Imaginative sea-mythology elements help perk up the formulaic boy-crazy plot in Childs’s bubbly novel. At 17, Thalassinian mermaid Lily has been landlubbing for the last three years at Seaview High School on the Florida coast in an effort to feel more connected to her mother, a “terraped,” who died shortly after Lily’s birth. Now in line for succession to her father’s underwater throne on Thalassinia, Lily first has to “bond” with a life mate before her imminent 18th birthday, yet her unwavering choice, swim-team star Brody Bennett, doesn’t notice her. However, Lily’s annoying, motorcycle-riding next-door neighbor, Quince Fletcher (who can’t even swim), adores her quirkiness, and the novel becomes a rather predicable exercise in convincing the stubborn heroine who’s best for her. Quince indulges in some troubling importunate antics (restraining Lily in the bathroom, waylaying her for a forceful kiss in the library), and Lily is drawn as a vacillating, stomping-around character in transition. Still, details delineating the kingdom of Thalassinia and Lily’s ability to move gracefully between sea and land are nicely inventive and well worth a plunge. (Fantasy/chick-lit. 12 & up)
