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The Possible Hardcover – June 6, 2017

by Tara Altebrando (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 43 ratings
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Another twisty psychological suspense from the author of The Leaving, where a teen searches for answers about her mother's dark history, telekinesis, and the power of will.

What if . . . a teenage girl could move objects with her mind?
What if . . . someone turns up at her door asking questions she doesn’t want to answer?
Kaylee lives a normal life with her adoptive parents, and almost never thinks of her birth mother, Crystal, who is serving a life sentence in prison. But the woman at the front door is producing a podcast about Crystal that is about to blow Kaylee’s forgotten past wide open.
What if strange things have been happening Kaylee’s entire life, things she could not explain? What if she’s more like her mother than she ever imagined?
What if the podcast is about to put her on a collision course with Crystal―and her darkest self?


This gripping psychological thriller from the author of The Leaving explores the strength of our minds, the power of will, and how our histories define us . . . or not.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Bloomsbury USA Childrens
  4. Publication date
    June 6, 2017
  5. Grade level
    7 - 9
  6. Reading age
    13 years and up
  7. Dimensions
    5.74 x 1.12 x 8.56 inches
  8. ISBN-10
    1619638053
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1619638051
  10. Lexile measure
    HL650L
  11. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—In this absorbing psychological mystery, adopted 17-year-old Kaylee's ordinary life (softball, best friends, school, a crush on a boy) is drastically altered after Liana, a producer of a Serial-like podcast, asks to interview her about Crystal, Kaylee's birth mother, who claimed to have telekinesis as a teen. For most of the past 13 years, Kaylee has tried to forget Crystal and the knowledge that when Kaylee was four, her eyewitness testimony helped sentence Crystal to prison for killing Kaylee's two-year-old brother. Her mother insisted she didn't do it, and Liana intends to prove whether Crystal's powers are real. Kaylee's "what ifs" resurface as the unexplained events that she suspects she might have caused over the years make her question whether she has paranormal powers, too. Her obsession with Crystal and her past threatens her relationship with her loving parents and with Aiden, her best guy friend, and forces Kaylee to take a hard look at herself. The narrative's structure, with its podcast excerpts, texts, emails, and copies of documents, adds to the book's appeal. Most of the characters are fleshed out, except Crystal, who remains maddeningly underdeveloped. Kaylee is not always an easy character to like, given her sometimes insensitive attitude toward others, but her characterization seems authentic considering her lived experience. VERDICT This gripping tale, full of unexpected twists and turns, will intrigue readers who enjoy psychological thrillers with a touch of the paranormal. A strong selection for most libraries.—Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

Review

"Altebrando nails the staccato delivery of popular investigative podcasts like Serial . . . Extremely effective in landing emotional punches . . . Taut and thoroughly gripping." - starred review, Publishers Weekly

"The juicy premise is enough to draw mystery/crime fans, and Altebrando unspools details with a deft hand." - BCCB

"This gripping tale, full of unexpected twists and turns, will intrigue readers who enjoy psychological thrillers with a touch of the paranormal." - School Library Journal

"A fast-paced thriller . . . Fans of true-crime podcasts especially will feel right at home." - Booklist

"You will not sleep, check your phone or even breathe once you begin reading The Leaving. Altebrando hides a meditation on memory and identity inside a top-speed page-turner. I promise, you will not even look up from the page." - E. Lockhart, author of WE WERE LIARS on THE LEAVING

"A twisting, harrowing story . . . Engrossing, both as a thriller and a meditation on memory--its limits, its loss, and the ways it deceives and constructs identity." - starred review, Publishers Weekly on THE LEAVING

"This is no mere thriller; folded into this compulsively readable work are thought-provoking themes. . . . Teens who enjoy engrossing, contemplative titles such as Adam Silvera’s More Happy Than Not will devour this insightful musing on memory and identity." - starred review, School Library Journal on THE LEAVING

"As heart-stopping as it is heart-breaking, The Leaving layers a wildly strange suspense story over a lovely and unexpected narrative of grief, loss, and the struggle to imagine a future in the shadow of the past." - Robin Wasserman, author of GIRLS ON FIRE on THE LEAVING

"This book gripped me on the first page, and by the last, had really moved me. It's a twisty, oh no she didn't thriller that keeps the surprises firing, but also a thoughtful meditation on memory, identity, and what really makes us who we are." - Bennett Madison, author of SEPTEMBER GIRLS on THE LEAVING

"We are rushed headlong into Altebrando’s The Leaving, and instantly we want to know: Who are these wildly intriguing teens? Where are their memories hiding? Who or what has engineered the disappearance of their childhood? Bold, inventive, and engaging, The Leaving leaps straight off the page." - Beth Kephardt, author of SMALL DAMAGES and THIS IS THE STORY OF YOU on THE LEAVING

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bloomsbury USA Childrens (June 6, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1619638053
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1619638051
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL650L
  • Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.74 x 1.12 x 8.56 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 43 ratings

About the author

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Tara Altebrando

Tara Altebrando

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Hello there! My latest young adult novel, TAKE ME WITH YOU, is on sale now. Still available is THE LEAVING, along with my backlist titles like THE OPPOSITE OF HERE and THE BEST NIGHT OF YOUR (PATHETIC) LIFE.

In addition, you can find adorable repackaged Kindle versions of my MUCH earlier young adult novels, DREAMLAND SOCIAL CLUB, THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS and WHAT HAPPENS HERE, in the Kindle Store.

My middle grade novels include My Life in Dioramas and The Battle of Darcy Lane. I'm also the creator and writer of the middle-grade fantasy podcast, DREAM BREACHERS, available on Pinna.fm.

I grew up on Staten Island, NY, and currently live in Astoria, Queens, with my husband and two young daughters.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
43 global ratings
Tina Resch, reimagined
3 Stars
Tina Resch, reimagined
The moment the photo of Crystal and the phone was described I had a complete and total flashback to the scariest television program of my youth, "Unsolved Mysteries". Strangely enough Robert Stack's voice became the voice of, well, every character. A quick Google and the true sordid tale of Telekinetic Tina was right in front of me, sadder and more tragic than any fictional version.As a tween/teen of the 80s/90s, I was all about TK as we knew it in the movies and books..."The Girl with the Silver Eyes", Sissy Spacek as Cartie, Lar Park Lincoln as Tina (!) in whichever Friday the 13th, all the Dream Warriors and progeny in multiple Nightmares on Elm Street, Danielle Harris's Jamie's connection to Uncle Michael Myers in Halloween (wasn't there a Tina there too?), and on and on and on...I love a good extrasensory involved tale. I don't love the story of a fictional podcast exploiting the fictional daughter of a fictional filicidal fraud. A real life tragedy shouldn't become entertainment without at least acknowledging the real life damages.TL;DR - promising premise that should have been a perfect 10 for me,
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Top reviews from the United States

WCJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing story
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
As I got down to the last few chapters, I planned to give the book four stars because it didn’t quite satisfy me. But then, the ending saved it for me. Tara Altebrando writes great stories with terrific characters. I look forward to her next book!
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Smo
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful character and plot building
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2018
Verified Purchase
I will say right off the bat: Kaylee will grate on your nerves. She's selfish, mean, and judgemental. As someone aptly said, she views the world in stereotypes. She puts everyone in a box and gets upset if they prove to not quite fit. However the people who complain about how unlikable she is are missing the point: that this is by design. This is what dimensional characters look like. They are not perfect and sunshiney goodness. Kaylee has some ugly qualities but she has some good ones too. As the story goes on she grows, she learns from and admits to her failures. You might not like her but you feel like she actually exists.

Now the story itself. Kaylee is contacted by Liana who hosts an obvious SERIAL clone: The Possible about Kaylee's birth mother, Crystal who had gained fame as a supposedly telekinetic teen and who later murdered Kaylee's baby brother. The show seeks to see of Crystal was a fraud and a murderer. Kaylee wants to understand what happened and where she came from.

The underlying mystery is did Crystal really have powers and does Kaylee? You are given glimpses into happenings where Kaylee wished for something and it happened, plus some possible explanations and even more questions.

It is tightly paced and will have you doubting and wondering up to the very end
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Alison Mahanna/DeCosta
5.0 out of 5 stars Happy
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
Excited to read
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Amber Elise @ Du Livre
3.0 out of 5 stars An unreliable narrator makes for a suspenseful read!
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2017
Based on review copy

Plot: Last year, I was lucky to read The Leaving and absolutely loved the mystery. While The Possible sounded a lot different, I was excited to see what mystery Altebrando could weave. Kaylee had been hiding a secret from literally everyone, she had been adopted and her birth mother was imprisoned for killing her infant brother. Things got weird when a podcast contacted Kaylee to do a local exposee on the crime and highlighted a possible paranormal connection. I thoroughly enjoyed how Altebrando kept me on my toes, she constantly made me doubt what direction I thought the book was taking. Around the 3/4ths mark, Altebrando started throwing in theories and plot twists that didn't hold much weight given that they were introduced so late in the novel. It was a pretty solid novel until that point, and that was because the red herrings became too obvious and took me out of the mystery.

Character: I'm sure Kaylee will polarize a lot of readers, personally she came off too strong. Kaylee saw the world through the lens of an 80's high school movie; there were the jocks, the ditzes, the nerds, and none of them were cool enough to exist in her realm. She had her sights on a boy to whom she had never spoken and knew that he would ask her to prom and they would get their happy ending, despite the fact that said boy was already in a committed relationship. Besides that, the secondary characters were very much in the background; they only existed when Kaylee chose to acknowledge them. Altebrando made a statement about Kaylee's perspective, but I believe that it was too late and too brief to make the character self-aware.

Worldbuilding: Kaylee viewed everyone as stereotypes, which was how I read the city and its people. One aspect I really clung to was the podcast culture. The podcast that Kaylee was featured on, The Possible, was very similar to NPR/This American Life's Serial and I was fascinated by how that culture was presented in The Possible.

Short N Sweet: The Possible introduced an interesting premise with twists and turns at every corner, maybe there were too many twists and turns.
One person found this helpful
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Miss Print
4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for anyone who's ever asked themselves "What if?"
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2017
"What if life was all about letting go?"

Kaylee doesn't remember much from when she was really young. She knows her biological mother is in jail but the details of her arrest for killing Kaylee's brother and the trial are memories from another life.

Kaylee is happy now with her adoptive parents and her perfectly normal life. She's a rising star on the school softball team and she is working on a plan to attract the attentions of her longtime crush. Simple.

Until a woman shows up at Kaylee's house wanting to interview her for a podcast investigating Crystal.The Possible podcast is going to spend a season looking into the telekinesis claims that made Crystal a media sensation as a teen, her trial after her son's death, and what she's like now in prison.

Kaylee is desperate to be special. To be noticed. Being involved in the podcast seems like the perfect chance to see if maybe, just maybe, she might have some of Crystal's powers. As the podcast starts to air Kaylee gets exactly what she wants. But she does't count on the bitter taste of notoriety or the secrets that begin to surface when she looks into her own past in The Possible (2017) by Tara Altebrando.

In her latest thriller Altebrando taps into the wide popularity of investigative podcasts as she and her characters ask a simple question: "What if?"

Kaylee is a totally reliable narrator but she's also eager to be swept away and believe that some of the hype surrounding Crystal, and by extension herself, might be true. Kaylee is athletic, a little self-centered, and striving for that elusive better, more popular, and generally more appealing version of herself. In trying to embrace telekinetic powers and familial connections that may or may not exist Kaylee realizes that she has to let go of what she wants other people to see when they look at her and focus on being herself in whatever form that takes.

The Possible is a tense, fast-paced story focusing squarely on Kaylee and the podcast. Most of the novel is narrated by Kaylee with pieces of the story being told in newspaper articles, podcast excerpts, and interview transcripts. While Kaylee reaches some conclusions for herself by the end of the story, the narrative stops short of actual answers leaving readers to decide the truth for themselves in this gripping story. Perfect for fans of psychological thrillers, true crime, and anyone who's ever asked themselves "what if . . . " Recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Devil You Know by Trish Doller, Breaker by Kat Ellis, The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle, The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Soulprint by Megan Miranda, Pretending to Be Erica by Michelle Painchaud, Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten
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Top reviews from other countries

Lana Merry
5.0 out of 5 stars Great shipping and perfect condition
Reviewed in Canada on November 27, 2018
Verified Purchase
Gift for a young adult, good review,will be agift
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