Books for Christian Girls: "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" by Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt

About this book:

“Ana, Christine, Riley, and Zoe have grown closer than ever over the past few months, but summer is over and it's time to put their friendship to the test.
It's been a little over a year since Christine Lee's mom passed away in a tragic car accident. Now her dad is engaged to Candace--"The Bimbo"--and Christine couldn't be less thrilled. When her attitude starts to take a toll on her schoolwork, the administration forces her to attend counseling sessions. At least she gets to skip gym class!
But with her father's wedding inching closer, Christine is growing even more bitter. To make matters worse, the Miracle Girls are beginning to drift apart. Christine's anger and the pressures of high school threaten to break the girls up when they need each other the most. Will they find a way to join together to help Christine come to terms with her mother's death . . . and her father's remarriage?”

Series: Book #2 in “The Miracle Girls” series. Review of Book #1 Here!

Spiritual Content- ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Christine struggles with God since the car accident when her mom died; Church going & Youth group; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of churches, church going, youth group, pastors, worship, & a Christian band; Mentions of miracles & signs from God; Mentions of the Messiah & Christmas; Mentions of dating non-Christians; A couple mentions of those in the Bible; A couple mentions of Christmas songs; A couple mentions of Ana being called God Girl; A mention of Christian music; A mention of a manger;

*Note: Christine wonders if she is being followed/haunted by her mom’s spirit; A couple mentions of thinking a teacher is a witch; A mention of making a deal with the devil; A mention of not being a Satan worshipper; A mention of the quote about hell’s fury; A mention of a piece of art with angels that looks like it might devour people; A mention of sport gods; A mention of a Roman goddess.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blah, blah, blah’, a ‘screwed up’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘suck up’, a ‘what a crock’, a ‘what the—‘, two ‘dumb’s, two ‘gosh’s, two ‘heck’s, two ‘jeez’s, two forms of ‘oh my gosh’, three forms of ‘sucker’, four ‘shut up’s, five ‘idiot’s, and thirty-four ‘stupid’s, A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Christine calls her soon-to-be-stepmother “The Bimbo” (x7); Christine recalls when she and her mother were in a car accident which resulted in her mom’s death (semi-detailed); Going into a haunted house at a fall festival (barely-above-not-detailed, mentions of corpses, zombies, and ghosts); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of throwing up & puke; A few mentions of the accident that happened at the end of the prior book; A few mentions of wars & famines; A few mentions of beer, champagne, & a bar; A few mentions of acne; A couple mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of a divorce; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of an ax murder; A mention of tattoos;

*Note: Mentions of celebrities, singers, songs, TV shows, movies, books, & authors; Mentions of stores & designers; A few mentions of car brands; A mention of R-rated movies.

Sexual Content- Christine wonders if a boy will kiss her (he does not, barely-above-not-detailed); Two cheek kisses; Touches, Tingles, Embraces, & Blushes (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing & Nearness; Candace tries to have “the talk” with Christine (basically to not get carried away in the moment and that she has her life in front of her); two ‘hot’s; Many mentions of boys, boyfriends, dating, dates, crushes, & exes; Mentions of two girls gossiping that Riley had a baby (not true and Christine grabs one of them by her collar); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of touches, embraces, & seeing others touch/embrace; Mentions of flirting; A few mentions of Christine’s soon-to-be-step-mom spending the night often & them pretending to be chaste so her Dad won’t get in trouble with work; A few mentions of jealousy; A mention of how Christine’s Dad and his fiancée looking at each other & her guess that she’ll get a little sibling after they get married; A mention of a fiancée sitting on the guy’s lap; Teenage attraction & the emotions;

*Note: Mentions of butts (butting in, a boyfriend not touching his girlfriend’s butt, a couple mentions of another girl’s butt, butts sitting); Mentions of lingerie & giant bras; A couple mentions of telling the gender of a fish; A couple mentions of swimsuits; A mention of Christine wearing a shirt that hugs her body in a pleasing way; A mention of a girl’s short skirt; A mention of Hooters; A mention of tampons.

-Christine Lee, age 15-16
1^st person P.O.V. of Christine
288 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Add a full star for girls in Public/Private School }

I vaguely remembered this sequel and the rest of the series, so re-reading was in order.

Christine has been through a lot in a last two years that have made her jaded towards life and God. I wish there had been more towards the end about God and Christine being able to see her mom again in Heaven, but her journey throughout the story was realistic. Not my favorite Christian YA book, but I do like that the Miracle Girls are diverse in their lives and interests.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!