Miracle Girls #4: Love Will Keep Us Together: A Miracle Girls Novel (Miracle Girls Novels) [Paperback]

Anne Dayton (Author), May Vanderbilt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 30, 2010 | Series: Miracle Girls Novels (Book 4)

Riley McGee has the whole world open before her. She could get into any college, major in any subject, become whoever she wants to be. . . . But the truth is, Riley has no earthly idea what to do. She's paralyzed by indecision, afraid of the changes she faces, and as graduation day inches closer, it feels more and more like a threat.
  Meanwhile, her autistic brother, Michael, is struggling to fit in at Marina Vista and stay on top of his classes. Riley tries to keep an eye out for him, but when Ms. Moore suggests pulling Michael out of school, Riley has to fight for her brother--and against her favorite teacher. And things take another turn when her ex-boyfriend, Tom, arrives, hoping to give their relationship one more try. On top of that, an ambitious new pastor makes her question everything she thought she knew about faith.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up This conclusion to the series offers Riley's perspective on the main characters' senior year of high school. The authors do a skillful job of filling in the backstory, so readers are up to speed on why Riley, Zoe, Ana, and Christine are so important to one another. (Each teen miraculously survived a life-threatening event.) Riley is the one who has it all: she's beautiful and breezes through AP courses, has many friends, and could get into any college, including Harvard. However, she is not sure where she wants to go, and she doesn't want to apply to a school that is someone else's dream for her. Her second problem: her younger brother struggles with Asperger's syndrome and is having a difficult time fitting in at high school. Riley cannot always protect him from cruel classmates, or even from himself. Problem number three: how to handle hypocritical Christians especially in light of the fact that she is struggling with her own faith. The Miracle Girls are dynamic characters, and the authors offer a realistic depiction of teen issues. This series could be seen as the Christian teen's answer to Ann Brashares's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Delacorte). Wendy Smith-D'Arezzo, Loyola College, Baltimore, MD
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Review

"Anne and May have discovered how to really connect to the younger generation in an honest and relevant way. [Breaking Up Is Hard to Do] is easy to enter into because it is a lot like real life--some painful moments along with sweet ones, all with the humor and humanity that draws a reader in." (Bethany Dillon, Sparrow recording artist )

"Fun, witty and intelligent, it was a pleasure to meet this interesting mix of characters. Their struggles to form friendships and fit in were refreshingly realistic. Teen readers will enjoy and relate to [The Miracle Girls]." (Melody Carlson, author of Diary of a Teenage Girl series )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: FaithWords (April 30, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446407585
• ISBN-13: 978-0446407588
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,250,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finale to Miracle Girls series will please both teens and moms, April 22, 2010

By 

Christina Lockstein "Christy's Book Blog" (Oconto Falls, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Miracle Girls #4: Love Will Keep Us Together: A Miracle Girls Novel (Miracle Girls Novels) (Paperback)

Love Will Keep Us Together by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt is the fourth and final book in the Miracle Girls series. Riley McGee, Supergirl, finally gets to carry her own title. Readers have seen her through the eyes of her friends, now she can tell her own story. At the beginning of her senior year, the pressure is finally starting to weigh her down. Her parents have dreams of her attending Harvard. Her friends want to go to USC with them, but Riley has no idea what she wants to do with her life. Ex-boyfriend Tom reappears wanting to rekindle their romance, but fellow youth group member Ben strikes something in Riley that she didn't even know existed. Senior year is a tough time for any teen, but it's incredibly difficult for Riley who has always achieved perfection. Straight As, cheerleader, and she takes good care of her brother Mike who has Asperger's. She's never really had a chance to need anyone or ask for help, so when Riley faces the confusion and fears of moving to adulthood, she has no one to turn to. Riley was hard to relate to in the previous books; she always came across as Miss Perfect, so seeing her heartache and pain makes her very sympathetic for teens and their moms. She's also struggling with faith and church in a way that many will relate to as well. I am truly sad to see the end of the Miracle Girls, but the authors end it just right.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As Our Lives Change From Whatever We Will Still Be Friends Forever, April 25, 2010

By 

Deborah "Books, Movies and Chinese Food" (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Miracle Girls #4: Love Will Keep Us Together: A Miracle Girls Novel (Miracle Girls Novels) (Paperback)

Oh high school. Boy am I glad those days are over. There was so much I hated about high school - the drama, the worrying about whether I was part of the "in crowd" and all those silly boys. Plus there's all the worrying about what you're going to do next in life, trying to get into the right college, and choosing the right path so that you will have a good job and career. It's a rough time and I have felt that the Miracle Girls series have perfectly portrayed this tough and memorable point in one's life.

In this book, we finally get the story from Riley's POV. She's been a character that I've found intriguing since the beginning of the story. Outside she puts up a front as a cheerleader who has it all together with her looks, her smarts, and her boyfriend. Inside however she's weak and fragile and worrying about her younger brother who has autism. Throughout the book is Riley's struggle between the two worlds and how she tries to fit in both of them. There is a great deal about dealing with a child with autism in the book which I found educational and enlightening. Also as well is the four friends trying to figure out their future. I could easily relate to trying to keep the old gang together and the finally realizing we have to all split up and go our own ways.

I am so glad that Anna finally mellowed out in this book. While I like her character, she has just drove me nuts throughout the series about her grades. I totally understand her drive to be no. 1 in the class and to get good scholarships, but it was ruining her relationship with her friends. Riley's final outcome, while a bit unexpected considering where she stood in the class, is something that is quite normal in high schools these days. Sometimes you just need a couple of years to figure out what you want next in life.

While I really enjoyed the book, I'm not sure I'm a fan of the cover. I only say this because the girls represented on the cover don't seem to match up with the descriptions of the characters throughout the books. The girl that is supposed to represent Riley seems shorter and more muscular than what I expected a cheerleader like Riley to be. Other than this little qualm, I loved the book. I have enjoyed the series from the beginning and am really sad to see the series end. I know I say this about a lot of books but I really felt as if I connected with the characters and have watched them grow. Reading this series brought back many memories of high school (both the good and bad) and made me wish that I could either relive or change things I had done back then.

I really hope Anne and May will have a new book coming out in the future. As a huge fan of their writing I have read all their books and won't know what to do now that there is no new book in the future! If you are a fan of YA lit and of Christian fiction that tells things like how they really are or even want a trip back to your high school days, the Miracle Girls series are the perfect books for you. This is a series I always recommend and will probably always will. HIGHLY recommended.

BTW when you read the book, be sure to check out the acknowledgments page. I was SOOO geeked to see it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sorry to see the series end..., April 23, 2010

By 

Janna R. Ryan (Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Miracle Girls #4: Love Will Keep Us Together: A Miracle Girls Novel (Miracle Girls Novels) (Paperback)

I love this series. This is book #4 and the end of the series, I am sorry to see it go. We have followed 4 very different girls through their 4 years of high school. This book is their senior year through Riley's eyes. There is no doubt that along with a senior year comes many decisions and choices that have to be made. Riley learns that first hand and is trying to figure out how to make everybody happy when she doesn't know what it is that will make her happy. In the process she manages to make no one happy including herself.

What college will each girl go to? Will they manage to all make it into the same college and stay together? Who might mess up the plan? Except for the fact that Riley is kind of whiny about not knowing what she wants I really liked this book. I love that this is a series that is perfect for my daughter to read, I am thankful for books like this.