Forgive My Fins

June 14, 2010
Seventeen-year-old Lily is not like the other girls at her high school—indistinguishable from humans in her two-legged form, she’s secretly a half-human, half-mermaid princess from the undersea kingdom of Thalassina. Lily has been obsessed with swimming star Brody for three years, and the time has come to tell him how she feels, reveal her secret, and take him to live with her under the sea as her bonded mermate. Unfortunately, a surprise kiss from her next-door nemesis, Quince, bonds them together instead. There’s only one way out: take Quince to Thalassinia and beg her father to break the attachment before it becomes permanent. But Quince secretly loves Lily and has one week to convince Lily not to let him go. Childs’s (Goddess Boot Camp) effervescent storytelling conveys the delicate tension of first love, and her characters are sympathetic and charming; Lily’s frequent aquatic exclamations (“Speak of the devilfish”) are indicative of the book’s brand of humor. This sweet mix of magic, romance, and teen drama will leave readers satisfied, even as they hope Quince and Lily’s story will continue. Ages 12–up.

August 1, 2010

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 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2010
Grades 6-9 Hans Christian Andersens The Little Mermaid meets Rick Riordans 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 isnt 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)