“All the Impossible Things” by Lindsay Lackey was a book that I could not put down. This is a story about Red, an eleven-year-old girl, that has become a part of the foster care system. Your heart will break as you discover some of the things she has to endure, like always keeping her backpack packed and ready to go to yet another family. The sad thing is she admitted that the backpack is a step up from the plastic bag she used to put all of her worldly possessions in as she started her foster care journey.
The book starts with Red being transferred to a new foster home at the home of a couple that runs a small zoo. Throughout the book you will feel the roller coaster of emotions as Red deals with her new family, a new school, and trying to figure out if being reunited with her mother is really the best thing for her. Just like her mother, Red has the ability to control the wind to match her emotions. There are plenty of wind storms in this book, but there are also times that the wind has a calming effect on those around it.
At a young age Red learned from her gamma that most things are not impossible. They are just harder to get done. This book will remind you about the importance of self-care, that you should look for silver linings, and to invest your time in people that truly care for you (they are out there.)
This book is filled with a little bit of supernatural (the wind matching emotions), tweens trying to figure life out, family relations (good and bad) and a few animal anecdotes. Children ages eight an up will be able to relate to the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Adults will also be pulled in to this story and remember what it was like to be a tween.
