The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill has the distinction of being my first book of 2016. No regrets with that — I had quite the pleasant time reading this book. The Trouble With Destiny is a book that has not really been hyped by my friends and perhaps I am the black sheep with this book. I found it to be cute, funny, and just the ticket for a sleepy day – it was a book that was easy to follow and entertaining. Frankly, if you want a book to amuse you – The Trouble With Destiny might do the trick.
So, I guess The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill is allegedly a retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I guess, from browsing goodreads that seems to be the consensus. As I am apparently ignorant, I do not actually know that play all that well – I’ve never read or seen it. So, I read this book through the lens that it was its own story and I am fine with that. So, okay, Liza is drum major of the band. Unfortunately, it seems that the band may be cut from the school budget.
A hail Mary comes through in the form of a school arts competition for $25,000 that takes place aboard a cruise ship called the Destiny. Unfortunately, they have stiff competition in the form of the girl’s singing group, the Athenas, headed by Liza’s former best friend, Demi. Demi does not lose – in fact, she always wins. Liza is not going down without a fight. Also? There’s a little bit of romance in the form of childhood friend Lenny and this jock named Russ, who is forced to help the band as a form of punishment from the principal. The competition is on.
Liza, main character of The Trouble With Destiny is totally a Type A and I LOVE IT. I mean, she sort of denies it a little bit – saying that Demi was more into being the star and in the spotlight and leading than she was (back when they were kids). However, Liza is hyper organized and is essentially the leader of the band. She puts a whole lot of pressure on herself. She also makes some terrible assumptions. All that pressure is bound to come to a head — in the most magnificent way and I enjoyed how it all went down — cringes and all.
Okay, so you guys I was team Russ all throughout The Trouble With Destiny – mainly because when it comes to athlete vs. hipster, I always choose the athlete. So, essentially Liza has this huge crush on Lenny who was her first kiss, back when they went to camp together. Lenny is no longer on the stage as he was at camp, but instead is obsessed with photography. He seems sort of cool at first, but as a reader, just was not doing it for me. As for Russ, he is the quarterback of the football team and comes off as kind of dumb. However, he’s not a mean guy and actually has an awesome personality, as you will see when you read Morrill’s book.
Probably my second favorite thing about this book, besides the setting and the hilarity and all of the disasters that happen is the band element. Now, I am not a true band nerd, I was only in marching band for a short time – my junior and senior years and was terrible at it — I was in the auxillary percussion and played triangle. However, I do remember that awesome feeling of being a team with the band and how much fun it was. I loved that aspect of this book- how Morrill captures the teamwork parts. My one complaint though, is that I couldn’t figure out if this was a marching band or a sit in the chairs concert band. Some parts allude to them being a marching band and then others, it sounds like they just sit in chairs and play music.
The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill is a fun book. I did not take this book super seriously while reading it, just went along for the ride. I think that if you’re expecting the greatest book of all time, you might be disappointed. If you’re expecting something funny, characters who are easy to relate to and BAND NERDS, you will likely end up enjoying this book as much as I did.
Other Reviews of The Trouble With Destiny by Lauren Morrill:
Andi’s ABCs – “adorable and fun”
A Reader Of Fictions – “The characterization is weak, at best”
The Pretty Good Gatsby – “a quick and easy read”
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I’ve also heard mediocre things about this one, but I am curious. I wasn’t a fan of Morrill’s debut, but I listened to her second book on audio (I can’t remember the title right now!) and I liked it. So maybe I will try this on audio. (Also, I tend to chose the athlete as well). 🙂
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I ended up liking this one too! It was pretty fun and I really liked it. It’s a perfect summery read.
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
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The Trouble With Destiny does sound pretty adorable! Even though cute and entertaining isn’t always necessarily what I’m in the mood for, I definitely think I’ll have to keep this in mind as an option for when I’m in that particular frame of mind. I do love that you enjoyed it for what it was! And I also love learning that it’s a retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream – I had no idea about that, and that makes me feel more inclined to check it out!
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