Book: All the Impossible Things (2019)
Author: Lindsay Lackey
Genre: MG, Magical Realism
Basic plot: Red is a foster kid who’s been in and out of foster days. And her newest placement, with a family who owns a petting zoo of sorts, is just going to be temporary. That’s because Red’s mom will be released from prison, and she promised to stay off those white pills. But then Red meets a the tortoise named Tuck and she starts to fall in love with her new foster home. So, what can she do when she learns that her mom is getting out on good behaviour?
WHAT’S COOL…
1) I felt the emotional struggle of poor Red through the ups and downs of being a foster kid. The magical realism kicks in with the fact that her emotions are somehow connected to wind. Red’s mood can cause horrible storms. It’s a neat little twist on a term called pathetic fallacy. (I love that term!)
2) How great are Jackson and Celine! They’re the foster parents. At first, Red isn’t sure about them, but through the book, we see her becoming more and more comfortable around this couple. I love how they interact with Red, especially when they see her connection to their tortoise, Tuck! (All the animals on the farm have great bookish names… like Frodo and Gandalf and Bronte!)
3) And then, there’s Marvin. Love this kid! He instantly reaches out to Red and accepts her, even when she’s a little too quiet. I like how he works with her to get the video production to help at the end. And the Hawaii connection is interesting.
4) Even though Gamma (Red’s grandmother) is no longer alive in the book, we get little flashbacks to when she cared for Red. She’s the one who gets Red to write in a notebook about all the impossible things. Because a thing is only impossible until it is done. I love her wisdom and her love. And I like how the impossible things permeates throughout the narrative.
5) The scenes with Red’s mom were painful, but I liked the realism there. She really struggles with being a mom. And I like how Lindsay Lackey shows how complicated life can be.
6) The cover is beautiful!
WHAT’S NOT COOL…
1) I mentioned earlier that there’s a scene where Marvin is helping Red with producing a video. Right at the end (Spoiler!) he loses the footage. “Sorry, Red!” This scene is almost an afterthought, a throwaway. As somebody who does work with video, I’m not even sure how he lost the edit. Did he just erase the original videos… ALL of them? That’s pretty hard to do unless your drive fails or something. In any case, the part of the story felt like a cheap way out for the author. I would rather have seen this actually play out in real time with Marvin and Red reacting to what is happening… and not simply as a report from Marvin. (End Spoiler)
FINAL THOUGHTS
Loved this book! It’s really a contemporary novel with elements of magical realism. I would recommend it for readers who loved The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson.
YOUR TURN…
Have you read this book? What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Note: I’m posting this for Greg Pattridge’s Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday…
This book sounds great! I like that there are some magical elements mixed into this story—I imagine that makes it different from some of the other foster-kid stories I’ve read. (This isn’t a foster-kid story exactly, but have you ever read Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur? I loved that book!) I agree with your “What’s not cool” comment—that makes no sense! Thanks for the great review!
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Yes, I have read Love, Aubrey and remember really liking it!
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The characters really sold me on reading this book some day in the not too distant future. Contemporary stories with a touch of magic always draw me in. Thanks for the recommend and for featuring this title on MMGM.
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The touch of magic was interesting. It’s one of those… is it? or isn’t it?
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This sounds like a great story. There aren’t that many stories about foster kids. And the magical elements sound cool.
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I really enjoyed this one.
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This sounds really interesting. I have a couple of friends who’ve done a lot of fostering, and I know how hard it can be from the foster parent’s perspective as well. This sounds like a very realistic book, but I like that it also has magical realism. The wind power sounds very cool!
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I also know foster parents. It’s tough for all parties. The magical realism was light, but added an interesting aspect to the book.
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Yes, the cover is beautiful. The story sounds beautiful as well. This is the kind of book I really enjoy. I will have to get my hands on a copy. Thanks for your thoughtful review.
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I really enjoyed this book and loved Red and the tad of magical realism. I loved her final foster family! Glad to see it receiving a little more book love!
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