Just about as perfect as a book can be, this grabs you from the first word and holds onto your heart right to the last, fateful word. Bowen has created a book that is so fully saturated in the voice of the narrator that the reader comes away feeling as if he or she were Hattie’s best friend. Through short chapters and snippets that jump through Hattie’s life, from her death scene in the opening to her life’s trials and triumphs, the reader experiences Hattie’s hard, unforgiving world and is transported through love, longing, hope, disgust, betrayal, and back to love again. Bowen has us rooting for Hattie to finally find her happiness even though we already know her fate. Hattie is a masterful debut that expertly weaves together themes of love, loss, nature, destiny and the beauty of simple humanity.

US Review of Books/Eric Hoffer Award