Crow Lake by Mary Lawson

"I heard a debate once on the theme "Character Is Destiny." It was an undergraduate affair and ended in disarry because the protagonists had failed to define their terms beforehand. They came unstuck on destiny. Clearly if a random hit by a meteorite is your destiny, your personality doesn't have much bearing on your fate.

Still, it's an interesting idea. Take Luke, for example. You could argue that his determination, his refusal to consider the possibility of failure, made things happen. Matt was far more rational, but Luke's irrationality paid off in the end, almost as if destiny were bending to his will."