Impossible by Nancy Werlin Spoiler Free

[Jalilah]

This spoiler free thread is for Impossible by Nancy Werlin, YA retelling for our January 15-March 14 Group Read!

[Melanti]

It took someone nominating this book for me to realize that I've never actually listened to the words to "Scarborough Fair" other than the "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" chorus.

There's a lot more to the song beyond what Simon & Garfunkel sang.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarbor...

[Katy]

Melanti wrote: "It took someone nominating this book for me to realize that I've never actually listened to the words to "Scarborough Fair" other than the "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme" chorus...."

Yes, I had to look that up also.

[Leah]

I'm pretty awful with song titles and did not even put two and two together with the Simon & Garfunkel song and the ballad. Thanks for the link to the lyrics!

Here's a link to the Simon & Garfunkel song for anyone with a musical memory as bad as mine lol https://youtu.be/-BakWVXHSug

[Monica]

This one is not available at my library so I won't be joining in.

[Margaret]

I checked it out for my kindle today, and will start on it either tonight or tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the links to the lyrics and song! I also didn't really know what the song was about. Why are they setting each other 'impossible' tasks? I wonder if it was sort of a melancholy folksong, like 'no matter what I'll never be with my love,' and the tasks are metaphors for that?

[Melanti]

I think the key phrase is "she ONCE was a true love of mine..." As in, a true love no longer.

So, it's sort of like saying "Oh, you're going to go see my ex? Tell her I said hello and that I'll take her back when pigs fly."
Then the response to that being, "Oh, yeah? Well, you tell him that when hell freezes over, I'll show him the flying pig."

At least, that's the way I'm reading the lyrics.

Simon and Garfunkel do sing it as a rather sad song, don't they? I wonder if there's more playful versions out there.

[Margaret]

Ah, that makes it much funnier, particularly the woman's part.

[Melanti]

Hm... I was just poking around to see if I could find a more playful version of the song and I ran across this site: https://bethtrissel.wordpress.com/201...

To summarize, it says that "Scarborough Fair" is a variant on an even older ballad, "The Elvin Knight", which is about a elf who will abduct a woman UNLESS she can perform impossible tasks, and she puts him off by asking him to do other impossible tasks first before she'll do her impossible tasks - thus delaying the abduction indefinitely.

Judging by the blurb for Impossible, it's probably going to follow the plot of "The Elfin Knight" - not the modern day version of "Scarborough Fair".

[Margaret]

Werlin has the lyrics she's using at the very beginning of the novel. Instead of "she once was a true love of mine," it's "she MUST be a true love of mine."

[Margaret]

There's a rape scene in the first fourth of the novel.

I wasn't sure if I should mention it, but some people like being warned beforehand.

[Katy]

I found a copy. Now I just need to find the time. Year end organizing for taxes -- my least favorite job. It takes forever.

[Margaret]

I finished today. I didn't like it, but I hope some of you read it so we can talk about it! There are definitely some good things about it, but also some other things...

[Leah]

I have my copy from the library but with my current TBR queue, including ARCs I have to read within the next two weeks, I probably will not start Impossible until the first week of February.

[Katy]

Started this one today.

[Katy]

Finished today. Not the best or worst book that I've read. It is pretty much standard YA fare -- I did like the impossible tasks & the way the author used the ballad in the book.

[Margaret]

Kathy wrote: "Finished today. Not the best or worst book that I've read. It is pretty much standard YA fare -- I did like the impossible tasks & the way the author used the ballad in the book."

Is it standard? It seemed rather bland to me, and I hated the portrayal of (view spoiler)[ rape and its affects. (hide spoiler)] But I also like the premise, and the way she changed the folktale.

[Katy]

The average YA stuff seems pretty bland to me, maybe I just don't have good luck choosing books? I used to love YA but lately is seems more & more the same and poorly written.

(view spoiler)[I hated that having the baby at 17 makes everything wonderful. Teen pregnancy is a big issue and it is hard to be teen parents. (hide spoiler)]

[Margaret]

Every now and then I'll read a fantastic YA, but it's no that common. But I only read about 10-15 YA a year, so I also don't think I'm reading widely enough in the genre to make any judgments.

(view spoiler)[ I completely agree. My niece was 17 when she became pregnant, as was my sister, so the depiction was so incredibly irritating! I did like her friend Sara. (hide spoiler)]

[Jalilah]

Kathy wrote: "The average YA stuff seems pretty bland to me, maybe I just don't have good luck choosing books? I used to love YA but lately is seems more & more the same and poorly written.

[spoilers removed]"

I too read more YA books that are meh lately. The exceptions for me are:
Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy
Holly Blacks Modern Faerie Tale series first one is Tithe
And Charles de Lint's Wildling series first book is Under My Skin ( I don't like the YA books set in his Newford series nearly as much)
And The Wildwood series by Juliet Marillier the first book is Wildwood Dancing

[Katy]

That is a nice list of books -- read all but Under My Skin. The rest I really enjoyed and are on the top of my list. As our reading tastes are similar that now gives me a new book to try. Thanks

[Melanti]

My co-worker in a different state just let me check out this ebook using her library card info (local library didn't have it in e-book form) so I probably ought to read it sooner rather than later, cause I won't want to impose on her kindness a second time just because I'm a slow reader.

[Margaret]

I've wanted to read the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy since so many people here like it, but I haven't yet! Maybe this year...

[Melanti]

I've got to say... It's not just the (view spoiler)[magic elf rape (hide spoiler)] and an inherited family curse that makes this book a fantasy.

But I've had fun ranting about all the absurdities over in the spoiler thread.

[Susan]

Melanti wrote: "I've got to say... It's not just the [spoilers removed] and an inherited family curse that makes this book a fantasy.

But I've had fun ranting about all the absurdities over in the spoiler thread."

Susan grins and nods.

[Leah]

I just realized I haven't updated Goodreads/LibraryThing with what I read between 1/1 and 1/23, and now I'm scrambling to go back through my library account and handwritten notes to fill in the gaps, which means time (I wasn't planning on) to write those reviews...

So now I'm not sure if I should invest my time to read Impossible. But I also don't want to read the spoilers thread just yet in case I *should* read Impossible.

Note: I am quite fickle when it comes to YA: the story has to be just the right "fit" or I won't like it. If it's too lovey dovey or too angsty or too superficial... if the female is weak, co-dependent, no self-worth, etc., etc. If I have to constantly suspend my disbelief or physically stop my eyes from rolling -- you get the idea.

What say you, group members? Is Impossible worth the four-ish hours to read it?

[Melanti]

It's definitely rather superficial, IMO, there's quite a lot to suspend disbelief about and I rolled my eyes so much they nearly fell out.

Weak, co-dependent, lack of self worth, angsty, etc are not among its faults though.

I'm not sure what all I can say without including spoilers...

Hm... So, one thing I think I can safely mention is that it's written from an almost evangelical, abstinence-only point of view. God is never mentioned, so it's not really Christian fic, but they put a lot of emphasis on the two main character's purity and virginity and about how great sex within the confines of marriage is going to be with the implication that sex outside of marriage is dirty and unsatisfactory...

That's not inherently a bad thing -- I just finished a really great book with a strict Catholic main character -- but I didn't like it at all in this particular case.

Um... And Margaret already mentioned the rape scene, so I don't think it's THAT much more to say that they never reported it to the police - it just gets swept under the rug in several ways. Granted, there's extenuating circumstances to excuse them for not doing so, but IMO, those extenuating circumstances happen too late in the timeline to justify the lapse in reporting the crime. That part really, really made me mad.

If you have better things to do or other things you have to read, I think you can safely skip it. Jalilah is going to skip it too, after reading what I said in the spoiler thread.

[Margaret]

I'm going to venture a guess and say you would definitely roll your eyes in some places, and possibly throw the book across the room.

I don't regret reading it--I liked the basic premise, I liked Lucy (though her character development needed more), there's solid family support, and I'm helping a friend with a YA novel she's writing so it helped me frame some of the things she should and should not be doing with her novel. But...there are a lot of issues, as Melanti says. A LOT. And the plot doesn't hold up to much scrutiny, and there is a lovey-dovey relationship that is unbelievable.

[Leah]

Melanti wrote: "It's definitely rather superficial, IMO, there's quite a lot to suspend disbelief about and I rolled my eyes so much they nearly fell out.."

That last bit gave me a good laugh. :)

Margaret wrote: "I'm going to venture a guess and say you would definitely roll your eyes in some places, and possibly throw the book across the room."

Yeah, it's sounding like I may just skip this one. I have lots and lots of other books I want to read this month and where normally I'm open to giving away my time on an iffy book, I just don't want to this month.

Thank you for the feedback! I'm gonna check out the spoiler thread now...