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Meet Dodie – pronounced ‘Doh Dee’ not ‘Doo Die’, although she comes perilously close to the second option at times in this hilarious book.

Just days before she has to start her final exams, Dodie comes home to find her parents missing. Not only that, but they seem to be implicated in a conspiracy straight from the pages of The Da Vinci Code. Apparently, their secret organisation are custodians of Jesus – yes, that’s the Messiah to you – and some seriously bad guys are on their trail to hijack the coffin in which He lies.

One step ahead of the villains, Dodie, her sister Coco and a couple of guys they’ve never met before are propelled into a bizarre road trip to Sydney. Reluctant allies in a car on the verge of a mechanical breakdown, their only ammunition is their ingenuity, and at one comically absurd moment, a coke can through the windscreen of their pursuers.  As they hurtle haphazardly towards Sydney, anyone who’s ever travelled through Gippsland will love the vividly described landmarks they rattle past.

Once you get past a pretty improbable (but highly original and enjoyable) scenario, this book is an utter delight. In deceptively engaging and accessible style, the author has given her characters complexity and hidden depths, allowing them enough quirkiness to make them interesting, but also keeping them emotionally ‘connected’ to the reader. It’s impossible not to sympathise with sensible Dodie, who, just about to finish her final exams, has to cope with missing parents, a wayward sister she describes as a ‘creator of friction’, a hot guy who seems ambivalent towards her – and the Messiah in a coffin.  Is it any wonder she’s just a bit unsettled?

At the CYL office, we’re loving this new book by the author of Beatle Meets Destiny. It was launched this week, so do yourself a favour, go to your local bookshop and get a copy to read asap. Before they sell out.

Puffin

I’ve been delaying this for a little while, reviewing books is delicate business, and well, Gab Williams is a friend, but I guess I’m gunna have to suck it up and just come out with it: Beatle Meets Destiny is all kinds of fantastic.

I first read Beatle last year, and loved it. But that was after spending a day of laughs with Gab in Hyde Park, and dinner (and wine) with her family at her place. I was very aware of the fact that I may just be a tad bit biased. So, I put it down, and revisited it over the Christmas break.

And when I read something for a second time, I go for broke. I find typos, I analyse the minutia. I figured, if there was one thing that’d expose my bias, it’d be my close second reading. I was part-way through my second reading of the first chapter when I discovered the first crack: the dates didn’t match up (one of the characters couldn’t have been born in the year they were and be the age they were when the novel was set… if that makes sense).

I became fearful, maybe it wasn’t as good as I’d remembered… and then, I felt it happening. Despite the fact that finding everything that was wrong with it was my prerogative, and I was holding it to a higher level of scrutiny than I would’ve if I hadn’t met Gab before I’d read her… I still loved it. Possibly more than during my first reading.

I started to recognise and appreciate the absolute command Gab has over language, the charm of the prose, the effortless way she balances humour and heart. She’s a bro.

The date mistake as a one-off editorial error, and it doesn’t weaken what is one of the most outstanding YA releases in recent memory (and we’ve been spoilt with some outstanding YA in recent times). The voice is confident, the story is moving, and… understated. It’s about a teenaged ****** survivor, but Gab doesn’t milk it for cheap emotional moments, and most importantly, she knows that isn’t enough to build a novel out of.

While most realistic YA novels that deal with sensitive issues deal with them exclusivel (their blurbs usually read: “so-and-so is struggling with x and y“). And that’s it. In contrast, Gab keeps the issue understated and builds a compelling narrative around it. It isn’t even mentioned in the blurb. This is a love story first, issue book second. And that is what magnifies its impact (which is why I censored what it is in the review… it’s something that should be experienced naturally through the narrative).

And the dialogue! It sparkles with wit. I think, that will sell the book more effectively than me yapping on about how good it is. So, here’s an excerpt. The context: the titular Beatle and Destiny are sitting in a booth, it’s their first night out together, and they’re talking about… peas:

‘So that’s peas covered,’ Beatle said, arching an eyebrow. ‘What about your Qs?’
He intertwined his fingers with hers. Looked at the contrast between his hand, the big, blokey fingers, compared with her small-and-pleasantly-delicate-against-his ones.
‘Well,’ Destiny said, biting her lip, ‘I’m not crazy about them. But seeing as we’re talking letters, I’d quite like to have a look at your Rs.’
And she slid her eyes d

Today I am delighted to welcome Gabrielle William, the author of new YA novel Beatle Meets Destiny to my blog. Welcome, Gabrielle, and congratulations on the release of Beatle Meets Destiny. 1. Your last novel was for adults. What prompted the change to writing for a young adult audience?Being an adult is full of responsibility and housework. I wanted to relive the fun days of being a