Impossible by Nancy Werlin

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Lucy Scarborough is only 17, but she carries the burden of a curse that has already struck down several women in her family. Each of her afflicted ancestors failed at completing three seemingly impossible tasks, and each succumbed to madness at the birth of her first child. Facing this tragic fate, Lucy braces herself for a losing battle. Mercifully, she has allies in her struggle: intensely sympathetic foster parents and her loyal childhood friend Zach.

From the Publisher

A beautifully wrought modern fairy tale from master storyteller and award-winning author Nancy Werlin

Inspired by the classic folk ballad "Scarborough Fair," this is a wonderfully riveting novel of suspense, romance, and fantasy. Lucy is seventeen when she discovers that she is the latest recipient of a generations-old family curse that requires her to complete three seemingly impossible tasks or risk falling into madness and passing the curse on to the next generation. Unlike her ancestors, though, Lucy has family, friends, and other modern resources to help her out. But will it be enough to conquer this age-old evil?

Publishers Weekly

Werlin (TheRules of Survival) melds fantasy and suspense in a contemporary setting for a romance with plenty of teen appeal. Lucy Scarborough, raped on prom night, is pregnant. Committed to keeping the baby, she nonetheless sees disturbing parallels to her mentally ill mother, Miranda, who had Lucy as a teen, then left her in the care of the Markowitzes-Soledad, a nurse-midwife, and her husband, Leo. Boy-next-door-type Zach, home from college and living with the Markowitzes, happens upon Miranda's teenage diary, which outlines a curse placed on Lucy's family generations earlier by the evil Elfin Knight: the women all give birth as teens before descending into madness. Lucy can break the curse only by performing three impossible tasks set forth in a variant of the ballad "Scarborough Fair." None of her forebears have come even close, but then none of them had help from the selfless Markowitzes, the love-struck and self-sacrificing Zach or the Internet, where items like goat horns can be easily located: Lucy is the luckiest accursed girl ever. Werlin disguises the retro elements by creating feminist male leads, and even though the outcome is never in doubt, she builds nail-biting tension. Ages 12-up. (Sept.)

Booklist

Werlin earns high marks for the tale's graceful interplay between wild magic and contemporary reality. Starred review

Children's Literature

Lucy has a secret she is not proud of: her birth mother is the local homeless woman. Not only is she homeless, she is insane. But as Lucy approaches her eighteenth birthday, she discovers a secret that changes her perception of her mother and herself. When one of her ancestors refused to marry an Elfin Knight, he cursed her family so that each daughter born would give birth to a daughter by her eighteenth birthday and fall into insanity. Lucy can scarcely believe what she has discovered, but as the same events that happened to her mother happen to her, she cannot help but believe. However, Lucy has one asset that none of the other women in her family had: she has step-parents and friends who believe her and want to help her break the curse. Werlin weaves a magical tale, full of intrigue and triumph, and paints an intriguing picture of how strong women can be if only they believe in themselves. While the novel obviously has fantasy elements woven into the plot, the author does not dwell on them and creates a story that is quite gripping and difficult to put down that will appeal to any reader. Reviewer: Danielle Williams

VOYA

Lucy Scarborough does not know much about her birth mother, Miranda, except that she went insane shortly after giving birth. With the exception of Miranda's havoc-wreaking appearances, Lucy has lived a happy, peaceful life with her foster parents, Leo and Soledad. But when Lucy is seventeen, around the same time Miranda begins appearing again, she becomes pregnant after being raped at her high school prom, and she begins to unearth a terrifying family secret. Lucy discovers that her mother's insanity is the result of a curse on the Scarborough women: At eighteen, each woman falls into madness after giving birth to a daughter. It is punishment for their ancestor Fenella's refusal to be the Elfin King's true love. The curse can be broken upon the completion of three impossible tasks, but these tasks might not be so impossible after all because Lucy has what no other Scarborough girl has ever had-supportive parents and a true love of her own. Werlin's book seamlessly weaves fable and fairy tale with Lucy's modern life. Lucy herself is a treasure of a character; she is spunky and unique and fiercely independent. Lucy's rape and subsequent teenage pregnancy are treated compassionately but are discussed in vague terms. Although the final showdown in the book is anticlimactic and the ending is true to fairy-tale style in its pat resolution, the story is original and makes for a fast-paced, compelling read. With its fantasy, mystery, and romantic aspects, the story will appeal to many readers. Reviewer: Courtney Wika

KLIATT

This suspenseful fantasy is by an Edgar Award-winning author, and its story of doom and romance will appeal to YAs who like the dramatic. Lucy is 17 years old; she is well loved by her adoptive parents who were friends with Lucy's birth mother before she became mentally ill after Lucy's birth. This strange mother turns up now and again, singing a new version of the old ballad, "Scarborough Fair." In this way, she is trying to warn Lucy about the family curse and show her a way to defeat the curse. But at this point in her life, Lucy is ashamed of her mother. Then the curse begins: Lucy is raped on the night of the prom and she becomes pregnant, just as her own mother became pregnant when she was 17. Lucy decides to keep the baby, but as the pregnancy continues, she starts making sense of her mother's warnings through the ballad. Lucy's adoptive parents are totally supportive, and so is Zach, who falls in love with Lucy and will do everything in his power to help her break the curse. The climax of this novel is so suspenseful it's painful. With storm and waves swirling around her, just hours before the baby is born, Lucy battles with evil and almost loses everything. This supernatural thriller would appeal to those YAs who love Meyer's popular vampire books, even though Werlin isn't writing about vampires. Reviewer: Claire Rosser

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up

Werlin combines magic, romance, and a family curse in this 21st-century fairy tale based on the ballad "Scarborough Fair." On the night of her prom, Lucy, 17, is raped by her date and becomes pregnant. She decides to keep the child, and she is supported by her foster parents and Zach, her childhood friend whose love for Lucy changes from platonic to romantic as the story progresses. The teen discovers the curse on the women in her family when she reads her birth mother's diary. Lucy is destined for madness at 18 unless she can perform the three impossible tasks described in the song and break the curse of the Elfin Knight. She is determined to rid herself and her unborn child of the curse, and her family and Zach help her as she works to solve the riddles. This unique story flows smoothly and evenly, and the well-drawn characters and subtle hints of magic early on allow readers to enter willingly into the world of fantasy. As in The Rules of Survival (Dial, 2006), Werlin addresses tough topics. Rape, teen pregnancy, and family madness set the story in motion, but the strength of Lucy's character and the love of her family and friends allow her to deal with such difficult matters and take on the impossible. Teens, especially young women, will enjoy this romantic fairy tale with modern trappings.-Jennifer D. Montgomery, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green

Kirkus Reviews

In this modern-day fairy tale, 17-year-old Lucy and her loved ones apply 21st-century rationality to their quest to escape an ancient curse. Lucy lives with the beloved foster parents who have cared for her since her teenage mother went crazy after Lucy's birth. But what Lucy and her parents don't know is that it's not just Lucy's mother who went mad, but her grandmother, her great-grandmother and further back, through countless generations: She is descended from a long line of women who have babies at age 18 and then go mad. It all seems to be connected to an ancient fairy curse that's detailed in a strange version of the song "Scarborough Fair." Together with her parents and childhood friend Zach, Lucy vows to break the curse. Modern logic and methodology mesh splendidly with fairy lore; if emergency contraception won't break the curse, then maybe duct tape will. The conclusion is startlingly wholesome, comfortable and complete for the usually dark Werlin, and the melding of magic and practicality produces a lovely whole. (Fantasy. 13-16)

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