Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Summary: Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Have you ever read a book and then forgotten everything you read? Do you ever wish you could just read a quick summary to refresh your memory instead of having to reread the entire book? I have, especially when a book is part of a series and I just want to get the highlights of the previous books so I know what's going on when I read the latest installment. I enjoy rereading, but sometimes I just feel so guilty spending time on a book I've already read when all the books on my TBR pile glare at me for neglecting them. These posts are an attempt to help forgetful readers like myself.

These posts are also where those of us who have read the book can hold a discussion about any events in the book. These discussions will contain spoilers. 

The following post is a summary of the book. If you have not read the book, then go to my Forgive My Fins review instead. 

This post does contain spoilers, so if you haven't read the book, then don't read the rest of this post! 

Forgive My Fins, by Tera Lynn Childs 
Release Date: May 19, 2010
Publisher:
Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 293
Received: Library
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

Author's Page
Amazon Page 

Goodreads Page


So you want to find out what happens in Forgive My Fins? Click here if you want to read my spoiler free review, or click the following link for the full summary:

Click me to read spoilers

Lily is a mermaid living on land and attending high school. In this book, mermaids are able to transform from their finned forms to a human form with ease. Lily’s mother was human (and is now deceased) while her father is the mermaid king. If Lily is to succeed him on the throne, she must find a mate before her upcoming birthday. Mermaids mate by kissing someone (mermaid or human), which then forms a bond where they can sense one another’s emotions. In the case of a human and mermaid bond, the human begins to transform into a mermaid. This process can only be severed a month after the initial kiss. Severing the bond means a human can never become a mermaid again.

The story opens with Lily in the bathtub talking on the phone with her best human friend Shannon (who does not know she is a mermaid). They are discussing Lily’s crush on popular boy Brody who has recently broken up with his girlfriend. The call is interrupted by bad boy Quince who is also Lily’s neighbor and is always teasing her but secretly likes her.

The next day in school Lily attempts to ask Brody to a dance, but Quince interrupts them. He warns Lily that Brody will say no. Lily ignores him and asks Brody in the lunch room. He says no and Lily runs out crying. She meets Quince in the hallway and he attempts to comfort her. They hide in the bathroom stall when Brody’s ex-girlfriend and her friends walk in and start talking about Lily. They are making fun of her. Quince holds Lily back to keep her from confronting Brody’s ex. Quince offers to help Lily get Brody and she accepts.

They meet after school where Quince gives Lily a costume that will match Brody’s costume for the dance. He then tells her to meet Brody in the library. Quince will tell Brody that his ex is waiting in the library, but really Lily will be there. Lily talks over this plan with her two best friends (human and mermaid) and they both think it is a good idea.

Lily waits in the library where she is kissed passionately by an unknown guy. When the kiss ends she realizes it is Quince and the two are now bonded. She runs home and Quince follows. She agrees to meet him the next day to explain the bond. Lily explains she is a mermaid and they are now bonded. Quince asks her to kiss him again and she grudgingly complies, though she admits to herself that she enjoys kissing him. She then takes Quince into the sea to go to see her father so he can sever the bond.

Quince is accepting of Lily’s secret and goes along with her happily. He is enthralled by the merworld, even though he did not know how to swim before this experience. Quince is welcomed with open arms and the castle rejoices, assuming Lily has found happiness. She explains the situation to her father who is disappointed. He asks that Lily wait until the next day before performing the severing. She agrees. Her cousin Dosinia is angry Lily has come back and stolen Dosinia’s attention (it was her birthday). Dosinia flirts heavily with Quince and Lily is jealous. Lily’s father sees this and decides not to perform the separation until Lily and Quince have a week to think about their relationship. Lily is angry, but complies. Quince is happy because he actually loves Lily.

The two go back to land where Lily treats him coolly, though Quince is increasingly nice to her. Both feel the bond intensifying their emotions and ability to sense one another. Lily recognizes she is falling for Quince, but she brushes it off as the effects of the bond and not real. Both of Lily’s friends don’t believe her and think she likes him and that he is a good guy and better than Brody. Lily persists in believing Brody is her true mate.

Lily and Quince pretend to be dating with Quince convincing her to do this in order to make Brody jealous. Brody is made jealous and begins to show interest in Lily. Quince is jealous of Brody’s new preoccupation with Lily believing, accurately, that he is only interested in her now because she seems to be no longer interested in him. Lily does not believe Quince, but her friends do.

At the end of the week, Lily and Quince return to the merkingdom to be separated. Lily’s father tells Lily they must go through mandatory couples counseling before he will perform the separation. This counseling involves the two staying on an isolated island over a weekend and being tested three times. They go to the island where they first must make a gift for one another. Lily makes Quince a sand dollar necklace because he admired the sand dollars in a statue at her underwater home. Quince builds Lily an impressive sand castle of her kingdom. Dosinia helped Quince, making Lily extremely jealous.

The second test involves Lily and Quince telling one another what they like best and least about the other. Quince’s responses startle Lily because they are essentially all compliments and show he understands and sees her on a deeper level than she imagined.

The third test occurred when a “fishing” boat appeared near them. They believe they are in danger and Lily protects Quince and risks her life to save his by drawing away the boat. The fishermen were really merfolk. Lily’s father decides that he does not believe Lily and Quince should be separated, but Lily insists she belongs with Brody. Her father makes them wait one more week.

Lily decides to tell Brody she is a mermaid and loves him. She realizes that if she is going to tell Brody she loves him, then she should also tell Shannon she is really a mermaid. Lily tells Shannon. Shannon accepts Lily, but cautions her about telling Brody she is a mermaid. Lily decides Shannon is right and that she will first only tell Brody she loves him and see how he responds.

Unfortunately, Brody overhears their conversation and so learns Lily’s secret identity. He thinks it is cool, but he treats Lily as a commodity and not a person. It is clear he does not love her. She regrets her choices and realizes Quince was right about Brody all along. Quince arrives and begins to beat up Brody. Lily stops him and tells him to meet her at home. She then proceeds to use her mermaid powers to wipe Brody’s memory. She tells him he fell down the stairs and then she leaves with Shannon.

Quince attempts to tell Lily he loves her, but she stops him. She is still fighting her feelings and tells him they need to return to her father and get the bond severed. She feels guilty for trapping Quince in a life with her. Quince is very much a land lover, and if they remain bonded, then he will be trapped in the water for as long as Lily is there, which would be almost all the time once she becomes queen.

Lily takes Quince to her secret favorite spot in the water and he appreciates the beauty of the place. Lily feels she is falling in love, but she is confused by the bond emotions and her guilt. Lily goes through with the bond and Quince is returned to land. Lily stays in the water, but she is very depressed.

Lily decides she loves Quince and is willing to give up her place as queen in order to live on land with Quince. Her father knew this would be her decision and is happy she finally realized her feelings for Quince. Lily leaves and tells Quince her feelings. They kiss.

Epilogue: Dosinia is seen stealing Lily’s father’s powerful trident and deciding to wreak her vengeance upon humans (she hates them because they killed her parents).



No comments:

Post a Comment

It's all about friendly conversation here at Small Review :) I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Be sure to check back again because I do make every effort to reply to your comments here.

Because I am absolutely terrible about following through with blog awards, I can't in good conscience accept any more. Thank you very much for thinking of me though!

Spam WILL be deleted. Attacks on myself or other comments WILL be deleted.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...