Forgive My Fins [Hardcover]

Tera Lynn Childs (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 1, 2010 | Series: Fins

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.

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—the instant 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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 6-10–Lily, 17, is a mermaid princess living on land and attending a high school where no one knows her real identity. She needs to find a mate before she turns 18 in order to inherit the throne. Her big crush on Brody is going nowhere until her obnoxious neighbor, Quince, intervenes. A surprise kiss from the wrong boy leads to a tidal wave of unexpected consequences. In this lighthearted and mostly enjoyable novel, Childs stretches the relationship drama out perhaps a little too long for impatient readers, but the end result is sweet and satisfying. The ending hints of more mermaid tales to come.Kathy Kirchoefer, Prince Georges County Memorial Library System, New Carrollton, MD
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Hans Christian Andersen's “The Little Mermaid” meets Rick Riordan's The Lightning Thief (2005) in this frothy romantic fantasy. Lily may look like a run-of-the-mill high-school student, but she is actually the mermaid heir to the throne of the ocean kingdom of Thalassinia. Half human, Lily is able to maintain her bipeds in order to snag a human beau, who will then turn into a merman to rule by her side with a single kiss. She has her fins set on champion swimmer Brody. But when Lily accidentally busses bad-boy biker Quince instead, she moves heaven and sea in an attempt to swim off into the sunset with her first crush as planned. But it isn't long before the scales fall from her eyes, and she realizes which boy truly loves her, tail and all. Full of fishy expressions (“Son of a swordfish!”), mermaid lore, and breathless, underwater kisses, this lighter-than-air read will charm teen and tween girls who prefer their supernatural romances to be more Meg Cabot than Stephenie Meyer. Grades 6-9. --Jennifer Hubert

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 1 edition (June 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061914657
• ISBN-13: 978-0061914652
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #262,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tera Lynn Childs is the award-winning author of the mythology-based Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp, the mermaid tales Forgive My Fins, Fins Are Forever and Just For Fins, and a new trilogy about monster-hunting descendants of Medusa that includes Sweet Venom, Sweet Shadows, and Sweet Legacy (September 3, 2013). She has also epublished two fun chick lit romances, Eye Candy and Straight Stalk. Tera lives nowhere in particular and spends her time writing wherever she can find a comfy chair and a steady stream of caffeinated beverages.

To learn more about TLC, visit teralynnchilds.com or follower her on Twitter @teralynnchilds, like her on Facebook (facebook.com/authortlc), or read her blog (teralynnchilds.blogspot.com). Ask her anything at Formspring (formspring.me/teralynnchilds).

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars a sparkling splash of a story full of crush worthy guys, adolescent teen angst, and magical romance. June 7, 2010

By Abigail TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I may fantasize about falling in love with a vampire or werewolf, but I dream about being a mermaid. A mermaid princess would be even better, and Lily Sanderson gets to be both.

In the tradition of Disney's The Little Mermaid and more recently Aquamarine, FORGIVE MY FINS is about a mermaid princess torn between two worlds and the problems that accompany each, like having to find a mate before her eighteenth birthday or lose her claim to the throne, putting up with a irritating yet suddenly attractive neighbor who delights in tormenting her, and finding the courage to reveal her true identity to the guy she's secretly loved for years.

The mermaid world in FORGIVE MY FINS is a fully flushed out sea kingdom. Mermaids have their own distinct culture, rituals, magic, and even slang. Tera Lynn deftly weaves in elements from mythology and antiquity in creating the merkingdom of Thalassinian. And the underwater world contrasts nicely with the out of water world of Seaview high.

I did get a little annoyed with Lily's attitude especially as it was constantly directed at the too-good-to-be-true Quince. He gives new meaning to the word long suffering. I never understood why he fell for her. To borrow some of Lily's sea slang, she was a complete seawitch to him. He does one romantic and selfless thing after another for her and she treats him deplorably.

Lily's behavior aside, there are several scenes that will make the hearts of teenage girls everywhere race, and while not a teenager myself anymore, I got swept up the the romance between Lily and Quince too.

What's a better summer read than a mermaid story about first love? FORGIVE MY FINS is a sparkling splash of a story full of crush worthy guys, adolescent teen angst, and magical romance. Lily tends to transform her attitude almost as often as she does her scales, but I really enjoyed this story. The epilogue hints that we'll be seeing more from Lily and Quince in the near future. I'll post the details when they are available.

Sexual Content: kissing.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my Favorite Books of the Year! June 15, 2010

By Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf

Format:Hardcover

From reading Forgive My Fins I have gathered that

Mermaids + some of the best literary kisses I've ever read + one charming bad boy + a bond gone wrong = one unforgettable, spectacular story that leaves Tera Lynn Childs as a front runner in being one of the best authors of the year, in my opinion!

It's easy to say that this is one of my favorite books year if not one of my favorites of all time. Since I loved so many different aspects of it.

Such as the setting of Thalassinian, a kingdom under the sea for all the mermaids and mermen, that brought together with Tera's great descriptions made you feel like you were right there with Lilly the whole time! It was interesting to read more about it as well as get a picture perfect view of it in your head.

Plus, the characters were ones that I adored from the start. Lilly is one that I'm sure many that many girls can relate to. Since while she's at times shy and hesitant to be herself, she's also dead loyal to her friends and a nice person to all. Quince is basically the opposite of Lilly since he doesn't really care what people think, even though on the inside he cares too much, and he's fine being the charming, bad boy. Paired together these too make quite the couple! Since while they mix as well as fire and ice at times (wait until you see their arguments they are so funny, yet so heated!) at others they balance each other in a way that's perfect!

The plot of this was one that constantly had you guessing of what was going to happen next. Were Quince and Lilly ever going to be together? What about Brody;was he as cute as he looked or just dead on the inside? Was Lily's cousin more evil then she lead on? Only time would tell!

And the writing in this flowed so well and reminded me of Meg Cabot's. Since in one review I read a while ago compared Cabot's books to candy in the way that once you had one you were dying to have another, and Forgive My Fins proved to be the same. Since as soon as I was done with this, I was dying to read more! So hopefully there will be a sequel and if not, Tera still has a ton of other interesting books coming out that I can't wait to read!

Overall, do yourself of favor this summer, June 1st preferably. That favor? Go out and buy this because I promise you that you won't regret it one bit. And if you do, you have my permission to send me a scathing email. Though, I doubt that will happen. ;)

Grade: A+

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs Review June 30, 2010

By K. Burgess

Format:Hardcover

I just have to say that without a doubt that I'm a very big fan of Tera Lynn Childs' writing. I believe it's possible to be a one-hit wonder in the writing world just like it is everywhere else, but Childs is in no danger of falling into this category. After reading her Oh.My.Gods. series, I was hoping for the same fun, light reads that I had come to expect from Childs, and I was not disappointed with Forgive My Fins. I think I've found a new series that I'll be following in the future with a lot of anticipation.

We are introduced to Lily, our half human, half mermaid main character and I think a lot of readers will be joining her fan club after getting to know her. She's very easy to sympathize with and relate to. Although I can't claim to be a mermaid (even though Ariel and The Little Mermaid had me daydreaming as a little kid) I think most girls have had their share of crushes growing up. And Lily shows this in spades. As Lily pines for Brody Bennett (the swim god at her high school) I think every reader will be walking on egg shells right along with Lily as she tries to get up the courage to confess her love to the boy in question. And if that wasn't enough to stress her out, Childs decided to throw another wrench into her plans.

This wrench I was talking about happens to go by the name Quince and lives right next door to Lily. He's tall, well built, knows his way around a motorcycle (major cool points there), has blonde hair and blue eyes the color of the Caribbean. Can you tell I'm drooling over here? While Lily might find his teasing and constant meddling in her personal life irritating, I'm saying I'll take him off her hands if she doesn't want him! But I digress, because the fun didn't stop there, it was only just the beginning.

With just one kiss Lily's world is thrown upside down and in order to fix and figure things out she just might have to spend a little time with Quince and *gasp* get to know him a little better. Can you imagine the horror? Will she survive the torture? Will she finally find the courage to confess her feelings to Brody, or will she discover that just because you get what you want doesn't always mean that it's what you need or could it be that you might not have realized what you really wanted when it was staring you right in the face. Enter Childs' world and enjoy the ride!