The Miracle Girls

This is the first book in the Miracle Girls series. The four Miracle Girls were thrown together when they all unfortunately landed in detention. There they had to write an essay titled, "The Day That Changed My Life," after which they find the bond of all having escaped an almost certain death. Two of them feel drawn to the spiritual significance of their second chance at life. While two are less inclined to faith but still drawn to the other girls through the connection. This first book is written in the voice of Ana, who miraculously survived a serious heart deformity as an infant. Ana's parents are strict, which I related to. But they don't seem to expect Ana to understand the reasons behind their rules and in fact seem convinced that she will fail. This leads to a troubling relationship with her parents, and Ana finds herself outside of their rules on more than one occasion. Ana's faith gets her mocked at school, but is strong enough not to falter. There is at least one scene in her church where the personal connection she feels to her faith is very evident and poignant. Although I didn't personally relate to Ana very well (my parents were strict as well, but I was very close with them), she was very real and I immediately sympathized with her voice and situation. I look forward to reading the other characters' stories and watching the friendship grow.

Ana Dominguez is the new girl in school. Just trying to blend in, she unfortunately finds herself in detention for trying to do the right thing. As luck would have it, she's stuck along with Riley the most popular girl in school. Their assignment is to group up with two other girls, Christine and Zoe, and write an essay on "The Day That Changed My Life." That's when Ana discovers that this group was meant to be together as they wouldn't be sitting there if a miracle hadn't happen in their life. Four very different girls who would normally never be friends find out that they have more in common than they expect. However friendship doesn't come quick and easy, there is high school drama that must ensue first.... I have always enjoyed Anne and May's books. They write for the the Christian girls that do enjoy living in a secular world. They know that there are Christian girls who like designer shoes, dating guys and going out for a night in the city. Their books are like a fresh breath of air to those who are tired of reading cookie cutter characters. This book tells what it's really like in high school. There's the over-achieving of trying to get into a top college, cliques, feeling out of place, trying not to stand out too of the crowd, it's all there in this book. I actually did appreciate how even fellow Christian girls are still capable of being snobs no matter how strong their faith is. This happened to me in high school and I felt a kinship with the girls who experienced Riley's attitude towards them. Off topic, I loved the name Riley for a female character. There is some label name dropping in the book but it's just enough to make the reader feel that the authors know their audience. It's certainly not the overload you get from mainstream series. The girls in this book do NOT live over-extravagant lifestyles and do not have phony teen slang so they seem more real than their other counterparts. Teens will really related to these characters. This is another great alternative to the mainstream teen lit that is out there today. It's a cleaner story but still edgy enough that teen girls will enjoy it. Also while it is targeted at teens, it's a book that any chick lit fan will enjoy. I'll be looking forward to the next book in the series!

Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt have penned an incredibly moving novel in "The Miracle Girls." This book grabbed me from the first paragraph. Make that the second paragraph. I've been there - many years ago - moved cross-country by parents during crucial formative and social years. I wish I would have had books like this when I was a teen. This novel is full of strong teenage faith lived out against a backdrop of real issues. That is something I find to be a wonderful example to my teenagers. The authors' voice is fresh - or should that be "voices"? I'm always amazed when writers team up to create a novel like this without it sounding choppy. This novel would be enjoyable for teens and young adults and those of us who are way beyond our "wonder years", but like to reminisce. I highly recommend this book.

The Miracle Girls is written entirely in Ana's voice. As the mother of a 14 year-old I can vouch for the fact that the narrative voice is very authentic. It is sarcastic, intelligent, and distinctly teenaged. Reading The Miracle Girls feels like eavesdropping on a teenage girl's conversation with her best friend. Ana is a unique teen. Her parents immigrated from Mexico shortly after her birth. Her father is a lawyer, and apparently a very successful one because Ana wants for nothing in the material sense. She lives in a mansion and her mother spends her days redecorating the new house with the assistance of an interior designer. They employ a live-in cook-slash-housekeeper, and shop at Bloomingdales and Nordstrom. For a 14 year-old, Ana is only mildly rebellious, especially considering that her parents are extremely strict. Ana has her sights set on a medical degree from Princeton and needs to graduate high school first in her class in order to secure admission to the Ivy League. Current culture references abound in this book. Ana talks about iPods, email, instant messaging, Google searches, Nutter Butters and Vera Wang. Again, this adds to the authenticity of the story while giving it a distinctly contemporary feel. One of the more interesting aspects of this book is how the pressures of high school are depicted. Of course, there is peer pressure. Ana wants to fit in with the popular crowd, but she is different, mainly due to her Christian faith. Lucky for her, she finds two very good friends relatively quickly in her new school, and meets several other friends (and, eventually, a boyfriend) in her church youth group. The authors also dealt with academic pressures, which we've heard a lot about in the media in the past year or two. Ana felt that she needed to be first in her class in order to get admitted to Princeton. The pressure was strong and constant. Her extra-curricular activities were carefully orchestrated in light of the college application process. As a freshman in high school, Ana and her parents were already thinking in terms of 'key differentiators' and how having a 'passion' would look good on her application. The Miracle Girls is so much more than a story about a group of high school friends. Although it is full of likeable characters, it is really about Ana ... how she found a few good friends in a new school, and how in the end that turned out to be enough, and maybe even better than being part of the 'in' crowd. It is about how she balanced having a life in high school with having huge dreams for the future. It is about how she embraced her cultural roots even though at least one of her parents seemed a little embarrassed by them. And it was about respecting parents and rules and boundaries, and at the same time becoming a person who can both ask for and handle increased freedom.

Miracle Girls by Anne Dayton is a fun addition to the new Christian teen chick-lit genre. Ana Dominguez' face is next to the definition of over-achiever in the dictionary. She plays the piano, is on all sorts of do-good groups at school, and is not just content to have straight A's in school, she also must be number one in her class. This isn't just Ana's desire; her parents are super-overprotective and pushy in the most loving of ways. When Ana moves to a new school, she quickly makes an enemy of the most popular girl Riley that sends both of them to detention. While there, they must do an essay about an event that changed their lives forever. Ana and Riley, along with Zoe and Christine all discover that they have something major in common, and Zoe decides that they are now bound for life. The story moves through the usual teenage antics of romance, broken friendships, and dances before heading into dramatic territory. Dayton speaks knowledgably with the language of a teenage girl and the story handles the teens' faith well without ever making it uncool, which is the highest praise I could give!