Orla’s coming of age story is by turns heartbreaking, funny, incredibly odd but always compelling. The death of Orla’s mother feels like a character as Orla tries to run away from her father who uses alcohol for his grief. Running into a homeless man named Jesus adds more oddness along with religious overtones, some magical realism, and an amazingly good story.

3,5⭐️(?)

"You are the Son of God so get up and walk again. [...]
All I have are memories.
Good bits and bad bits.
That's all I have.
I don't want to give them up."

So you wanna meet God, kid?
Because Orla didn't. Orla wants to runaway to Ireland, where her mother's family is, and she has the plan. She's prepared for the roads, and boats, and bad weather conditions, yet for what she is not prepared is peculiar meeting with strange men that tries to steal her bike. This one unusual guy will shatter all her preparings (with which she won't be happy), but that's not how her story will end.

The question mark for this book is accurate. What is this story? Starts blurry and finishes even less clearly. Orla's story was written by a poet, which is incredibly visible, but it's this kind of poetry that's weird and confusing, the one that's not very much liked by people. We don't like things hard to categorise, and Orla is everything but easy to categorise. Behind her runaway plan lies conflict with family, grief, loss, feeling of being los, alienation and questions. A lot of questions about the way life goes.

At first it's just a book, a strange one for sure. It doesn't show its true conflicts for a very long time. There is one peculiar girl that wouldn't fit with reader in real life and one depressed Jesus eating birds, but then there is family abuse. Religion trauma. Fear of world going to fast. The deal behind life and death. It's not perfect, but it sure is a try to get your mind wrapped around the idea what if religion was as literal as we always take it. Is the world ready for what it knew since the very beginning. How hard is to say goodbye, especially for people that felt like one wasn't needed.

I was thrown into the eye of a conflict and left with no answer. And so I'm not sure how to feel about it. But there is this interesting feeling inside me, like if Orla has stolen something from me like she steals some things through the whole book. And I think like I need to thank her for that.

I gulped this book down. Orla's breathless adolescence kept pulling me to keep reading. To keep hoping that she would slow down enough to see the people around her who wanted to help. And to learn that you can't outrun (or out bike) grief. It's a beautiful, magical novel. I'm so glad I got to read it.

This debut novel is enchanting and surreal. The Gospel of Orla follows the eponymous character Orla as she runs away from the grief she feels for her mother's death with a strange man with magical power that she meets on the side of the road. Walls' writing gives Orla a distinct and often hilarious voice.

An engaging, original story. Orla is a character you will root for, despite all her bad behaviors. This coming-of-age story will have a cross-over appeal to teens.

A touching, jaunty coming of age story with dark and humorous overtones, The Gospel of Orla is right up my alley. I thought Walls' lyrical prose really worked in helping establish a voice and presence for her young nearly-adult main character.

If you're interested in authors who aren't afraid to take risks in the pursuit of creating something new and exciting, I'd recommend this read for sure.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the digital advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This lyrical novel follows Orla as she comes of age in the UK. Beautifully written, delicately wrought, fans of literary fiction will love it.

The Gospel of Orla has an incredible child protagonist. Orla is so multidimensional and imperfect in the way that 14-year-olds are. I am still amazed at how well the author understood and conveyed girlhood.
With a protagonist this strong and unique I don't think the plot has to be very complex for a novel to be enjoyable. I love a good road trip story, and I think this one was paced well and didn't have too many twists and curves to confuse me completely. The physical/spacial aspect fit the themes and Orla's development and I found the ending fitting.
One of the main themes of the novel is grief. I found the portrayal of a grieving young family quite realistic. The novel deals with complex emotions and relationships without telling the reader directly how we are supposed to feel about them. The adults in the novel are presented through Orla's limited understanding of how the world works, and it would be so easy to clearly show them as villains or losers, but that's not the case here. I think under Orla's antipathy you can still see how much they care for her and love her to the best of their capabilities.
I have to admit I was very worried that the novel will hit a moralising tone considering the religious theme. I was positively surprised. Jesus is funny at times, but I found his character quite tragic, and I have to admit I shed a tear or two over him. The supernatural element was more mysterious than mystical and it kept me on the edge.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone who used to be a teenage girl, and to everyone who's an angry griever. I am unsure if it is suitable for a child, but it has a no-bullshit attitude that stands out from books with similar themes.

When I think only about the plot points of this book, it's hard to believe that I would find it compelling, but 100% the narrative voice of the character Orla drives it all and makes it worth reading. Walls does well creating a flawed but likeable protagonist whose emotional journey you cannot help but tag along for the ride.

The writing creates such a mood that it's hard to focus on anything else but the rich, deep language Walls uses to create an atmosphere of longing combined with "don't give AF" that Orla has after losing her mother and seeking to leave on a bicycle to get to her grave.

An unlikely friendship with magical realism set in Ireland means that for American teen readers, it will read a little differently but those that love and appreciate the depth of feeling that's created will be all-in. Similarly, the lack of quotes for dialogue might also be a stylistic choice they don't love (but fits so well).

The Gospel of Orla is a great novel about grief and caregiving. I liked the elements of magical realism throughout the story as well.

The Gospel of Orla focuses on Orla’s grief after her mother dies and her father struggles to put their family back together. With a decent amount of magical realism, Orla shares her dark thoughts, frustrations of being a teenager, and the conflict between being a caregiver and wanting to be cared for.

This book is called lyrical for a reason and should be emphasized because if you don’t like quasi-whimsical, prose-like language, this book is not for you.

The book is a really interesting take on what would you do to get your loved one back.

ARC via NetGalley

This one just wasn't for me. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading an Irish version of The Shack and it just soured it for me. I loved Orla and her vibe but just don't love reading about Jesus in modern-day stories.

Orla is fourteen, and her life is a mess. Her mother died from cancer a couple of months ago, her father is an unemployed alcoholic, her best friend Jamie isn’t even allowed to talk to her after he got in trouble for what they both did: shooting at a teacher’s car. The only person she loves is her baby sister Lily, but that isn’t enough to make her stay. She has a plan: she’s going to run away, get to Ireland, and stay with her aunt Sinead. She’s been caught a few times, but this time her plan is flawless. She’ll bike on the back roads and she’ll make it. Away from her life.

Her plan is immediately foiled by a large man who’s calling himself Jesus, who manages to get her bike stuck in the reeds. But…he brings it back. And after Orla finds him again, she realizes he can bring things back to life: dead birds, her cat, as a test…and maybe her mother. Orla sets off to bring Jesus to Ireland, where her mother is buried. And what happens when a teenager and the Son of God are trying to sneak away? Chaos.

This was an absolute delight. Walls created a very strong character in Orla; her narration is so unique and funny and touching. Stubborn and so sure she’s right, Orla stops at nothing, and her angry grief is so real. Walls captured the essence of being a teenage girl so perfectly. My only sadness is that this wasn’t a terribly long book and I really wish it was longer. Orla’s misadventures and ingenuity really make for a great ride.

I finished this book and announced out loud to myself ‘that was the weirdest book I have ever read’!
This is a positive thing, I really enjoyed The Gospel of Orla, it is beautifully written and even though none of the characters were very likeable, I was still rooting for them.
Eoghan Walls provides lots to think about with many moments of wonder in both the mundane and magical.
I will be purchasing this book for the library and recommending it to our patrons.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙶𝚘𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝙾𝚛𝚕𝚊 is the debut novel by Irish poet, Eoghan Walls. It will be released by @penguinrandomhouse on 7 March next year.

This is a coming of age story about 14 year old Orla and her grief when her mother dies. She plans to travel to Ireland where her mother is buried and ropes in a homeless man called Jesus, to assist her.

Walls uses magic realism to tell a compelling and at times weird story of a young girl's visceral grief. There are some beautiful scenes, humour and some just downright WTF is going on! Certainly not predictable and as the title suggests some biblical influences and spiritual questions. I enjoyed the writing and sought out Walls' poetry. Encourage all to do the same. He definitely has a way with words.

Thanks to #netgalley and @7storiespress for the ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I had no idea what to expect coming into The Gospel of Orla and was thrilled and surprised to find such a delightful debut novel from Northern Irish poet Eoghan Walls. I wondered how an author could pull off a story like this, and am tickled Walls did it. A young girl, Orla, with recent losses and current unhappinesses meets a man who calls himself Jesus, (as in "Yes I am the Christ. Of God's blood. The Jesus Jesus." I won't spoil any of their interactions or adventures, but somehow the book allows the reader to push the limits of what mysteries faith holds in the contemporary world, and what is human versus divine. Highly recommended for searchers, and those who enjoy intelligent, boundary-pushing stories. Thanks so much to NetGalley for this ARC!