Great Summer Reads!

Throughout the summer I'll be introducing some GREAT SUMMER READS! These are books that I have stumbled across and thoroughly enjoyed. Some are even written by our very own PEARL GIRLS.



The first book I want to introduce is Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt. (make sure to check out their fun-kitschy website!) As the mother of two teen girls I'm always on the look out for something I think will resonate with them -- something that will make an impact. I found just that in the Miracle Girls series and invited Anne (one of the authors) to stop by the blog and tell us a bit about the book and her heart for writing these types of stories! Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win both books in the series!

Take it away Anne~

Thanks for the chance to share about Breaking Up is Hard to Do! This is the second book in The Miracle Girls series, which is a young adult series about four girls who have survived events that should have killed them. They’re all real live miracles, living out their second chance at life, trying to figure out why God saved them (and trying to make it through high school!).

This book focuses on Christine, who lost her mother in a tragic car accident the summer before freshman year. Christine was in the car when it went off the road, and—miraculously—walked away without a scratch. While she’s trying to deal with the pain and guilt of her mother’s death, Christine is also dealing with her father’s upcoming marriage to his new bimbo girlfriend. She decides she will do whatever it takes to stop the wedding.

Writing Christine’s story was hard in many ways, but mostly because she is going through one horrible year. I have dealt with my share of troubles, but nothing like the tragedy Christine has faced, or the strange adjustments of a new and growing family. My writing partner, May Vanderbilt, and I wanted to really capture Christine’s grief and fear and insecurities, but we wanted to remain hopeful about what the future holds for her.

It helped us to think about the process of turning tragedy into something good. See, Christine is a Pearl Girl at heart (wait, can a fictional character be a Pearl Girl?). Christine is faced with a very bad situation by any stretch of the imagination, and with the help of her friends the Miracle Girls, learns to see the blessings that the pain in her life have created. She would give anything to have her mother back, but through the highs and lows one messed-up year of high school, she begins to see the tragedy as the start of something beautiful.

I hope you’ll share The Miracle Girls books with any young girl looking for a hopeful, faith-centered look at real life. Thanks so much for the chance to share!

Anne Dayton


Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt are co-authors of several books, including Emily Ever After, The Book of Jane, and The Miracle Girls series. Anne Dayton lives in Brooklyn, New York, and May lives in San Francisco, California.

posted by Margaret McSweeney @ 6:28 PM