Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

Anne and May capture the essence of contemporary teenagers--their sense of humor; their complicated relationships with friends, family and parents; and their struggle to develop beliefs and values. The authors don't dumb down their language or weigh down their prose with out of place "teenisms." In short, Anne and May just get teenagers. Their main character, Christine, is realistic and engaging. This second book in the Miracle Girls series is another example of Anne and May's stellar writing.

As always, our heroes have come up with another fast-paced tale, one that's well-told, believable, and often laugh-out-loud funny. It's a fun read for any age -- which is a tribute to the talented authors. Nicely done!

For the Miracle Girls' sophomore year, we hear their story through the voice of Christine, a unique member of the group who lost her mother in a car accident the year before and has struggled with a sense of loss that affects even her personal identity. This is evidenced through her unique look, her somewhat lonely place in high school, and weekly sessions with the school counselor. Christine tells us the Miracle Girls had a great summer of bonding, but from the first page we see they might struggle to stay together through the school year. Sure enough, Riley and Ana compete with each other over school, all the girls have their own issues with family, and each of them sometimes chooses a boy over the group. Christine, however, needs the group more than anything. Her father is marrying a woman she sees only as The Bimbo. Her step-sister to-be has moved into her room. She can't bring herself to talk about her mother's death in the accident Christine miraculously survived, and she gives her already fragile heart to a boy who may be less than careful with it. If the Miracle Girls can't come together and be there for her when she needs them, Christine may be lost for good. Christine has far more doubt than faith throughout the book, and I appreciated the way this was not neatly resolved through typical answers and cliches. However, the efforts by God to keep Christine are so evident and moving. He is evident through the memories of her mother and in the help of a few important people in Christine's life. Christine's journey in this book is beautiful and poignant. The Miracle Girls represent a kind of friendship every person needs and so few of us actually have.

After reading Emily Ever After, Consider Lily and The Book of Jane by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt, I couldn't help but read the Miracle Girls series, and believe me, the books do not disappoint! Breaking Up Is Hard to Do was a definite page turner and I stayed up quite late finishing it. Christine is very relatable just as Ana was in the first book. The hardness that she displays on the outside is just the beginning. I really liked how her story and her past were slowly revealed over time instead of a mass replay of history at the beginning. It was heartbreaking to find out the story of the loss of her mom and the struggle to have a relationship with her dad. The bond that Christine had with Candace's daughter, Emma, was very sweet and unique. It was great to see the relationship go from an annoyance for Christine to something that she clearly valued, a bond that in the end she seemed to even cling to. And of course there has to be some sort of a love story, but as much as you always want the heroine to end up with the hero, life is not always like that, so this story line made the book seem all the more real. The friendships between the Miracle Girls goes through both highs and lows just like normal friendships. But these girls know that their friendship is like an anchor in their lives and in the end they will do anything to be there for each other. I love that we are getting to know each one of the Miracle Girls and that there is a focus on one specific girl in each book. I am looking forward to the next book with Zoe as the focus, she always seems to be the one that openly will do anything to keep the Miracle Girls intact, but her life is always a bit of a mystery. Keep the books coming Anne and May, you have one faithful reader that will always be anticipating the next great read from you.

Christine has finally found a group of friends with the Miracle Girls. Instead of being a loner, she's learn to bond and trust Anna, Riley and Zoe. These girls become her lifeline as she tries to adapt to her father dating a women she doesn't like and the changes that come with that situation. Unfortunately the other girls seem to be drifting away from each other, no matter how hard Christine tries to keep them together. Will this be the end of the Miracle Girls? The problem with a lot of YA books these days are that they try to be too trendy, with constant label dropping and made up slang. It gets to the point where these things take away from the story and become so distracting that the reader gets turned off. However, this book does not follow that formula. As always, Anne and May have turned out an amazing work that is a hard-to-put-down page turner. This book brings me back to days in high school where you want to stick close to your group of friends and worry when everyone starts to drift apart. In this story, it's easy to relate to Christine as she tells the reader what her life is like and how she's trying to cope with her father dating a woman she doesn't like. I was glad to see that Candace was not a "mean stepmother" type but I do agree with Christine's nickname for her. The registry scanner scene was hilarious, it's something I might have thought of in my younger days. I really like how in this book, the girls have become close friends despite their differences. Riley has pretty much given up on the popular clique and bonded with Christine, Zoe and Anna. This is poignant for Christine because she wants to be able to keep this close knit relationship and have everyone be together. However situations arise where the other three seem to drift apart leaving Christine alone and feeling left out, something I could totally relate to. It's a predicament many teen girls find themselves in and the authors portray that feeling excellently. There were times though when Anna got on my nerves. It would annoy me when she kept bugging Riley about her grades. I mean, yes it'sok to be concerned about them, but it was the way she kept wanting Riley to do bad just so she could get first in the class. I just wanted to take her and tell her, "Look JUST CALM DOWN!!" Riley, on the other hand, while she wants to do well also, does not let school become an obsession in her life. She will try her best but if she does not come out on top every time, she won't stress about it. Anna should take note. I also didn't like how Anna kept pestering Riley about liking a guy. It just kept throwing me for a loop because Riley and Anna have gone from being enemies to being good friends and Anna seems like she's putting a barrier in between them on purpose. Also, call me slow and not observant, but I honestly had no idea that Christine was Asian! While I do like it when Asian culture is on display full blown, it's also nice to see race issues just blend in the background.