Are You Going to Scarborough Fair?

My friends did not lie when they said I would be constantly singing Scarborough Fair before, during, and after this book.

The book's plot focuses around this ballad and pays particular attention to the lyrics. Nancy Werlin wrote that she found this ballad terribly romantic as a teenager. "Listening to the lyrics as an adult, though, I was take aback. The man demands one impossible task after another for the woman; and if she doesn't deliver, then she's no "true love" of his. I thought: There's no way that woman can prove herself to that man; he's already made up his mind. Did she do him wrong? What's the story?" After reading the lyrics myself, I realized Werlin was correct. Seamless shirts? An acre of land between salt water and sea strand? Sowing the land with one grain of corn using a goat's horn? Who thinks of this? And Werlin also has a point: It seems this man already made up his mind. It's funny how a very sweet sounding ballad can prove to be a disheartening song about love.
Impossible is the story of Lucy Scarborough. Lucy's birth mother, Miranda, is mentally unbalanced. She is the bag lady of the town, but none of her friends know this about her. Miranda wanders the town singing this ballad and claiming Lucy is "cursed" and "damned". Up until the night of the prom, Lucy assumes her birth mother is just insane and pays her no mind. However, when her date rapes her that night, which leads to her pregnancy, Lucy, the parents who raised her, and her love interest, Zach, begin to listen more closely to the warning.

 Lucy discovers all the Scarborough girls were cursed. In order to lift the curse, the girls must complete all the tasks in the ballad before the birth of their daughters. What seems impossible leads Lucy and her family on a wild journey and race against the clock. Will she succeed in time? Or is she too to suffer the same fate as her mother and ancestors before her?
The author did a fantastic job of spinning this ballad into a challenge. I loved the twists and turns, the attempts and mishaps Lucy suffers through, and of course who doesn't love a great romantic story. Zach is pretty much the ideal man. He stays with Lucy during her rough times and proves to be a friend when she seems to be running out of options. And because I am a hopeless romantic myself, his thoughts, love, and affection towards Lucy is overwhelming. It makes you wish all guys were like that. :p
I enjoyed the book, but I felt the ending was just too convenient. The entire book builds up to the last events, but it almost turns into a mock fairy tale at the end; sort of overdone. Don't get me wrong, I liked it, but after reading I felt it was just something I had heard before. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars because I did enjoy the journey, but I just felt the book was so built up that it deserved another ending. I do recommend this book because the concept of taking this ballad and creating a story to go along with it is incredible. It's a really cool idea, plus it was interesting to watch the family figure out the puzzle logically. This truly is a book of togetherness and proving just what true love it.