Fins Are Forever

May 1, 2011

The second installment to Childs' mermaid-princess adventure (after Forgive My Fins, 2010) takes up just weeks after the Seaview high schooler has resolved to renounce her title to the underwater Thalassinia throne and become a "terraped" college-bound senior.

Princess Waterlily, daughter of King Whelk, would rather settle down as the plebian Lily Sanderson with her boyfriend, Quince—the pesky neighbor of the former tale, now love-object—than assume her royal Thalassinian duties. Or would she? Lily makes a perfunctory stab at studying for her SATs and applying to a marine-biology program at a community college, when she is distracted by the sudden visit of her despised younger cousin, Dosinia. Sent by the king to live with Lily and her Aunt Rachel in order to learn how to appreciate humans, the flirtatious Doe charms Lily's old crush Brody instantly—even bonding with him by kiss!—and generally making Lily's life miserable in the two weeks leading up to her 18th birthday, when she plans to renounce the throne. Childs works in plenty of sea-worthy puns, though the plotting feels a little fishy and repetitive in this insistently lovey-dovey tale. Moreover, Lily's cavalier ambivalence about assuming her patriotic duties and her air-brained negligence of her academic pursuits seem sadly retrograde.

For established fans of the first. (Fiction. 12 & up)

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July 1, 2011

Gr 6-9-In the opening pages of this charming sequel to Forgive My Fins (HarperCollins, 2010), half-human, half-mermaid Waterlily has her life planned out. As of midnight on her 18th birthday, she will renounce her title as future queen of the undersea kingdom of Thalassinia in exchange for life on land with her human true love, Quince. Her only concern? Passing her SATs. Then a turn of the tides brings bratty cousin Doe to her doorstep. Exiled without her Mer powers for acting on her grudge against humanity, Doe must learn to appreciate the human world before being welcomed back to the sea. And it's Lily's responsibility to teach her how to do so. All is going swimmingly until an unexpected blast from Lily's past washes ashore and proposes an unorthodox way to unite the two worlds. Now Lily is caught in a riptide between what her heart wants and what her head knows is right. Childs has crafted a delightful tale populated with likable characters and imaginative settings. With mermaid fiction on a rise in popularity, this bubbly, lighthearted romance is sure to make a splash.-Alissa J. LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2011
Grades 9-12 In this sequel to Forgive My Fins (2010), Lily, a half-human and half-mermaid princess, has decided to renounce the throne on her upcoming eighteenth birthday to join her boyfriend, Quince, on land andif she can pass the SATsattend college. Unexpected complications arise, though, after her cousin arrives, and Lily finds herself caught between love; her obligations, above and under water; and being true to herselfwith no easy answers. Lily is a lively protagonist whose breezy narrative describes uncertainties and struggles teens will easily recognize, and readers of the first title will look forward to future adventures.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)