Impossible by Nancy Werlin

Summary and review:

The Scarborough women have been cursed for generations--at the age of 18 they become pregnant and, after giving birth (always to a baby girl), they go mad. The curse will end only when a Scarborough woman can complete three impossible tasks before the birth of her daughter. Lucy is the next Scarborough in line for the curse, but with the help of her boyfriend, her foster parents, and clues passed down to her from her mother, she is determined to successfully complete the tasks and escape the fate of the Scarborough women who have come before her. The tasks are outlined in a version of the folk song "Scarborough Fair" that Lucy's ancestors have sung for generations--make a magical shirt without needles or seams, find an acre of land between salt water and the sea strand, and plow an acre with goat's horn before sowing it with a single grain of corn.

I loved the way that Nancy Werlin used the song "Scarborough Fair." It's such a brilliant idea. The song is perfect; despite its familiarity, its beautiful tune is haunting and the meaning of the lyrics cryptic. The idea that something so common can hold so much mystery and hidden meaning is exciting. It gives a magical, mystical possibility to everyday life.

I also really liked the relationships in the book. It's so easy in young adult fiction to manufacture plot lines by giving the teen antagonist backstabbing best friends, unfaithful significant others, and unsympathetic, distant, or totalitarian parents (who are usually divorced and fighting, adding additional angst to the storyline). Not every relationship in the book was healthy--Lucy's mom, for example, was a deranged bag lady. However, Lucy had a strong support system in the form of her boyfriend, her best friend, and the Markowitzes, the foster parents who reared Lucy since birth. Anyone of these people could have easily let Lucy down, considering that she was a pregnant teenager with some pretty crazy-sounding ideas about how she ended up that way, yet they didn't. It was refreshing to see Lucy's loved ones stand by her.

I wish that the villain had been a little more menacing. The truth about the punishment he imposes on the Scarborough women is absolutely evil and creepy and horrifying, but with regards to Lucy completing the tasks, he didn't seem to pose much of an obstacle. I think Werlin definitely could have upped the tension in that respect.

Overall, I thought that this was a captivating book, especially at the beginning. The momentum died down a bit towards the book's conclusion, but I loved the premise and the characters. This is the second book I've read by Nancy Werlin, and I will definitely be adding more of hers to my library's hold list. ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7/10)

Content:

Blood and gore: Minor

Sex: References to abortion, pregnancy, and teenage sex, and rape. Although Lucy refuses to consider abortion and mentions that she is alive only because her mother refused it, abortion is offered by several different people as a viable option to end an unwanted pregnancy. Furthermore, teenage sex is seen as something inevitable and normal. This may be offensive to some people, so please take that into consideration.

Language: Mild