Friday, Oct 23, 2009

Book Review: Miracle Girls #3: A Little Help From My Friends by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt

Author:       Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt

Publisher:    Faith Words/Hachette

ISBN:          978-0-446-40757-1

Website:      http://anneandmay.com/

Type:         Fiction:YA/Christian

Pages:        288 Trade Paperback

Release:      October 15, 2009

Purchase:    $9.99 @ Amazon.com (HERE)

The Story

“Zoe is used to being overlooked.  As the youngest and shyest Miracle Girl, she was happy to fade into the background last year.  But when she shed her baby fat and shoots up four inches the summer before her junior year, everything changes.  Now she’s turning heads at school, and this new attention is beginning to strain her relationship with her sweet, serious boyfriend, Marcus.  Pressure builds when Zoe’s assigned partner for history class is Dean Foster – a handsome New York transplant who isn’t afraid to show her how he feels.

Just when she needs her three best friends the most, the other Miracle Girls are suffering from boy troubles of their own.  And even Zoe’s rock-solid home life begins to shake underneath her when her parents’ relationship frays in the face of serious financial burdens.

As this uncertain year of growing pains comes to a frenetic head, the quietest Miracle Girl must find her voice at long last and take control of her own destiny… with more than a little help from her friends.”

(Above except is from the book cover of A Little Help From My Friends)

The Review

If you didn’t happen to catch my review of The Miracle Girls, the first book in this wonderful YA Christian series or my review of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, the second book in the series… you may want to check them out first and then read about this delightful book!

The twins and I have all enjoyed reading both The Miracle Girls and Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.  Both are great stories with good morals to them.  We were very much looking forward to reading the 3rd installment of the series.  This story begins with the Miracle Girls starting their junior year.  Zoe is the star of this story and we get to read about her eccentric life with her parents Ed & Dreamy, both of whom Zoe calls by their first names.  However, due to the economy, they’ve had to sell off a good portion of their lot and two of their beloved horses.  With so much strain going on in their home, Ed and Dreamy decide to get a divorce.  As to be expected, this comes as a big blow to Zoe. 

Zoe and the girls work together to try to bring back their beloved teacher Ms. Moore who was unjustly removed from the school due to false accusations by a student.  While they team up on bring back this teacher who brought them together in the first place, they also face issues with the boys in their lives.  Zoe finds it difficult to ignore the feelings she has for Dean and desperately tries to be respectful by honoring her sweet boyfriend, Marcus, whom she no longer has romantic feelings for.

 As they close in on prom, the girls band together to support one another with family issues, boy problems, and bringing Ms. Moore back...  all in the traditional Miracle Girls’ fashion!

Of the three books, I believe that I enjoyed Breaking Up Is Hard To Do(#2) the most of the trio.  Although this was a good book and I was so glad to read the contininuing story, it didn’t deliver the same “punch” for me that Breaking Up did.  What’s great about these authors and this series is that it provides solid books with positive messages to girls.  The twins are looking forward to reading this latest installment and I’m handing it off tonight.   

The first two books in the series received ratings of 9 out of 10.  However, this book gets a my rating, genre: Fiction:YA/Christian,  7 OUT OF 10.  The storyline just didn’t grab me as much as the other two did.  But, perhaps, the 4th one will?  Is there a 4th?  I hope so! 

My heartfelt thanks to Hachette Book Group for providing me with an ARC of this book for review. 

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