The Miracle Girls review

The Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt

Summary (from the back of the book): 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: That summary sucks but I can't be bothered to write my own. It absolutely does not do the book any justice. Any summary that has "the drama of high school" is going to throw me off, I'm sorry to say. The whole Gossip Girl genre holds no appeal to me whatsoever.

The Miracle Girls - opposite of the spectrum. It isn't perfect, but it actually held my attention long enough for me to finish it, which some YA literature just doesn't for me (advanced reading comprehension isn't always a good thing).

Things I liked: The characters, above all. They are all so well thought out, and they come off almost real. The ones you expect to be cliche... aren't. Riley, the supposed perfect cheerleader, is so reckless it's ridiculous sometimes. Christine totally cracked me up sometimes, plus I felt close to her because she dyes her hair blue (a personal goal of mine). The only thing I didn't like about her is she used Manic Panic, and Manic Panic totally sucks. Special Effects all the way!

Things I didn't like as much: Ana's parents. They were strict to the point of unreasonable. And maybe I'm just lucky to have grown up with a mother who actually trusts me, but their level of super over-protectiveness was just ridiculous to me. That was probably the point, though, so that may be a good thing.

Conclusion: All in all, it's a very good book and definitely, definitely worth reading. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a clean, good read, and I'm looking forward to the next book, Breaking Up is Hard to Do. Four roses.