Review: The Reluctant Hallelujah by Gabrielle Williams

The Reluctant Hallelujah by Gabrielle Williams
February 22, 2012 ∙ Penguin
Source: Provided by the publisher
Format: Paperback
Page Count: 264

But there I go, getting ahead of myself. Skipping straight to the part where I was front-page news and they were calling me Dorothy, instead of starting at the beginning...

When Dodie's parents go missing just as final year exams are about to start, she convinces herself they're fine. But when the least likely boy in class holds the key – quite literally – to the huge secret her parents have been hiding all these years, it's up to Dodie, her sister, the guy from school, and two guys she's never met before, to take on the challenge of a lifetime. So now Dodie's driving – unlicensed –to Sydney, and being chased by bad guys, the police, and one very handsome good guy.

Review:

When I heard the author had a new book coming out, and that it was a road trip and sounded like complete fun, I straightaway added it onto my to-read list. I can happily say that this book exceeded my expectations by far.

Intriguing and funny, The Reluctant Hallelujah, jumps straight into the story, not wasting a second! As the book progressed the author paced the book perfectly, making for a lively read, with not a dull moment in sight.

The characters in this story, each and every one on of them, are fantastic. You’ll meet a lot of characters in this book, so I’ll let you enjoy discovering them yourself, but I’ll introduce you to the most important - main character, Dodie. A protagonist I simply loved, she led the story beautifully, especially considering she went off on a wild goose chase, only a few days before her final Year 12 exams! Stressful much! She might not have been very happy about the situation in the beginning, about having to abandon her studies and deliver a dead guy to safety, (who would!) but the great character she is, she took it upon her shoulders and soldiered on.

It does deal with the subject of religion, but Gabrielle Williams deals with it extremely well! Even though it was sometimes jokey, the points were relevant and used purposefully.

This might sound strange, but like all good Aussie stories, it's got that beautiful Aussie essence to it. That extra pinch of something else; that rawness; that vibe. Australia might not release that many books each year, but when their good, their good.

Compelling, fun, wacky, heart-warming and so much more, this book isn’t to be missed!

5/5