Forgive My Fins by Terra L. Childs

 Release Date: May 19th, 2010 

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 293

Cover: 5/5

Rating: 5/5

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 mermaidâ"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 Fletcherâ€"but it has that one major perk: Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren't really the casual dating typeâ€"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.

I was really excited about reading Forgive My Fins. It's a cute story about mermaids and it's also the first Tera Lynn Childs book that I've read. 

Lily is a fun character to read about. She's your klutzy high school girl with a BIG secret and it's that she's a mermaid princess. For the past three years she has been living on land and attending Seaview High. Quince is Lily's bad boy neighbor who in her opinion is always getting in the way between her and Brody. At times, I so wanted Lily to see what was right in front of her. She only sees what she wants to see and is in constant denial about her growing doubts about Brody and her feelings towards Quince.

Though the story is predictable, I still wanted to know what would happen to Lily and what sticky situation she might get herself into next. There's a nice balance in the story between the human world and the mermaid world as Lily travels to Thalassinia and we get to see what it's really like. And it is a beautiful mermaid kingdom straight out of a fairy tale.

This is a perfect summer beach read with a light-hearted story and fun new take on mermaids. The cliffhanger ending sets the story up for the next installment which I am already looking forward to.