Title: Bright Blue Miracle
Author: Becca Wilhite
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Release Date: February 4, 2009
ISBN: 978-1606410318
Size: 176 pages, 5×8 softcover
Genre: YA
Seventeen-year-old Leigh Mason is not sure she is ready to share her mom, her bedroom, and her little sisters with her new stepsister, Betsy. And she’s definitely not ready to share her best friend, who happens to be a boy!
Coping with a blended family is not easy for either Leigh or Betsy, especially during their senior year in high school. Each step brings them nearer to a crisis that will either send them running in different directions or bind them firmly together (which, let s face it, would take a miracle).
Bright Blue Miracle is a new young adult novel that has everything a girl wants: a hero (more specifically, a really cute boy), a villain (who happens to be a stepsister), comedy, despair, pedicures, ice cream, love, hate, tennis, revenge, and, of course, a couple of surprises that might send you for some tissues.
I liked this book and it made me cry. not my favorite ever, but well worth reading.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was uplifting without being cheesy. With so many dark fantasy books in the YA market, it’s refreshing to find a bright, happy book like this one.
Review by Alexa.
The first thing I noticed when I began this book was the strong character voice. Having a strong voice is generally regarded as a good thing, but I felt that in the first chapter the author tried a bit too hard to portray a strong voice, and thus made it feel unnatural. Yet, as the book progresses, the voice softens and becomes more natural, and enjoyable to read.
I felt the same way with the conflict in the first chapter. Leigh finds out that her mom is planning to marry her boyfriend Paul, and goes off on a huge tirade during dinner. The scene felt a little contrived for the sake of conflict, and the majority of the issues that come up in said tirade never really come up again. The main conflict comes when her new step-sister Betsy moves in, and starts dating her best friend Jeremy.
During the course of the novel, I could really relate to Leigh and the situation she was in. Paul and Betsy moved in on her territory, and she wasn’t very willing to share her life. She has to share her bedroom, and her best friend, and the change is really hard for her. I really liked how the author portrayed this conflict realistically without a lot of fake drama.
Despite my complaints about the first chapter, the rest of the book plays off the step-sister/best friend love triangle conflict really well. Leigh is hilarious, sarcastic, and likable while still being a flawed teenager. Besty is annoyingly perfect and beautiful, but has fears and weaknesses all her own.
This short book really is an enjoyable light-hearted read. It is accessible to Mormon and non-Mormon audiences alike as the only mention of LDS culture comes in context with Jeremy choosing to go to BYU for college.
I give it four stars.