Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn ChildsPublication Date: May 19th, 2010
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Page Count: 292 pages
Format: Paperback
Source: Bought
My Rating:
From Goodreads: Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.Forgive My Fins was a cute, fun, story but it was just lacking in any real depth. I was pretty disappointed since I really liked Childs' book Sweet Venom, which was action packed and all three characters were written terrifically. With Forgive My Fins it just felt like I was watching a cute ABC Family movie or something. Don't get me wrong, it was a quick, fun, read but there wasn't anything that had me going, "Wow!" I really really wanted to like this one, and it was good, I admit, but it just didn't wow me.
Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.
When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.
The characters are okay, kind of boring and predictable. Lily was basically a terrible human being and I kind of hated her for most of the book. She's incredibly self-absorbed, shallow, impatient, and whiny and I honestly didn't like anything about her. She's in love with Brody, the popular swimmer at school, who of course loves nobody but himself and is pretty much a total douche. She spends most of her time fantasizing over their future that she's concocted for herself. It was pretty pathetic to watch. Quince is basically the best guy ever though. He completely goes along with whatever crazy crap Lily throws at him and totally accepts whatever she says. He's super protective over her and is so sweet and nice to her, it's just adorable! And Lily basically hates him which makes me dislike her even more.
The writing and story were fine. Nothing pops out at me, although she does use a lot of "sea slang" which I actually thought was pretty fun. Lily would say things like "Stop being such a blowfish!" or "Oh carp" and that always made me smile. I thought that aspect was pretty creative and added to the story. The writing isn't bad, Childs is a good writer, but Forgive My Fins is really just a cutsie fluff piece and there isn't a lot of depth to the writing. It was definitely a good enough story for me to finish, I'll probably read the next one at some point because it has to do with Lily's evil cousin and I always like a bad girl.
Overall, Forgive My Fins was a good read but it wasn't amazing. I felt like it was lacking in something but, I'm glad I took the time to read it. I haven't read many mermaid books, and I'm hoping the ones I read in the future have a little more umph. If you're looking for a quick, cute read this is definitely something for you.
