Release Date: February 22nd 2012
Author: Gabrielle Williams
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Source: Publisher for Review
Format: Paperback
Where to Buy: Fishpond
More Info: Goodreads
Summary from Goodreads:
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.
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.
My review:
Cover:
LOVE. The flickering lights from the cross gives this bright effect to the dark background in the cover. Simple and awesome.
 |
| 5 Forget-me-not flowers for the cover! |
One Helluva Road Trip.
One day, Dodie went home and found that her parents have gone missing. Suddenly, Enron, a guy who she never spoke with before in school came to her and said that his mother left her instructions to deal with what's happening. So Enron, Dodie, and Coco (Dodie's little sister) went to the basement in their house (which was NOT SUPPOSED TO EXIST) and found SOMETHING INCREDIBLE. Something HISTORICAL, something beyond AMAZING. And so begins their helluva road trip from Melbourne to Sydney.
This is why I am so happy to live in Aussie. Aussie authors are seriously incredible. I have read Gab's Beatle Meets Destiny which I really enjoyed reading but I LOVE The Reluctant Hallelujah. It's SO UNIQUE. When I first read this book, I had no idea what it's going to be about. I know there's going to be a road trip but what else? What intrigued me to read this book was the last few words in the summary: one very handsome guy. Who is this 'handsome' guy? This book was so enjoyable. I love the road trip, I love the story and I love every bit of it. Imagine if you're driving from Melbourne to Sydney without a driving license. That might sound bad but now try and imagine you're driving without a license from Melbourne to Sydney with a very handsome guy sitting next to you. Sounds dreamy, heh? ;)
The ending completely surprised me. I won't spoil anything but it was SO SURPRISING and UNEXPECTED. But it is still definitely a great way to end the book!
Characters:
Dodie, Dodie, Dodie-do! Whoops, I didn't mean to make fun of your name or anything! Did you know that Dodie is a nickname for Dorothy? But Dodie feels Dorothy is like an old grandma's name and therefore she made up a cool nickname called Dodie! AWESOME! I love Dodie from the very first moment I read about her in the book. She is way too cool! And there's the cute Coco! You sisters just love Facebook, don't you?
And and JONES! The very handsome guy with very handsome behaviour who fixes car! You and Dodie are so cute together. Taxi! Taxi! Taxi! (Hey, I'm not calling a Taxi, Taxi is a character! ;) You and Jones are AWESOME. Enron, let's see, santa? (You'll understand what I mean by Santa when you've read the book!)
I LOVE THE CHARACTERS. They are all awesome!
Overall:
Looking for a novel with a HELLUVA road trip? The Reluctant Hallelujah is definitely FOR YOU! With awesome characters and a unique unpredictable story you'll enjoy reading about, soon you'll find yourself driving to another city without license. (Wait, I did not just encourage you to drive without license, did I? :P)
 |
| 5 Forget-me-not flowers for The Reluctant Hallelujah |
Thank you Penguin Australia for the review copy!
Glad you enjoyed it too. The ending was to die-for.
ReplyDeleteVery fun review, Celine! I loved Dodie too, she was the perfect main character and Jones, what a sweetie!
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree - Aussie author ARE incredibly talented. I'm so glad you enjoyed this Celine! It sounds amazing and I can't wait to read it myself. Awesome review!
ReplyDeleteAGH! I read about a quarter or so of this a few weeks back but I was in the midst of a massive book slump, as in read-one-page-every-three-days of any book, so I set it aside for a bit. I MUST pick it up again soon because I was liking it and the fact that you're singing it's praises now!! I'm very curious about the unpredictable ending... love when a book can take you by surprise! Fantastic review, Celine!
ReplyDeleteHurry up Brodie and get back to it, this book is amazing! <3
DeleteI absolutely LOVED this book, too! I adored it SO much, it took me forever to write the review up. Completely blew me away! Super glad you liked it just as much as me! :D
ReplyDeleteHi Celine,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the five forget-me-nots! And how funny/coincidental/ironic that forget-me-nots have a special place in The Reluctant Hallelujah ;) I used to have a patch of them in our garden when I was growing up and they remind me of my dad who isn't around anymore (forget-me-nots help me to forget-him-not!). Thanks heaps, Gab Williams x
Aww Gab, thank YOU for taking your time to read my review and comment on my review! It's such an honour to me! And yes! What a coincidence that forget-me-nots have a special place in The Reluctant Hallelujah! I would give all the forget-me-nots for your book, Gab! It's just so AWESOME! I definitely need to grow forget-me-nots to remind me of The Reluctant Hallelujah! ;)
Delete"Dodie, Dodie, Dodie-do! Whoops, I didn't mean to make fun of your name or anything!" <-- Celine, you are AWESOME. I'm pretty sure I say that a lot, but it's so true! You just made me want to read a book that I'd never heard anything about (and probably wouldn't have looked at if I had) -- that takes being at least twenty shades of awesome!
ReplyDeleteAmazing review, Celine! I had no idea that this was written by an Aussie author, and I'm really intrigued about the 'handsome' man too! ;) <3