Review: Forgive My Fins

Here is the next book that I read for the 2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge.  I really do need to get better about remembering to actually post my reviews here (there are two more to post that I've already read).  Brain, time to work.

YA Challenge Book 3/12

Title:  Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Summary:  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 – 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.

My Review:  (Warning: There are a few spoilers in this review)

My friend asked me what I thought of this book while I was reading and I didn't want to rush to any judgments as I was hoping one of the things that bothered me would change. That would be the main character, Lily, being rather shallow and self-centered. It did get a little better by the end as she realized certain things about how she judged others, but she really didn't seem to care about anyone but herself. For example, part of the whole story is that when a mermaid kisses someone s/he is binded to the other person for life and the other person, if human, becomes mer. And it just seemed like she took the idea that anyone would just be okay with that, love or not, to such an extreme. And, again, I think it was supposed to be part of the character's journey and I realize that she was a teenager, but as a reader who is mostly driven by characters, this made it hard for me at times.

With that gripe out of the way, I can say that I loved the idea of this book and Tera Lynn Childs creates these very interesting worlds in her books. I loved Quince, who seemed to be the only one who saw things clearly most of the time, and how he was both protective and frustrated by Lily.  I'm also a sucker for bickering/bantering and really enjoyed the development of the connection between Lily and Quince.

It was enjoyable once I could accept Lily's sheer idiocy. It did end with an interesting twist regarding another character, so I'm interested to see if that's what the sequel is. If it's more Lily, I have to admit that I'll probably pass.

Overall:  3 stars