I’ve been wanting to read this book for a long time. Last week, amid my Christmas book-buying frenzy, I picked up Nancy Werlin’s Impossible as a gift to myself, and what a gift it was.
Lucy, the 17-year-old main character, is fighting a centuries-old family curse based on the impossible tasks in the folk song "Scarborough Fair." She has nine months to solve the riddles of the ballad, to save herself and her unborn child. Unlike her mother and her mother’s mother before her, Lucy has the support of a loving foster family and a devoted childhood friend, but still, she knows she’s fighting a battle that her ancestors have all lost.
It’s been a long time since I’ve rooted quite so hard for characters in a novel, but Lucy won my heart. I loved her, and I love the story Nancy Werlin wove around her. Impossible has it all — an impossible task (three, actually), a fantastically alluring villain, a brave heroine, a tension-filled plot, and one of the sweetest romances you’ll ever encounter. As I write this review, the wind is whipping through the trees outside, transporting me back to that chapter where Lucy and Zach were — wait a minute…that would be a spoiler, and that’s no good. I better just stop there. Trust me…you’ll want to read every word of this gem yourself.
Kate’s Holiday Book Review Note: I hope you’re shopping with independent bookstores for the holidays! After all of my holiday season book reviews, I’ll be posting a short note on how each title might fit into your gift list.
Suggested ages: 12+ (and this is one that older readers of YA will love!)
Buy it for readers who loved: Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle Trilogy, the Twilight series, Elizabeth Bunce’s A Curse Dark as Gold. The mix of romance, suspense, folklore,and magic will make Impossible a sure bet with a wide range of readers.
Well, Kate, you sure have me sold!
Okay, I HAVE to read this now. Thanks for the reminder.
This one’s on my shelf too. Ugh.
So much to read, so little time.
Great book picks, Kate!
I loved this book too. I’m so excited for Kindling Words this year, because Nancy is teaching the author strand. Yay!
M really liked this one. I will have to find it in her room and swipe it back.
And thus far I’ve shopped at three separate independent bookstores for the holidays, even though the closest one is an hour away. (I’ve also shopped at B&N and Borders, however, as they are close by. Sorry.)
That…looks…AMAZING!
Sounds wonderful Kate. I have it on my shelf!
Oh good! You’ll love it!
You’ll be so glad you did – it’s fantastic.
There’s never enough time, is there?
Me, too! (And actually, I’m reading an ARC of PURGE right now! Seriously…wow. I’m in awe of the way you managed to tell such a tough, heartbreaking story with so much humor in your characters’ voices, too. I’m loving it. Well done, Sara!)
Ah…it sounds like you’re in the same situation we’re in. Our indies are all an hour away, too, but we’ve managed to shop at the ones in Shelburne, VT and Lake Placid in the past few weeks.
Steal IMPOSSIBLE back from M. You’ll love it.
It is!!
You’re going to love it! And I’m going to try to read the book club book for January because I’ve been meaning to read that one, but I’m not signing up officially because I just don’t know when more copy edits might fall into my lap.
No problem. You’re already on the blog list as a member. Good luck with the copy edits.
Oooh! *blushes* – that means so much coming from you! There have been one or two not so nice reviews on blogs because of the situations and language, which got me really nervous. It’s that old agonizing thing about being authentic and limiting your audience when you use “language”. But I felt in this case it was really important to be authentic – and people in a psych ward don’t say “Fiddlesticks”.