana exists.  When Ana ends up in detention with Riley and two other classmates – Christine and Zoe – the girls discover they have more in common than they ever would have imagined. Now as Ana lives out her faith, she and Zoe are determined to befriend Riley and Christine. But the drama of high school has only just begun.

Review

Young Adult Chick-Lit seems all the rage right now, with the bookstores overflowing with choice. However some of the most popular series follow the exploits of a teen falling in love with a vamp, or a group of spoiled, rich kids who treat sex and alcohol like recess snacks. Because of this I found Miracle Girls to be a refreshing glimpse into the life of the average teenager.

Ana, the main character of this story, faces the dreaded prospect of a new school and finding all new friends, after her father makes the decision to open his own law office in Half Moon Bay. Living in a giant home, with her well to do family, Ana has everything she could ever want, but the money and lifestyle have no negative impact on her personality. She is an excellent student with major life goals, she rarely disobeys her over-protective parents and is dedicated to her faith. Even though Ana may sound like a bit of a geek, she is very witty and every once in awhile she displays a spark of sassy-ness.

Starting out at a new High School Ana has plans to make some new friends, and getting sent to detention is the situation that will start her on the road to new friendships, some quick and easy, some requiring more work. During a pop-quiz in math class, Ana raises her hand to point out a girl in the class who she suspects is cheating, which cause a ruckus. This is what leads to Ana’s detention.

The idea of any student new, old, popular or not, tattling on another student in front of the whole class was the only part of Miracle Girls that I found hard to believe. From my experience this is a sure-fire way to guarantee yourself a spot in the social outcasts group. Major faux-pas in the plot, but can be overlooked as it is only a minor point. Being in detention is what matters to the story, not so much how she gets there.

During detention the kids are given an assignment that will change Ana’s perspective of her classmates. She will come to see that people are not always what they appear.

Miracle Girls was a fun, quick read that highlights many positive aspects of adolescents and their journey to discover who they are and how they can enrich their lives by reaching out to others who they may assume they have nothing in common with. The teenagers in this book are all easy to like and understand as they go through normal teen-drama and situations. There was also much about Ana’s youth church group which I found very interesting as it shows that today’s kids can be involved in their church while having fun.

About The Authors

Anne Dayton graduated from Princeton and has her MA in Literature from New York University. She lives in New York City. May Vanderbilt graduated from Baylor University and has an MA in Fiction from John Hopkins. She lives in San Francisco. Together, Anne and May are the authors of Emily Ever After, Consider Lily, and The Book Of Jane.

Authors Website

Published by Faith Words

Other Reviews
Word Lily

Many thanks to Miriam from Hachette Book Group USA for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

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