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Impossible (by Nancy Werlin)

common sense media says

Well-written, twisted fairytale has mature themes.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that while this book is a contemporary fairy tale, it has dark undercurrents, including date rape, teen pregnancy, mental illness, sexual slavery, and supernatural curses. Two young people wed very young despite parental objections; this is presented as romantic though admittedly not ideal.

Positive messages: Lucy's mother is mentally ill and homeless. She throws glass bottles at Lucy and her family. Despite taking medication to prevent it after the rape, Lucy becomes pregnant as a senior in high school. Her parents and friends bring up the option of abortion, but Lucy is determined to keep the baby. Lucy stays in school while pregnant and makes up her missed work after the baby is born. Lucy realizes "how the adults had been right that, under normal circumstances, marriage and a baby would possibly not have been the right choice at this time in life."
Violence: Lucy is raped by her prom date while he is possessed by an evil Elfin Knight. It's clear what's happening but it's not graphically described. Her date dies that night when his car smashes into a tree in a supposed drunk-driving accident. Lucy's friend says he hopes the deceased boy's last moments were full of pain and he is gang-raped in hell. The Elfin Knight threatens to punish Lucy for getting married, saying, "Perhaps I will make you kill him for me."
Sex: There is an oblique reference to a young man's erection. Lucy's teenage friend refers to her own sexual experience with an ex-boyfriend before offering to answer any of Lucy's questions (nothing explicit). On their honeymoon, Lucy alludes to two showerheads in a shower and asks her new husband if he wants her to scrub his back. Miranda has sex with a boy to please a beautiful man (the Elfin Knight).
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: The family drinks champagne in celebration; the Elfin Knight (disguised as a human) offers wine to underaged Zach, who refuses it. Miranda drinks a beer at a party, then wonders if she had sex because she was drunk.
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More on Impossible

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
Families can talk about the idea of true love and how rarely people find their soul mates in high school. They can also discuss how much work it takes to care for a baby. Families might also want to listen to the Simon & Garfunkel version of the ballad and talk about how Werlin adapted the traditional folk song for her novel.

What's the story?

What's the story?
Seventeen-year-old Lucy Scarborough just wants to be normal high-schooler with a nice date for the prom. She wishes her mentally ill mother would stop showing up an inopportune moments to offer bizarre bits of advice, like telling her to "Pay attention to the song. Now it's your turn." But when Lucy is raped and ends up pregnant, her mom's warnings start making frightening sense. A variation on the folk song "Scarborough Fair" explains that her family has been cursed: "If you do not perform the three tasks successfully by the time your daughter is born, then everything that has happened to your mother will happen to you. And then to your daughter." Can Lucy, with the help of her foster parents and her devoted boyfriend, complete an evil Elfin Knight's seemingly impossible tasks before it's too late?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 
Centered on the lyrics of the folk song "Scarborough Fair," IMPOSSIBLE is a novel, engaging entry to the fractured-fairytale genre. In Werlin's version, the singer is not just a demanding lover (how exactly does one make a shirt "without no seam nor needlework"?) but a demon who curses a woman who spurned his advances. Passed from mother to daughter, the curse's full horror dawns on Lucy as she struggles to deal with a burgeoning love interest, pregnancy, and a teen's normal push for independence.

Werlin adeptly weaves the supernatural into her modern setting, balancing magic with the realistic hardships of rape and teen pregnancy. Though the tale is not scary, the seductive Elfin Knight is a truly evil villain. The book's pace slows a bit, but picks up toward the end as Lucy and her family strive to solve the curse's puzzling tasks.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Nancy Werlin
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication date: September 17, 2008
Number of pages: 384
Hardcover price: $17.99
This review was written by Stephanie Dunnewind
 
 

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Most useful reviews by all members

palmtreeluva
teen, 14 years old
16
 
HATEHATEHATEHATEHATE THIS BOOK!!! :( :(
HATE HATE HATED this book! It was way inappropriate. I am thirteen years old, and I got really uncomfortable while reading this book. Sexual themes are way too vulgar, violence and alcohol use are very harsh too. PIease, even if you are sixteen years old, don't read this. There are way better books out there. This book would've been stupid anyway, even without all the bad themes in it!
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pizzavince
teen, 15 years old
13
 
Wonderful Book
This is honestly the best book I have ever read. I think that there is nothing in this book that a normal 13 year old wouldn't know about. The book covers the effects of teen pregnacy.
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vballgirl716
kid, 13 years old
12
 
perfect 4 both
i loved it!!!!! i thought it was 2 good 2 miss. ok... there are a few sex parts. non graphic. 17 year old lucy is raped at her prom and after she is married she "makes love" with her husband.
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infinity2
parent of 19 year old
13
 
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I izz awsom
teen, 14 years old
13
 
not bad but not great
I liked it because it shows how strong lucy is inside and she can do anything with the will to do so. My only problem with it was that it was to sappy of a romance and needed a little more fantasy of adventure. PLUS i didn't like the whole thing that she was raped and pregnant at 17 it just made me feel bad for her
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booklover1
teen, 15 years old
12
 
so good
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