Squeeze The Day

The Haunting Of Hattie Hastings by Audrey Davis is a delightfully fun contemporary fantasy that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The action follows recently bereaved Hattie Hastings. Something is keeping her husband from completely crossing over. Like Clarence in It’s A Wonderful Life, there is something he must do in order to progress.

This is a very charming novel. It is highly amusing too, as the characters break up the sadness with witty one-liners.

We can feel the love shining through. “You and Hattie are my world, and I know it’s a world that’s a better place for you being in it.” The love lasts beyond the grave. We can ‘feel’ the devastation of Hattie Hastings after her beloved Gary dies. “Lost her husband? How he hated that phrase. As if she’d misplaced him.” Well-meaning platitudes are of no help at all, when your world has just collapsed.

Words have the power to build up or to tear down. “Cat who’d taken all the withering remarks and snide asides from Stewart and allowed them to dismantle her self-worth piece by piece.” It takes a lot of bravery for a character to re-build her self-worth.

Characters support each other, both here on earth and in the afterlife. There are some tender scenes with eight-year-old Marty.

Although this is a fantasy novel, it is first and foremost about love – not the hearts, flowers and grand-gestures love, but the quiet, gentle love that lasts.

I will leave you with my favourite quote:

“We were so, so loved and we get to carry that love around with us always.”

JULIA WILSON