This was such a wonderful story that combines fantasy, racism, social justice, and current events. I don’t think I have ever read a book like this before. This book talks about how being black and a siren is dangerous because according to lore Sirens only lore men to their deaths. This book touches on how being black women are perceived and treated especially during the Black Lives Matter Movement. Sirens are dangerous and a bad influence when they use their voice to stand up for what they believe is right. The friendship/sisterhood of Effie and Tavia was absolutely amazing.

I don't know what to label this story as. A retelling or a coming of age story? Though the beginning was a bit drag,thestory picked up it's pace beautifully. We see different issues that happens in the world and can relate a lot with the book. The sisterhood between the two step sisters made me ache for my own sister who is living far away from me. This book has everything. Magic, mythology, creatures, misogyny, identity and every other thing. A perfect blend of fantasy and realism.

Amazing sisters and beautiful magic! A SONG BELOW WATER is an entertaining modern fairy tale about two black sisters in Portland trying to deal with all of the regular perils of high school while balancing their secret magical traits and past incidents that weigh heavily on them.

I loved he themes In this novel, they are so timely. I also really loved the magical realism of this novel, it was just fantastic.

I enjoyed this one and could see definite potential, but for me I still need to see more of the lore and character development before committing to truly loving it. The mystery element was intriguing but I felt like I just didn’t know enough about the different magical races and their skills, which seemed like a shame to me and a bit of a wasted opportunity. Hopefully this can and will be rectified in future books. It’s one I’d be happy to stock but unsure about hand selling (though never say never!).

What would you do if you were a siren and you lived in a town where people didn’t like sirens? What if a gargoyle frequently sat watch on your roof? What if one day you and your friends were playing a game in the park and all of a sudden your friends all turned to stone? You were the only one to make it home safely? Effie and Tavia must learn the truth of their powers and their history.

This was very disappointing to me. The only thing I really enjoyed was Effie and Tavia's relationship. Besides that the story was very difficult to understand, felt dragged out and just wasn't interesting to me. Reslly sad because this seemed like something I could really love.

Wonderful story with plenty of parallels to our world. I liked how friendship and identities were a main focus. Each teen's voice has power and that's beautiful.

Rating: 4.5/5 mysterious transformations

Format: Audiobook. I’d like to thank Bethany Morrow and TorTeen for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review! I ended up listening to this on audio though because I read much faster that way.

To sum up:
This is the story of two sisters and best friends as they discover their own voice and identity. Tavia is a siren, a Black young woman with the magical ability to influence people with the sound of her voice. She doesn’t use her ability however and must keep her identity a secret because people are scared of sirens and their potential power over others. But keeping her identity a secret is more difficult than ever when a siren is accused of murder on the news and it's all anyone can talk about. Effie, her best friend, is having a crisis of her own. She sees things other people can’t and is still getting over a traumatizing event from her childhood. As Tavia and Effie work through their issues, their loyalty and kindness towards each other never change, and no matter what happens, and what ghosts from their pasts come to haunt them, they have each other's backs.

What I enjoyed:
I absolutely loved this story! Morrow seamlessly weaves together a story about friendship and sisterhood, racism and social change, and a fascinating world imbued with magic and myth. Sirens as a metaphor for Black women was such a fascinating and beautiful choice and Morrow wields it expertly. I am still thinking about this book days later, and definitely want to read it again! I loved the magical elements of the story and how they are incorporated into a fairly contemporary world (Keep Portland weird! lol). I loved the sisterhood and friendship between Effie and Tavia, it was so realistic, heartwarming, and inspiring. I loved how Tavia struggled with her identity, her power, and her responsibility of being a Black woman, a good friend, AND a siren. Effie's own journey of self-discovery was so cool as well. I can't believe I didn't see it coming, but I was so wrapped up in the plot and the mystery that the final reveal made me gasp! So many beautiful and powerful ideas are woven into this story and I applaud Morrow for balancing them all so well!

The only minor issue I had was that sometimes transitions between scenes/POV made me a little lost. I don’t know if it was an issue of me not listening carefully enough to the audio, of an issue of some info getting edited out, but a few times I couldn’t quite follow the thread of the more intricate details of the plot. I could definitely follow the larger plot, however, so this is very minor!

Overall, I thought this was a beautiful and powerful story. Bethany Morrow is an author to watch and I can’t wait to read A Chorus Rises (a companion novel with a different MC in the same world, out in June)!

I must admit, the books is different than I expected. I am not the biggest fan of urban fantasy because it's difficult for me to buy into magic and creatures being integrated into our present world when I can't really see them in a day to day way. If they're too magical, they don't mesh. If they're too common, it's unbelievable. The line for me is very fine, and for a long time, Morrow isn't neatly on the side where I'm able to suspend disbelief. Still, A Song Below Water is the first book of its kind that I've read to embrace the ubiquity of cell phones and social media. Unfortunately, it creates an obstacle that has to be overcome not just a factor to be calculated. Despite my personal hangups, the novel is fresh and compelling, and I believe a person with a lesser stake than a woman of color who is a book-lover, a teacher, and homeschooling mother with advanced degrees and literature and education will enjoy it from a much freer place. I'm anxious to find out what my teenage daughter thinks.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premise sounded amazing. Mixing the social justice aspects of today with fantasy elements was a take that we need out there for books to truly represent the world. There were aspects that were very interesting to me. The idea of black girls and women having to navigate their lives while also being the majority of the sirens out there; the juxtaposition of sirens vs. Elokos (who are also in the mythos, but seen as a "better" class of magical beings.); along with Tavi and Effie just trying to make it as black girls were all interesting plot points.

However, the book seemed to just get bogged down with scenes that seemed rather unnecessary to me. There were several interactions with boys or their peers that I would've skimmed through rapidly. There was a lot of high school drama that I can see many girls relating to, but just got exhausting.

I hope to see more from Morrow because I can see her just getting better with each book she writes. I did really and truly enjoy the fantasy elements of the book and loved the mythologies that showed up cause many you don't see very often in YA novels.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, even if it did fall a little flat for me.

This book was like nothing I've ever read before. Mixing an urban fantasy with a contemporary YA makes for a compelling plot from the get-go. However what stuck with me more were the recurring themes of the book - social justice, racism, and blaxk sisterhood. Effie and Tavia are facing down the world while they're coming into their own, and I loved how they stuck together no matter what. The worldbuilding was questionable at times, but I can't wait to read the next one!

In the end, I felt very mixed about this book. I loved the concept and the world so much, but the writing style left me wanting more. It was a lot more tell-y than show-y. The characters, especially Tavia, were just so internal and thoughtful that we spent much more time in their thoughts than on any scene. While I don't think this is a bad thing, necessarily, it's just not a writing style that I really enjoy. I love a good character-driven novel, but I need scenes to help me fall in love with the characters.

I almost gave up on this book so many times. The mythological storylines and the societal issues addressed should have made this great piece, but the writing and pacing got in the way. I really have to wonder if teens will stick it out if they are not drawn in within the first few chapters.

3.5-4

A Song Below Water follows Tavia, a siren, and Effie, a girl Tavia's family took in but doesn't know much about her past. Tavia and Effie are both black girls who face racism and prejudice in their daily lives, and Tavia's siren identity must be kept a secret or else everything would just get worse. Effie doesn't know who or what she is. Her mother died young and when she was younger, a tragedy struck and is now living with Tavia and her family. Both girls must face their fears and their pasts.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this story and I am so happy I was not disappointed! I absolutely love the idea and mythology surrounding sirens so seeing this book was such a treat! This book covered a lot of different topics ranging from family, friends, and racism. I loved the two main characters, they were both fun to read but I could tell the amount of work that was put into them and making them well rounded. I was really able to see their personalities and their bond as found family.

I found the big topic of racism and prejudice to kind of be added in as a side plot but I really loved to see how they discussed being black and it was super important to read about a movement similar to Black Lives Matter. I found at some other points there was some confusion, especially near the end. I am a little confused about what happens to Effie at the end and I don't know the the radical change at the end is super convincing and left some questions. Pacing was off in some spots, a lot of build up to a quick conclusion that left questions

Enjoyed and will probably read book two

I really wanted to love this book! There are aspects I loved and also some that fell flat for me.

Most importantly this book tackles hard and relevant social injustice topics. These are so important and I think the way the author tied it together that Black women's voices were literally being silenced with collars was poignant.

I did expect there to be a little more world building/fantasy but over all I enjoyed the writing style.

Tag and Effie's relationship was definitely special and an integral part of the storyline. At times I did feel like their expression of needing eachother and then being everything to eachother a bit much but also realize they are teenage girls so maybe keep that in mind.

The plot is where I struggled. At times I re read parts and didn't really understand why certain things were happening or things weren't elaborated enough on. The last couple chapters of the book felt very rushed to cram everything in all at once instead of unveiling at least a few things a little earlier in the book.

More like 3.5 stars vs 3.

I truly appreciate how the author incorporates fantasy while addressing very hard issues throughout the book. Issues such as racism and social justice vibes, which echo Toni Morrison in a way with magical realism. I love the idea of sirens being black girls and the details provided to show that these girls were black. It was not just a passing detail, but extremely in your face throughout the whole book. For example, the girls' talking about their hair. It may seem like a small thing but I find that hair is sooo fundamental in black culture that is important to talk about. I love the relationship and bond Tavia had with Effia and how the problems they face are dealt with. The only thing I did not like about this book is the pacing because I felt it was a bit hard to concentrate on the story at the time due to how slow the story was.

This is about Tavia, a Black teenage girl navigating life with magical powers deemed dangerous - she is a siren - and her "play sister" Effie, also Black and herself haunted by supernatural demons from her past that she dodges by being a mermaid at the Ren Faire, as she turns into who she really is.

Portland, Oregon, has only a handful of black folk and even fewer with magical powers. The community that protects sirens, who are feared, is tight-knit but they can't help Tavia with her identity crisis. When a siren murder trial rocks the nation, tensions escalate and nothing, no one, and no secret is safe.

From the blurb, I'd expected this to be fantasy. It's more contemporary magic realism with mythological elements. But the way the author has integrated the issues Tavia and Effie face as supernatural entities with those that they already face as Black women is seamless and masterful. All of the societal and cultural issues raised in A Song Below Water are extremely topical and important with everything going on right now.

I loved the bond between the two girls, who each get their own POV (though I was routinely confused between whose POV I was in as they sounded very alike). They have each other's back against the world, sometimes even against their own families who are well-meaning but protective, secretive, and afraid in their love. They may not always share everything as they follow their individual journeys to their conclusions, but they'll always be there for each other.

The story is slow to get into, which didn't bother me much as the payoff was worth it, but I felt like there was a lot of info dumping without it leading to proper worldbuilding. I'm familiar with many elements of world mythologies but since the author has put her own spin on many of them (including elokos), it was hard to get a sense of anything concrete when there was hardly any context or explanation for the magical elements, especially since a large part of both girls' journeys was about their powers. I wish that angle was better developed and we had more answers.

But I'd still definitely recommend it!

I really liked this one. Tavia and Effie are sisters, although not by blood. Tavia is hiding the fact that she is a siren, since they are feared. Effie is...perhaps something? We don't know yet. We do see the struggles they go through. Morrow does an excellent job of mapping her fantastical word on our own, with many parallels between what happens to sirens and what happens to black people in general.

I received a complimentary copy of A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow from Tor Teen through Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. A Song Below Water came out in June 2020!

In this contemporary fantasy, many magical beings are acknowledged and part of everyday life. Sirens are the only magical beings that are generally feared and regulated. Between being a siren and a black girl in Portland, Oregon, Tavia must be careful at all times. Her best friend Effie is lowkey famous because of an incident from her childhood where she was the only survivor. Effie suspects she may be magical but she has no idea how or why. When a siren murder trial rocks the nation, life becomes a lot more complicated for Tavia and Effie.

This contemporary fantasy addresses racism and sexism, especially toward Black women. I tried to read this closer to when it came out and it wasn't clicking for me. I tried again a couple weeks ago and did the audiobook this time. For some reason that clicked better for me. Much of this book is about self-discovery and existing in a world that fears and demeans you. I think I struggled with this book at first because it's more of a character study than a book with a vividly defined plotline throughout. I'm so glad I listened to the audiobook. The narrators were great and the story worked better for me that way. I'd recommend this if you're looking for a contemporary fantasy by a BIPOC author!