‘The Trouble with Destiny’ by Lauren Morrill is a funny, endearing look at the life of a girl who just can’t seem to make the pieces of her life fit together, despite all evidence to the contrary that everything was okay up till a certain point.

Liza, drum major, best friend to Huck, ex-best friend to Demi, and all-around nice girl who finds herself often bearing the brunt of troubles and misunderstandings finds herself an eager, willing, and uber-competitive participant in the Destiny cruise ship’s talent contest. It’s not just her reputation as drum major, or her competitive spirit at stake. It’s also necessary to win the $25,000 prize being given away, or else the band will lose funding and she’ll be out the one group of people and the one activity that make her feel like herself.

A trail of shenanigans follows Liza through her trip, right from the get-go when Russ, star of the football team and ex-best friend Demi’s ex-boyfriend, finds himself on the trip as the band’s errand boy thanks to a prank on his part. This doesn’t sit too well with Liza, who finds Russ immature, annoying, and always in the way or doing something that she doesn’t like. Add to that her in-fighting with Demi and her group of Athenas, another group from their school competing on the ship, as well as Lenny – a cute guy who Liza can’t get out of her mind – and the Destiny ship quickly becomes overcrowded with more drama than Liza knows how to handle. Before too long, it begins to take a toll on her, and even though others are around to help pick up the pieces, sometimes too much is just too much, and learning how to take life as it comes seems to be in the cards for Liza, despite her insistence that she has it all together.

Equal parts funny and exasperating (in a good way!), ‘The Trouble with Destiny’ proves that no one’s future is completely written, especially when you think you have it all figured out.

You can find ‘The Trouble with Destiny’ by Lauren Morrill here.