Heaven Can Wait

by Cally Taylor

[Leah]

Ghost stories seem to be all the rage this year. First up we have Sophie Kinsella’s fantastic Twenties Girl and now we have Heaven Can Wait from debut author Cally Taylor. Heaven Can Wait as I said is a debut novel but when I was reading it I found that hard to believe. I’ve read a few fab debuts this year and this is another fab one.

Heaven Can Wait begins just before Lucy dies although the first line tells us that Lucy thinks she’s just about to die right then and there on the toilet and I was instantly intrigued and couldn’t help laughing. Two chapters in, though, and Lucy is dead. Cally’s descriptions of limbo, where Lucy is given her choice between heaven and ghost, were fab and Cally made it sound so intriguing. Lucy’s entrance into the House of Wannabe Ghosts was hilarious and I instantly loved Brian and Claire, Lucy’s fellow ghost wannabes. As the story progressed I found myself wanting to read the book quicker and quicker to find out if Lucy could complete her task and become a ghost.

Lucy’s task, finding love for Archie, made for quite hilarious and interesting reading. I know Archie was some kind of super-geek who loved LAN parties but I liked him immediately. I truly hoped that Archie could find love, not just so Lucy could become a ghost. It took Lucy a while to get to know Archie but I liked that they became friends. I also liked that, despite having 21 days to complete her task, Lucy took it upon herself to help Brian complete his task.

All of the characters in Heaven Can Wait were fantastic. Lucy made for a fantastic heroine. I loved her hypochondriac ways immediately. She was instantly likeable and I couldn’t help but feel for her at how much she missed Dan. The scenes where Lucy goes to see Dan were incredibly sad because Wannabe Ghost rules stated that Dan wouldn’t see her as Lucy nor would she be able to talk to him. Her helplessness really added to the book and I thought that was a clever twist from Cally. We didn’t see much of Dan but from what there was I really liked him. He and Lucy seemed so much in love. As I mentioned above I immediately loved Brian and Claire, Lucy’s Wannabe Ghosties. They were so different to Lucy and had died in different ways but they all had the same thing in common: they all wanted to become ghosts and complete their tasks. Strangely enough, although Anna wanted to ‘steal’ Dan, I kind of felt sympathy for her. She didn’t seem to be doing it maliciously and for me it came across quite genuine.

Cally’s writing is fantastic and I am incredibly shocked this is only her first novel. Cally is quite a writing talent and if I didn’t know any better I’d have guessed she was an established author. She really gets us into the mind of Lucy and makes her so likeable I just wanted her to get her happy ending. Just before the end Lucy makes a completely shocking decision which comes across sad and also quite noble in the context of things. I thought that was that but Cally gave us another huge twist which finished the book perfectly. I didn’t see it coming at all but it was the perfect ending.

Heaven Can Wait is a truly outstanding debut novel. It’s different from most chick lit out there considering it’s about Ghost Wannabes, but that doesn’t detract from how great it is. I can totally see why so many people have raved about it and I’m pleased to be joining them in telling people just how good it is. It really is fab and I recommend you read it. Right now.