I am sorry to say the writing did not work for me. This was one of my most anticipated books of 2020 but sadly it does not work for me. The voice doesn't feel very different from all the other books out there and the word choice is dull. Love the cover though!

This book is excellent as a story about teenagers who deal with real issues,
but a little less great as a fantasy book.

This however didn't take away much from how much I enjoyed it.

A song below water is the story of Effie and Tavia. They are (step)sisters and best friends. Tavia comes to face even more problems than she already did when a murder victim is accused of being a siren. Since she secretly is a siren herself she struggles with oppression, discrimination and racism. Her sister is facing a different issue entirely as she might be changing into something she doesn’t understand.

What carries this story mostly is the characters (Effie and Tavia) and the bound between them,. They are not sisters by blood but they are in every other sense. Their interactions and conversations were really great to read about and I really enjoyed it. The way they talk just feels very natural and very much like actual teenagers. They also both have very complex and interesting histories and there's representation for mental illness and sign language. I could very very much relate to Effie's shyness and social anxiety.

To me the most important theme in this book was the theme of racism. The story takes place in a version of the world where there are all kinds of magical creatures and humans with magical abilities. The main character is a Siren, which only black girls/women can be. For this reason they are being discriminated against and distrusted.
As I am not a person of color this of course effects my review, I can't judge the representation very in depth but as far as I can tell it was done very well.
Oppression was a strong theme in other ways as well. It talked about these women LITERALLY being silenced, by having to wear a collar that would make them unable to use their abilities.
And it not only talks about the people who are being repressed or the ones who actively play part in it but it also criticizes everyone who stands by and just lets it happen. And I think it succeeded at making me want to do something to help. Because you care about these characters it's hard to see them get hurt.


This is however not a strong story when it comes to fantasy.
The magic in there felt pretty cool, but it also was a bit random. As you start reading this you learn a few things about the magic that exist and thats about all you get. Some things exist. There's never really an explanation about what exactly this world is and which magical creatures there are. Therefor it's hard to be super interested in the 'mystery' of what Effie is, because there doesn't seem to be any way to know. It kept me interested because of how it affected the character but not because of the magic itself.
The reason I think fantasy books make me feel invested and not like 'everything could just be fixed by magic at any moment' is because there are sort of rules. It works better for me if its more clear what the limits of the magic are. There are some explanations about what Effie can do and a big part of it is that she doesn't know much about it herself. It's even stated at some point that everyone has to go off of myths about certain creatures because they just don't know anything. I however think it's a bit strange if there's a whole magical world where everyone knows magic exist, but no-one knows much about it.

This being said I still really enjoyed reading this story!

I honestly really loved this book and I think it is perfect for a YA audience. "A Song Below Water" is filled with themes of friendship, love and relationships mixed with a touch of magical realism. Effie and Tavia are as close as sisters can be and yet they each have unique qualities and interests. Their everyday lives are made even more challenging with the addition of magical powers as they learn to use them carefully amidst rolling and uncontrollable emotions. In their hometown of Portland, everyday people outnumber a handful of "unique" people with exceptional powers and abilities. Tavia is a siren. She is one of many who are required to keep their powers hidden because of the fear and prejudice against them. This is a novel about racism and sexism, but the through-line of social justice is subtle and interweaves well with themes of relationships and friendship. I think these are important topics and I was initially worried that this novel might be too heavy but it was actually quite engaging and upbeat.

The two main characters struggle through friendships, betrayal, love and family dynamics while remaining optimistic and hopeful for something good to come out of it all. And then there is the Gargoyle; who wouldn't love to have a Gargoyle keeping them safe and watching over them from a distance?

I think even adolescents who aren't into fantasy would still love this book. Effie and Tavia exist in more than just a fantasy world, their world is relatable to everyday life and the supernatural is weaved throughout a believable and complex plot. That is a challenge for every author who writes magical realism; it takes skill to make the unbelievable become ordinary and rational.

I would highly recommend "A Song Below Water" by Bethany C. Morrow. I would mostly recommend it for adolescent readers who enjoy fantasy mixed with relationships and friendship. I also want to thank Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A Song Below Water is a book I wish existed when I was a teen. The main characters are two sisters named, Tavia and Effie. Their love and devotion for each other is both beautiful and agonizing. Tavia is fighting a society that wants to silence her because she's a siren and black. Tavia has a "network" of people that help to protect her siren identity comparable to the Underground Railroad that aided Harriet Tubman. Tavia wants to live freely. But how can a siren live without restraints in a society that fears sirens?
Portland, OR is as much a character in this novel as Tavia and Effie. The place where parents can name their daughter, "Altruism", and the child not feel out of place. A place that's supposed to be extremely liberal with hipster chic, but black residents are still dying at the hands of police.
This novel is well written and full of content. There are issues of racism, prejudice, and broken family dynamics. The mythological features and main characters' ethnicity gives this novel an uniqueness that makes it a must-have for my library's YA collection. My only critique is that the story seemed to drag a bit towards the middle of the book.

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow is an enjoyable young adult modern fantasy. Approaching topics like racism, advocacy, systemic power dynamics, and the daily struggle of high school, the main characters maneuver through a world with sirens, eloko, gargoyles, sprites, and other cryptids from mythology.

Tavia is a secret siren in a world that immediately suspects sirens to act violently the moment they use their siren call. Her adopted-sister/best friend Effie is dealing with her own health issues that do not seem to make sense. While the girls lean on each other and address the trauma of their pasts and their coming-of-age in the present, the conclusion leads to a satisfying reveal that ends on a good note.

Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys modern/urban fantasy in the young adult genre, and also for anyone who enjoys young adult with social commentary like Angie Thomas or Elizabeth Acevedo.

Full review on https://www.armedwithabook.com/ to be posted on May 10th

This book is amazing! I'm not very much into YA, with a few exceptions (The Hunger Games and Divergent), but that doesn't mean I won't choose a book because of its genre. I'm so happy that I requested it. It's quite original and so deep. It's not your average sirens story, it's so much more than that. I'll try to give you a brief summary.

Tavia is a siren, but only her parents and sister know it, because been a siren means only bad things. Since many years there have been only black women sirens, therefore they're always to blame. Being a woman is hard, being a black woman is harder, and being a black woman siren is even worse.
Effie is Tavia's sister. She was adopted years ago. She's also supernatural, but she doesn't know what exactly she is. There are more supernatural, such as elokos, gargoyles and sprites. Effie fears she's an sprite.

Tavia and Effie must face their fears and be outstandingly brave in order to do so. That's the only way to demonstrate society how wrong they have been. How remarkably wrong they have been acting.

As you can see, the plot is really deep. There's so much meaning in Effie's journey to discover what she really is and the way Tavia starts to leave her fears (but mostly her father's fears) behind. One must be brave to demonstrate people that their prejudices are absolutely wrong. And it starts by accepting who you are and using your voice.

I absolutely loved this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tom Doherty Associates for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. And thanks to Bethany C. Morrow for this awesome book.

First of all, I must say, the cover of this book is awesome and goes along with the title and the story of the book.
The story is about two sisters- Tavia and Effie (Euphemia). Tavia is a black siren who is taught by her family to hide the power of her voice as sirens are feared, discriminated and locked away in the society. Effie has lots of questions about herself and about her biological family as her mother passes away and her grandparents leave her to live with Tavia's family. Also, a tragic incident from her past keeps haunting her.
The story is set in Portland, where normal people live alongside mystical creatures like sirens, elokos, sprites, gargoyles etc. The world-building is wonderful which makes it a perfect YA Urban Fantasy novel. The character-building in the books made me feel as if I was in the characters' shoes. The story is told from both Tavia and Effie's perpective alternatively. The pacing is perfect except some spots where I found them slow.
But I think that was because there where so many things going on that the story needed to slow down in order to let the reader understand the story without any confusion. The story is full of twists and turns, especially the second half.
Overall, this book is the right mix of Urban Fantasy with strong and subtle themes such as #myvoicemypower, sexism, racism, discrimination and other common themes such as family and relationships, teenage drama etc.
This book has secured the spot as one of my favorite books. So, I highly recommend it to everybody, no matter what their favorite genre is.
I sincerely thank Macmillian-Tor/Forge for giving me this wonderful opportunity to read and review this amazing book.

Excellent read and very well written. I’m not normally a fan of fantasy-style books but it felt a lot more modern.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought both female characters were strong. And I loved the premise. A siren who must protect her identify in a world that wants to lock sirens away. Add to that the challenge of being a black woman in predominantly white Portland and there’s a lot on Tavia. But friendship makes the burden more bearable. I thought this was a quick paced engaging read.

I recieved this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

First of all, let me say how gorgeous the cover is. It caught my attention the moment I saw it.

This is the story about two sisters (Tavia and Effie), about friendship, family, finding yourself, some magical creatures and racism. Tavia's a siren. But she's been taught to keep it a secret for as long as she remembers. As a teenager it's difficult enough to deal with high school and teen stuff but then she also has to hide who she is. Effie has a lot of questions about her biological family. Her mother passed away with some secrets and her grandparents thought she could live with Tavia and her family. That worked out perfectly cause they're like sisters now. But she still has questions without answers.

When I read the synopsis I thought it sounded so cool! I love siren stories and this is not an exception. I love the bond between the sisters, it feels real and beautiful. They are incredible close but as teenagers they have some secrets too. I enjoyed the mythological aspect of the story, I didn't know I missed that in books. Especially since it's not the typical creatures we all know about. There's a couple more that I really found interesting. I love the magic in this too, it's such an original and amazing idea. Overall I really really enjoyed this and I will look for more books by Bethany C. Morrow cause I love her writing.

I have to say, I was holding back the tears with the last line. Beautiful.

_NetGalley was kind enough to provide me with an ARC._

There's a lot to like and to find on Bethany C. Morrow's "A Song Below Water". Set in Portland, we meet our protagonist, Tavia, who does not only has to face the regular ups-and-downs of teenager life, but face the potential dangers as her kind seems to be prosecuted only because she happens to be a siren as well.

Most of the story is told from either her perspective or Effie's, her sister, as they go on their lives in a world set in our contemporary time, but mixed with other fantastical creatures, where fears and regular struggles get mixed with how they must reconcile the hate their kind seems to receive.

There's a lot of potential and things to like throughout the book, but there are also many parts were this potential ends up being unfulfilled. Worldbuilding comes out naturally in some moments, while in others it's full with exposition and descriptions. It may certainly be an attempt to be more inclusive with readers unfamiliar with the genre, which by itself it's not a bad idea, but does end up feeling incomplete and unbalanced.

As the plot goes on, and we switch from the character's POV, it starts to get harder to empathize with each character, as the story gains from context but lacks enough time to understand the impact of some of the events and consequences their actions take among each other.

And this will not only affect how the characters develop under our eyes but also how the pace ins handled. The initial chapters do a good job of introducing the reader to the setting and shares some of the promises we mean to fulfill and resolve as the story goes, but things get harder to follow on throughout the middle, as some of the decisions are harder to understand (albeit, it may be a result of the distance in years between myself and the protagonist age!).

Ultimately, some middle parts feel a bit undercooked while others seemed to run wild till we get to the book's conclusion which closes the threads in a sort of whirlpool of events.

That being said, that fast-paced narration may be more aligned with another kind of readers, so take this with a grain of salt, and the setting still intrigues me and makes me think there's a lot to be told there.

Looking forward to her next book!

Please note: I received a digital ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Sirens and Sprites and Gargoyles, oh my! A Song Below Water by Betthany C. Morrow is everything I never knew I needed. Lets start with the cover...GORGEOUS! The beautiful imagery immediately pulls you in and lets you know that you are going to get something special. The blue color scheme is both soothing and intriguing. In short, Black Girl Mer Magic!

A Song Below Water follows sisters Tavia and Effie on their journey to find their voices and power in a world filled with bigotry, racism, and misogyny. Morrow is able to masterfully confront issues like police brutality, trauma, racism, and even frustrations with finding the perfect hair care routine. I laughed, I cried, and even shouted in frustration! This is a compelling coming of age story that every girl needs to read, regardless of race.

The world building is gorgeous too; set in modern day Portland with a refreshing new magical system. Magical creatures, that are often overlooked take center stage in this story. That alone gives this book a distinct flavor and feel that is unique to Bethany C Morrow. There is also an abundant amount of teenage angst, family drama, systematic oppression, social issues, and creatures to satisfy all readers. To put it shortly go read this book!

This gem set to release on June 2nd, is published by TOR books and is available for pre-order from all major booksellers. I give A Song Below Water 4 out of 5 gems. I cannot wait to read more stories set in this universe.

This is a great YA novel for today’s readers. I feel like several of my students will like this title and I can’t wait to recommend it to them.

A modern, socially conscious story that feels like a cross between THE HATE U GIVE by Angie Thomas and PET by Akwaeke Emezi. The fantasy conceit is clever and unusual: a black siren teen navigates life among the white "woke" of Portland, with a best friend whose identity is wrapped in mystery. Like all good fantasies, A SONG BELOW WATER uses teen Tavia's struggle with her siren voice to speak volumes about the silencing of black girls and women in conversations about their own lives.

It's also rewarding to read a YA novel with teens — Effie and Tavia — whose lives are messy and complicated and entirely their own. They have interests that are unique to them (take Effie's Ren Faire world) and struggles that translate universally.

(This review was posted on Goodreads. Currently coordinating a piece for Book Riot on sirens in fiction that includes an interview with the author.)

This was another OMG look at that book cover. That's what grabs me mainly. Full review to come closer to pub date
Thank you to the writer, publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

The magic and worldbuilding in this book was so uniquely done. Morrow’s connections of young Black women and mythical sirens was so powerful, and I loved the parallels she created in this book. The story moves at a great pace, and the characters are so full and real. I will definitely share this book with many of the teens I work with who love fantasy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw sirens, I knew I wanted to read this book. There is little more I love than sirens and mermaids and well, I couldn’t resist. So I was so happy when I was given the chance to review this book ahead of publication. I was delighted for it. I really think though, that this book will mean so much more to POC. This I believe, will probably resonate with them. While I don’t face the same issues discussed in this book, I found the read to be wonderful and address many important issues of today.

The Writing & Pacing
The writing was very good. I think that Morrow is a good writer, and that is conveyed through how easy the book is to read. It all flows so well together, and I loved the dialogue. I think it was well done, and it really added to the story. It is also #ownvoices in the topics that it touches on. The pace is a little bit slow at times, but I think that is because some really relevant issues are addressed and the plot and pacing needed to slow down to address them. We get dual POV from both Tavia and Effie, and the voices were distinct, and so that worked really well for me.

The Plot
The plot was mostly character driven in my opinion. Most of the characters were in some way acting or reacting to events in the plot, but the main bulk of the story was about their journey and their introspection. I liked that. I think the combination of magical realism and the relevancy of the topics to today were great plot driving forces for the character arcs.

The Characters
Through Tavia and Effie we are presented with important, real life issues interspersed throughout the book. They’re worked in so well, that everything flows together. You really feel for the both of them as they struggle with their inner selves and the world at large. There is a lot going on in terms of character development and I think this book is really pointed about certain ideas. I don’t want to go into them here, as I feel this book is best experienced by actually reading it, not me just telling you this book does this, this and this. However, it reflects on what is occurring to POC today, and in my opinion, someone who is POC is going to relate to this far more than me, a white girl. I may understand the issues, but I do not live them.

There was a tiny romance subplot, I didn’t love it, and I didn’t hate it. It was there.

The World building
I think the world building was a great concept; and it was interesting too. Especially the parts about the sirens and their relation to being black. Excellent on all levels.

Overall
This was a great book, and one I highly recommend that everyone should pick up and read. There is very little in this book that doesn’t work — and it was an amazing read. I think this is going to resonate with many readers!

I wanted this book to be The Hate U Give meets fantasy, but it just wasn’t. It took me 5 hours of reading time roughly, but it wasn’t until hour 3.5 that I finally felt I immersed in the world and the characters’ lives. There was very little background given to the world that we’re tossed into, and because of that, I had a hard time connecting to Effie and Tavia. Additionally, it felt so slow until literally everything happens in the last hour or so of the book. Not to mention, some pieces of the storyline are simply not wrapped up, like what happens to Camilla. I wanted to love it, but I just didn’t.

A Song Below Water was an interesting read that took me by suprise and was a lot more than I expected. I loved the mythos in this book, I loved the friendship and love for each other the Effie and Tavia have and I loved how the story was able to still showcase the ways in which African Americans are treated in some parts of society. It brought light to current injustices while still weaving a modern fairytale-esque story perfect for teens and young adults. The story kept me on my toes, you could never have guessed the full story if you tried. It was refreshing and didnt feel like it was following any modern tropes you would expect in youmg adult novels.

Can we first talk about how gorgeous that cover is?! It drew me in immediately, and the description only served to further my interest. I’ll admit that the storyline wasn’t exactly as I expected it to be, but it still was a great read. Filled with fascinating imagery, relatable characters, aa wonderful underlying message, and SIRENS!!! I enjoyed it :)