Never came back to review this! Whoops. This was really moving and lovely. You don't see many books with adoption or foster care content at all, and I especially appreciated how this one dealt with respite care.

A fabulist allegory for the inner storm of a child struggling in the foster care system, and between the longing for a stable home and the longing to be with her unstable mother.

Red’s attempt to prove that impossible things can really happen will leave your heart full and deeply satisfied. She has battled insurmountable odds most of her life, but her Gamma always told her that “It always seems impossible until it’s done” and she has a notebook full of seemingly impossible things that have been done that helps to keep her focused on the hope that she will someday be reunited with her mother and stop the cycle of miserable foster families. But mom is in jail for drug related offenses and Red’s neglect, Gamma has died and not a single foster home in three years has fit even a little bit, much less the “good fit” the social worker tells her will someday happen. Added to all this, Red has a unique gift, inherited from her mother, that she just can’t seem to control. Lackey weaves very realistic elements of loss and need with a touch of magic, lots of gamboling animals, a loyal friend, and a whole love of love. Highly recommended for readers of authors like Lisa Graff, Jordan Sonnenblick, Barbara O’Connor, and Joan Bauer. Librarians can rest easy when purchasing this book for their MG students due to the absence of any profanity, sexual content, or excessive violence. For full disclosure, during a moment when her life is coming unraveled, Red discovers that her first period has begun. That moment’s significance will be lost on the more immature reader and is likely why this book will be heavily promoted among many of my 5th grade students, but less so with my 4th.

I work in an inner city school and this subject is something that many of my kids can relate to either personally or maybe somebody in their family.

What a beautifully written book. Students will love it. Following the never-ending emotional journey of Red, an eleven-year-old girl floating through the foster care system, the reader can truly feel what it must be like. The reader feels the roller coaster of emotion Red has to deal with. I can't give this book enough praise! My fifth grade students love it!

All of the Impossible Things by Lindsay Lackey is a heartwarming novel about a young girl named Ruby, who is called Red, trying to find her place in the world, while being moved from house to house in foster care. She's counting down the days until her mother is released from prison, and then she meets Celine and Jackson. The couple owns a petting zoo and welcomes Red with open arms. Suddenly, she feels like she belongs. They understand her quirks. She finds herself missing/loving her mom less and less. But the final straw is when she finds the drug her mom said she wasn't taking again in her bathroom. Red's done with the lies and disrespect. For years her mom left her to practically fend for herself, take care of her grandma with cancer, and it didn't help that her mother's uncanny ability over the wind was often used against them. And when her mom basically deserts Red, she really loses it. I will let you find out the rest.

I love that this story shows the love and bond of foster families, and that families come in all shapes and sizes. I read this book in one sitting, for it is so amazingly sweet and emotional. I think this is a book for all ages and I definitely recommend it.

A truly beautiful addition to the middle grade canon that should go next to classics like The Thing About Jellyfish, The War That Saved My Life, and Because of Winn Dixie.

I was lucky enough to receive some ARCS of this book for my middle school book group. Boy, do they get excited when they get to read a book in advance! Thank you to Macmillan for that. We although loved this story! An important subject matter with a twist of magic. I will say read this with tissues next to you. A heartfelt, special story for 10-14 year olds.

What a beautifully written book. Students will love it. Following the never-ending emotional journey of Red, an eleven-year-old girl floating through the foster care system, the reader can truly feel what it must be like. The reader feels the roller coaster of emotion Red has to deal with. I can't give this book enough praise! My fifth grade students love it!

Red has been in foster care since her grandmother died and her mom was sent to prison. Most of her placements have not worked out. She is now sent to live with Celine and Jackson Groove who run a petting zoo for rescue animals. They are older and are excited about having Red live with them. They are nothing but supportive even though Red is a bit hesitant to trust them. She is counting down the days until her mother gets out of prison. When she finds out her mom has been out for months without contacting her she is devastated. As she reconnects with her mom, she has to reconcile her desire to have a home and family again with her mom's behavior.

There were certain things I loved about this book. I loved the depiction of Red's foster care situation. It showed how not all placements work, but that some foster parents are amazing. Because there are a lot of kids in foster care these days I think it is important to show realistically how the system works. I thought Red's reactions to her new home were completely in character for someone who has been passed around for several years and who has a hard time trusting. The Grooves were fantastic and I loved that they rescued animals as well. I thought Red's relationship with Tuck the turtle was amazing.

What I didn't like about this book was the supernatural element. Red's emotions affect the wind. It is something her mother is able to do as well. I just didn't think this fit into the story nor was it necessary. It is never explained and I thought it diminished the importance of the rest of the narrative. I also thought Celine's illness was unnecessary. Sure sometimes foster parents get sick and that can add a level of uncertainty to a situation, but I felt like this was part of the trend this year to just add extra tragedy into books. The book would have had the same impact without Celine getting cancer.

Overall I did really enjoy this story. I just wish it would have stuck to the main focus of Red's situation.

This book made me feel all sorts of feels. Personally I could have done without the ability to control the wind and the singing stars simply because it made the story seem less relate-able. Aside from those small things this story tackled many difficult topics and did so with grace. Both readers young and old will enjoy the story of Ruby “Red” Byrd.

Red has been in foster care for about 3 years. Her mom is in prison and her grandmother died of cancer. Her placements have been terrible so far but her latest - with Celine and Jackson - finally feels like home. She helps with their petting zoo, she has friends, and she is growing to love them. When her mom gets out early though, Red is hopeful that they will soon be reunited, especially in light of Celine's cancer that is freaking her out. Can her mom truly keep things together so they can live together again?
This was a very touching story and one that, unfortunately, too many of my students will relate to.

This book was a lot. All the Impossible Things is the story of a girl who is struggling in the foster care system, with a little magical realism mixed in. Red's mother has never been the best mother, struggling with drug addiction, but after Red's Gamma dies, her mother is arrested, and Red is thrown into the foster care system at age 9. The story picks up when Red is 12 and has been in the system for 3 years, getting tossed out of many different foster homes. Now she is sent to the Grooves, an older couple who own a petting zoo, and for once Red wonders if she might actually be happy in this home. But then she learns her mother has been released, throwing her life back into a windy chaos.

Did I forget to mention that Red also has this wind inside of her? It allows her to create wind and even storms out of nowhere, a "gift" she inherited from her mother. While these magical elements certainly set this book apart from other foster care stories, I'm still not sure what it actually added to the story. However, magical realism is my least favorite kind of fantasy (and I don't even like fantasy to begin with), so I could be a bit biased in this area.

Another thing I struggled with while reading this book was the movement of the plot. It felt to slow and too fast at the same time. There were parts that felt like nothing was happening at all, and other parts that had so much going on I thought I had reached the climax (only to see that I was 30% done with the book). Much of what happened during all of these moments was very important to the development of both Red's character and her relationships with the other characters. However, the whole book felt very jerky to me.

By far the best part about this book is Red. Her character is so well developed, and I loved watching her come into herself while not magically resolving any of her issues. By the end of the book all of Red's problems still remain, however she has learned how to deal with them and not allow them to control her. A worthy and unique addition to the kid in foster care canon despite it's flaws.

Her Mom is in jail. Her grandmother has died from cancer. Red has witnessed it all and is now in foster care. Her foster families find her difficult to handle. Red is different and odd things happen when she feels stressed. Storms are always brewing in her life. Emotional and physical storms. She has inherited the wind from her mother, but can't seem to control it. Then after being moved from another home, she finally lands with the Grooves. An older couple that run a petting zoo. Jackson and Celine Groove seem to have their own kind of magic and for the first time in many years, she starts to feel settled and finds a place that feels like home. But will it last? This is a such an insightful book about being in the foster care system. Red is a loveable character, that pulls the reader in and helps us understand what some of the challenges of being in foster care are. This book tugs at the heart as Red struggles and learns to overcome her fears and her doubts. She learns to forgive and to open herself up to new possibilities. It is a book I truly enjoyed reading.

I loved the magical realism aspects of the story that intertwined so perfectly with the very real story. Ruby doesn't know how it happens, but every time her emotions get the better of her the weather starts to act up. Trying to control her emotions isn't easy as life as a foster kid keeps her moving from one home to another without any feeling of stability and safety. That is until she meets the Grooves who own a petting zoo and who make Ruby feel more comfortable than she ever has. But, what happens when her mom is getting back on the right track, what will Ruby do?

This is one of the best books I've read about a character in foster care. Red (Ruby) has just been discarded by one foster family and is on to the next. Her mother is in jail and never really took good care of her anyway. Her grandmother was always her rock, but when she died of cancer, Red was left with no one. Now she has arrived at the Groovy Petting Zoo, a farm owned by Jackson and Celine Groovy. Right away they provide Red with kindness and stability. They treat her like she is their biological daughter. But Red is hesitant to get close. She believes her mother is going to change and they will be reunited soon.

Then Red learns her mother has been out of jail for three months and never contacted her. Red forgives her. Again and again. Her mother continues to let her down and as the custody hearing approaches, Red has to acknowledge that some things are impossible if a person isn't willing to change.

I wanted to give this book 5 stars, but it failed for me on two counts. There is a supernatural component to the story where Red can control the weather with her emotions. This did not work for me at all. I wanted the story to be solid realistic fiction. This kicks it into the fantasy category. The other failure is with her friend Marvin. He is Hawaiian and makes cooking videos for YouTube. It doesn't work. The development of this relationship is weak and therefore detracts from the story.

Bottom line: The main purpose of the book is fully accomplished. The scenes with Red and her mother are spot on.

Who wouldn't want to visit the Groovy Petting Zoo and watch Fezzik the donkey feed the chickens? I also fell in love with Tuck the tortoise. The rescue animals surrounding Red in her new foster placement brought healing for her and value to the narrative. What took away from the book was the strange powers Red, her mom and Celine had. I realize that for Red it was a depiction of her frustration from losing and leaving; from being tossed about like an old shoe at times. It was difficult to determine whether bad weather was her fault or not at times. The magic was superfluous in my opinion. This is a wonderful book for foster kids to see themselves in a book and for kids with intact homes to gain empathy for foster kids in their schools. The subject of cancer is also addressed. I must also comment on the fact that as the Grooves and the Kapules were supposed to be friends from a church I would have expected them to be offering to pray for each other and/or together as crises arose throughout the story. Seems like a missed opportunity to authentically depict families walking together in faith.

Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great book about kids in foster care with a bit of magic/the supernatural. The book could have stood on its own without the magical aspect (which is never really addressed in the story).

This is just an exceptional middle-grade novel about a young girl navigating the foster care system to find where she belongs.

Ruby “Red” Byrd our main character has a power. Whenever she becomes scared or angry, she creates wind and sometimes it can be damaging and not metaphorically.
Red’s mama is in prison and her gamma has recently died of cancer. Now Red is counting down the days til she and her mother can reunite and live happily ever after. Currently she is in foster care, moving from family to family, which tends to keep her skies stormy. Red knows she has to learn to control it, but can’t figure out how. She inherited her wind power from her mama.

After leaving “The Mom” and her bully boys family, Red moves into the home of the Grooves, a quirky older mixed race couple who run a petting zoo, complete with a dancing donkey and a giant tortoise. Understandably Red is cautious, but Celine and Jackson Groove seem to be different from all the rest of the homes in the system.

Red begins to relax and settle into her new life, until she receives a stack of returned letters from her mother who is in prison. Red has longed to have her mom back in her life, but now she is swept up in the chaos and selfishness of her mother’s world. Red has lots of choices to make that 11 year olds should never have to deal with.

I loved loved the story of Red and The Grooves but I wasn’t a fan of the fantasy part of the book. Having the winds cause actual damage took some of the realism away from book. Although, I do not think Red’s winds will be a problem for the middle school reader in the least.

This is an absolutely lovely story. I would consider it "magical realism" as Red's powers are the one and only magical element to this story. Otherwise, it reads as a very real, very emotional story of a young girl moving from foster home to foster home, waiting for her mother to be released from jail in just over a year. I think this could be a great mirror book for a student who is in foster care themselves, and a great window book for other students to understand the hardships foster children can face. Well-written and while it doesn't shy away from some tough situations, it deals with them in a way that's appropriate for young teenagers/tweens.

This story is about Red, a girl who is living in foster care because her mother is in jail due to substance abuse. Red has had several bad experiences in foster care but this family is a veterinarian and his wife. Red enjoys getting to know the animals, and her new foster parents really seem to want her there. But she really wants to go back to her mother. When Red finds out that her mom has been released from jail and didn't tell her, she gets really angry. Red and her mother can control the wind, and Red causes a storm that does some pretty big damage. It's a nice story about making choices and family and friendship as well as dealing with substance abuse issues.