I am so excited to be part of the ARC tour for Fins Are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs. I had a blast–or was it a splash–being part of the Splash Team for Forgive My Fins when it released last summer. Fans of Princess Waterlily will not be disappointed as her adventures continue with the release of the sequel June 28.
Lily is back on land, living with Aunt Rachel, hanging out with her best friend Shannon, and dreaming of her best guy. Now that she’s made her decision, she has decidedly more human concerns to worry about–mainly getting into a college–any college that will take her. Just when it all appears to be smooth sailing, her bratty cousin Dosinia shows up on the doorstep.
Whatever Dosinia’s done this time, it must be bad because she is banished from the sea to live with Lily. Dosinia is not what Lily needs. She hates humans and loves stirring up trouble. Now she’s even flirting with Lily’s old crush Brody. Nothing good can come from this. Just when it all seems ready to blow apart, a merboy from Lily’s past shows up with an urgent request. Will Lily choose love or duty as she plots her future?
I thought Fins Are Forever lived up to my expectations. Lily still has a knack getting caught up in the middle of turmoil, but she is learning to see past the surface of people who drive her crazy–like her cousin Dosinia. Dosinia adds conflict and humor as she adapts to the human world she hates. Maybe, just maybe, her heart is in the right place after all.
In addition to writing great books, Tera Lynn Childs graciously answered these questions from my students for a brief blog interview. Her books have been among the top circulated books in our school library. I have a hard time keeping them on my classroom shelves as well. My students are eagerly waiting for Fins Are Forever!
Ariana: Why did you write Forgive My Fins?
Growing up I always wanted to be a mermaid. I was a water baby and a competitive swimmer, so my dream was to be in the water full time. I got the idea for Forgive My Fins when I was in Florida for the summer and spending a lot of time on the beach. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if a merman walked out of the Gulf and bestowed his magical powers on me with a kiss?” I knew right away it was a great book idea, especially if I created conflict when my mergirl accidentally kisses the wrong boy.
Audrey: Why do you write fantasy?
I write fantasy because normal, everyday life is pretty dull. I already live in the real world, with stubbed toes and spilled soy milk and nights in front of the TV, so I’m not really excited to write about that. I love writing about things that couldn’t really be possible in our world, and making them seem plausible. What do you plan on writing in the future?
Oh, I have a bajillion ideas for books and stories. Who knows how many of them I’ll actually get around to writing. But for now I’m working on my new trilogy about triplet monster-hunting descendants of Medusa. The first book, Sweet Venom, will be out in September.
Charity: Why did you become a writer?
I never planned to become a writer. Growing up and through graduate school I wanted to be: teacher, veterinarian, architect, lawyer, biologist, doctor, actress, scenic artist, set designer, historic preservationist, muralist… You name a career and it was probably on my list at some point. After grad school, though, I ended up back home with my parents who were traveling for work a lot. I was basically house sitting their place in the country and I started reading. A lot. It got to the point where I wanted characters to act differently or to say different things. I finally decided that if I wrote a story they would do and say whatever I wanted.
Who do you look up to?
In life, my parents of course. But as for writers, I have changing tastes. My favorites right now are Suzanne Collins, Susan Beth Pfeffer, E. Lockhart, and Jaclyn Moriarty. I also love classics like Jane Austen, Shakespeare, and Greek plays. Courtney: Where did you come up with these ideas?
I get my ideas from everywhere. Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp came from playing around with reality TV show titles. Forgive My Fins and Fins Are Forever stem from my lifelong obsessions with mermaids. I got the initial idea for Sweet Venom from a fashion magazine spread about snaked-themed accessories. I just keep my eyes and my mind open to seeing ideas in the world around me.
Anna: How often do you write?
That depends on how close I am to deadline. As much as I feel like I should write every day, there are days (maybe even weeks) when I don’t write at all. But as I get closer to deadline, I write every single day and for more and more time each day.
How do you plan your books before you start writing?
I’d rather not plan them at all. I would rather get my idea spark, brainstorm some characters who might wind up in that world/situation, and then start writing from scene one. My editor sometimes has other plans and I have to write a synopsis first. (I stink at synopsis writing, btw.) When that happens, I try to use a basic plot structure, like Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure, as a road map for story action. Somewhere early in the process I like to make character collages, too, to give me a visual picture of who my characters are.
What is it like to have written your own book?
It’s an amazing feeling, like reaching the top of a mountain. And, like climbing a mountain, getting to the top is only half the trip. Once the first draft is finished, there are so many other things to do. Revise it. Revise it again. Get an agent. Sell to a publisher. Revise it again and again. Proofread it. Wait for it to get printed and go on sale. Hope that it does well and lots of people buy it so your publisher wants to buy more books. But the bottom line is that finishing a book is one of the hardest and most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
Who is your favorite character in the Forgive My Fins series?
Oh come on, I’m not allowed to have favorites. But I do have a special place in my heart for my bad girl characters. Dosinia might be a total brat, but I know there are reasons underneath, in her past, that have made her that way. We get to learn more about that in Fins Are Forever and I hope readers realize she’s more than what she seems.
Mrs. McGriff: Thanks for writing books my students are excited to read!
Thank you all for the fun and thoughtful questions!
At last I got my hands on Everfound (Simon and Schuster 2011), the third and final book in the Skinjacker’s Trilogy. Neal Shusterman did not disappoint. It is a stunning conclusion that twists and turns with surprises all the way until the end. All the characters you love–and love to hate–are back along with some intriguing new additions to the cast. Our story begins with Allie the Outcast being held prisoner (tied on the front of a train) by Milo and the rest of Mary Hightower’s vapor of Afterlights. Mary is out of the picture temporarily, but has evil plans that only Allie knows the true extent of. Mikey McGill is on their trail with Nick the Chocolate Ogre, who is only a sticky shadow of his former self. Milo’s leadership may be lacking, but his devotion to Mary is eternal.
Jix, the furjacker, is probably my favorite new character. Just like the big cats he likes to skinjack, he is a patient hunter, stalking his prey until he decides just which side is right. I also like Clarence, the scar wraith. Horribly burned in a fire, Clarence is part of both worlds–the living world and the Everlost world. He has always thought it a curse, but at just the right time and place, he finds and fulfills his destiny.
Whether they travel by train, by dirigible (The Hindenburg), or by yacht, a supernatural force pulls everyone to a perfect storm in the New Mexico desert. Along the way they encounter the Neons and the mighty Wurlitzer at the Alamo vortex, the Unremembering King and hordes of Afterlights at the City of Lost Souls, and death and destruction everywhere that Mary goes.
Inge Auerbacher was one of only 100 children to survive the Nazi concentration camp of Terezin in Czeckoslovakia. Over 15,000 children passed through the gates of Terezin from 1941 through 1945. She tells of her family’s horrifying experiences as the Nazis loom every larger and closer over their fates in I Am a Star: Child of the Holocaust (Scholastic 1986). Through a combination of luck and determination Inge survived with both of her parents.
Inge was just three on the night of Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass, November 9, 1938) and just seven when she was taken to Terezin. She recounts the growing terror her family experienced as they lost their German citizenship, their home, and finally, their freedom within the walls of Terezin. Against her personal memories, she provides the context of the Nazi’s rise to power in Germany and across Europe. Photographs of Inge, her family, and Terezin bring the story into sharper focus. Poems written by Inge shine light into the dark of the camp and make my heart ache for those who suffered and died.
If you have read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl and want to learn more about the Holocaust, I Am a Star is a good place to start.
Believe it or not, families lived on the rock that was home to Alcatraz, the prison of some of the most notorious criminals of their day, the prisoners other prisons didn’t want. Gennifer Choldenko has written a brilliant novel that tells the story of one of the children who might have played next to the prison yard. Al Capone Does My Shirts (Scholastic 2004) is hilarious and heartwarming. Myu only regret is that I waited so long to read it.
Moose Flanagan is the new kid on the block–not the cell block, thank goodness. After his dad took a job as guard and electricial at Alcatraz, Moose moved to the island. Now he has to fit in with new neighbors and at a new school. Complicating matters is the fact he is stuck caring for his sister Natalie, who has been age ten for the past five years. Moose might complaine about Natalie’s button obsession, embarrassing tantrums, and numerical fascination, but he will not allow anyone else to bother her. How can he trust the other kids at Alcatraz when he doesn’t even know them?
I loved the other kids who called Alcatraz home. Moose first meets Theresa, a bossy seven-year-old who never takes “no” for an answer. Unfortunately, her twelve-year-old brother Jimmy can’t play baseball at all. The rest of the gang is filled out with Annie and Piper. Annie has a surprisingly good arm for a girl, but Piper is trouble. As the warden’s daughter, she leads them in all kinds of schemes–charging classmates on the mainland for Al Capone to wash their shirts and sneaking on the ferry to meet Al Capone’s mother. Whenever Piper shows up, Moose can’t remember which way is up.
Choldenko weaves the facts and legends of life on Alcatraz in 1935 into a story that centers on family and friendship. Everyone is fascinated with the big-name gangsters held on the island, especially the infamous Al Capone. Moose, however, must figure out what is best for both Natalie and the rest of the family. He doesn’t like how his life has changed since being on Alcatraz, but neither is he sure they can go back home again. Just when everything is about to fall apart, he wonders if Capone can indeed do anything. The ending is perfect, but I won’t spoil it for you now. Go and read it for yourself. I will certainly be looking for the sequel, Al Capone Shines My Shoes.
At the beginning of The Maze Runner (Delacorte Press, 2009) Thomas wakes up in a dark lift with no memory of his former life except his name. When the doors open, he enters the world of the Maze. Fellow Gladers–all boys–welcome him to a strange and terrifying world where the walls surrounding their home move every night.
After Thomas’s arrival, things in the Glade change. The next day, a girl arrives in the lift with a threatening message. Next their supplies are cut off and the walls no longer shut out the monstrous Grievers. Thomas is convinced he should become a runner, exploring the ever-changing maze to find its solution. If he could just recall his missing memories, he might find the way out–or reveal even more danger.
The Scorch Trials (Delacorte Press 2010) ups the ante for Thomas and the surviving Gladers. Now they must fight their way across the Scorch, a barren wasteland populated by Cranks, infected humans who lose their humanity and sanity. In addition to battling the extreme environment, Thomas no longer knows who to trust. Which of his friends remain on his side, and which will turn to betray him? Which new allies can he count on? Which memories can be believed?
James Dashner has created two books that will keep you guessing as you turn pages. The action is non-stop and surprising. I enjoyed the slang created in these stories. It was different enough that it added to Thomas’s confusion about where he was and what was happening, but not so far out that I couldn’t follow the story. Once I started each book, I didn’t want to put it down until the end. I am now waiting for the third, The Death Cure, coming in October.
Some things did bother me in this book. No one besides Thomas seemed bothered by their lack of memory or the odd situation in which they lived. Like Thomas, I wanted more answers as to who is behind WICKED. (I’m not convinced that WICKED is good, either.) I was disappointed to learn that their struggles were all a test. I hope the third book will provide some more satisfying answers.
My mom brought Heaven is for Real (Thomas Nelson 2010) with her for me to read during her visit this week. She promised that once I started I wouldn’t want to put it down, and she was right. Not only did I devour it in short order, so did my daughter. Once I turned the last page, I still have lots to think about from Todd Burpo’s amazing story about his son Colton.
When he was four years old, Colton’s appendix burst without anyone knowing. Five days later doctors rushed him into emergency surgery to fight to save his life. After seventeen harrowing days in the hospital, Colton went home with his family. Over the next several months and years, Colton told a remarkable story of his visit to heaven.
Colton told about meeting his sister and greatgrandpa, both of whom died before he was born. He described how really, really big God his and how Jesus has beautiful eyes. He witnessed angels, people, animals, and rainbows. He reounted details that matched family history and Biblical descriptions that he had no way of knowing. Most of all, he reassured his parents and everyone around him that Jesus really loves children.
As I read this book I found myself chuckling outloud and wiping a tear from my eye. Dad and pastor Todd Burpo relates Colton’s story in simple, direct prose, often using Colton’s own words. I have grown up in the Christian faith and believed that heaven is real, but it is incredible to hear it described in the matter-of-fact words of a child.
Joan Bauer has the rare talent of writing about serious subjects with both humor and compassion. And, I love her quirky characters. Find out more below, and then find your favorite Joan Bauer book.
Homer’s Odyssey (Bantam Books Trade Paperbacks 2009) was not written for a teen audience, but it is the kind of book I would have read and enjoyed as a teen. If you love cats or inspiring animal stories, you will like Gwen Cooper’s epic tale.
Homer was a stray kitten with a slim chance to live. An eye infection required the vet to remove both eyes completely. Who in their right mind would want to adopt a totally blind kitten? Gwen Cooper, that’s who. Even though she already had two cats, Gwen opened her home and her heart to Homer.
Rather than letting darkness limit his world, Homer lived large. He could scale seven-foot bookcases even if he couldn’t figure out how to sneak up on the other cats. For some reason, they always saw him coming. I was amazed at Homer’s feats. He could catch flies in midair–just like the old man in Karate Kid. He survived being trapped in an apartment near the World Trade Center for several days after September 11. My favorite story, though, is how he chased away a midnight intruder from Gwen’s apartment. That burgular didn’t know what was after him.
I found Homer’s story to be inspiring and funny and amazing. I hope I can face the world with as much gusto as Homer does, and I hope I can learn to see with my heart as well as he does.
What is your favorite story of an amazing animal–real or fiction?
Sometimes my students push me in my reading. I definitely prefer fiction, but I’m slowly coming around to nonfiction. These projects will push me further in that direction.
For those of you who are politically-minded, check out Cole’s glog:
For those who want to ponder life’s lessons before it’s too late, check out Baylee’s glog:
