darling books: God made you a painter

  'Gabriel? What troubles you?'
  Gabriel swallowed; his distress was becoming clearer with every passing moment. He spoke to Father Teo. 'Father, I was made for ... for pleasure. You would say for sin. I do not think that God would receive me.' 
  Leonardo let out a single oath; Father Teo raised a hand to silence him. His mouth had hardened into a thin line but Serafina understood that it was not Gabriel he was angry with. 
  He said, 'Gabriel, my son, God does not care what men have made you.' The anger dissolving, he smiled a little and bent over Gabriel to take both his hands up into his own, and examine the thin fingers with the paint stains ingrained around the fingernails. 'God does not care what men have made you,' he repeated, 'for He made you a painter.'
  Serafina saw Gabriel's hands convulsively return the priest's clasp. His eyes widened in sudden wonder. He whispered, 'Truly?'
  'Truly.'

Cherith Baldry: The Reliquary Ring (picture from Amazon). I'm not sure why I love this obscure little fantasy novel about an alternative, medieval Venice where genetically engineered people are held in slavery. It's a bit weird. But it tugs on my heart strings.

I remember reading it in one sitting, the first time. The sitting being on the floor of a train, because I couldn't find a seat, in the draughty little hallway between passenger cars. A long journey from London to Cornwall. I paid no attention to the discomfort or the disappointing fact that I couldn't see the lovely landscapes I was travelling through. I was lost in my book.