Friday, July 2, 2010

Review - FORGIVE MY FINS

Forgive My Fins - Tera Lynn Childs
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
# of pages: 298
Publisher: Harper Collins: Katherine Tegan Books
Amelia's Age-Level Recommendation: 12+ (great for middle schoolers and up)My Thoughts
Forgive My Fins was a fun, entertaining read perfect for summertime. It's also the only book I can think of that's about mermaids. I definitely enjoyed reading about a new "paranormal" creature, that's for sure! (*New YA trend prediction!*)

There were several things I liked about this book. I don't think I've ever read a YA story about mermaids, so I had nothing to compare this to. Therefore I went in with a pretty open mind and as far as a story about mermaids goes, I liked it. Childs did a great job of creating the mermaid kingdom of Have-No-Idea-How-to-Pronounce, and her mythological backstory was very creative and original. Thank you, Tera Lynn! Creativity is something I look for in my "grading", and Fins really impressed me!
Childs is also the kind of author who pays attention to "the little things." She's even gone so far as to create mer phrases/slangs, which may come across as a little cheesy, but still fun and cute. Childs does cute very well.
Honestly, I've read a lot of other reviews that say that Fins is a little on the predictable side. I would have to disagree. There were actually several times throughout the story when I was really surprised by the turn of events. Some of the time, I could guess what was going to happen next, but several times something would happen that I didn't expect. Not going to spoil anything, but I was a little disappointed with the ending. If you've read Fins, do you agree?
As much as I enjoyed Fins, though, and as much as I love Ms. Childs' books, I just had a really hard time warming up to the main character, Lily. I think that's because the story is told in her narrative, and so we get a little too much "Lily" and not enough other people. Sometimes she'd say things that were just downright mean, and so I know this review sounds kind of awkward, because as much as I loved the story, I kind of didn't like the main character. Have you ever had a reading experience like that?

HOWEVER: There were SO MANY GOOD THINGS about this book, and so I definitely recommend you give Fins a try! It's also a CLEAN read, so this is one that I can recommend to my students as well!

Final Grade:

8 shout-outs!:

Lady Scribbles said...

Great review, really great. Very informative without giving anything important away.

Adriana said...

Oy, I can't really handle reading about shallow self-absorbed characters. But Forgive My Fins does sound like a cute story, like you said, and the whole mermaid thing does interest me so I'll give it a read, eventually.

Natasha said...

I seen this cover art LONG ago, and wanted to read it every since. I love it, the colors are soo pretty. Thanks for this great review!!

Alyssa Kirk said...

Sometimes flaws are big, and sometimes they're little. Sorry this had some big ones for you. Thanks for the review!

Natalie said...

Awesome review, Amelia! You did a great job of pointing out what you didn't like, but you noted the positive things as well. I'm still iffy on whether or not I'm going to read this one myself. I just have such a huge TBR list (and pile!) at the moment. Hmm....

Darlyn said...

Sorry to hear this book is a let down. Guess I wont read it very soon!

Sara said...

Loved your review! I was planning on reading this one, but I have a huge issue with non-likable main characters, we don't really get along haha. Thanks for the amazing review Amelia :)

Tales of Whimsy said...

LOL
I love how you broke down what bothered you about Lily. Great honest review.
I can't wait to try this.
I'm a sea creature junkie.

 
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