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denee16's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I am obsessed with this book! I know I've said that a lot on the books I've read this month but I have just found books that have captured me and enveloped me in their world and story! This books main characters finding their voice together and places in the world was absolutely beautiful and I was hooked early! It is a lot calmer than most books I have tended to read but still the stakes were real and the threats just as life changing for the characters as anything else!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Police brutality, and Hate crime
readingwithsierra's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This was such a good exploration into mythology and how many Black people don’t see themselves inside mythological stories. I enjoyed the social commentary as well especially when it came to Black girls using their voice to speak up. There were a few areas where it would cut to a past scene and sometimes these were so long or went on many tangents that I forgot what was happening at the present time, so that made putting the entire story together a bit harder. Overall, I thought this was pretty good. I love mythology and the lore surrounding it so to see it be presented with Black characters and Black girl magic made it all the more special.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Violence and Self harm
leanne_miron's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Police brutality, Hate crime, and Racism
readnrepeat1127's review
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime and Police brutality
Minor: Self harm and Murder
carolined314's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
An inspiring tale of love and sisterhood and using your voice and Black power and strength and resilience. With sirens and gargoyles and more. Great Portland setting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality, Hate crime, and Racism
Minor: Child death and Body shaming
amberinpieces's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Bullying, and Police brutality
Minor: Death of parent, Body horror, Kidnapping, Confinement, Grief, Hate crime, Suicide attempt, and Murder
bibliorama's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Enjoyment - 3.75
This has an interesting premise and pulls in different mythical creatures that aren't typically shown in most media. I think that fits well with the themes. This book is definitely a message book rather than a fantasy focused one and its setting is a contemporary Portland. The lives of the teenagers seem to be fairly normal, just with the occasional magical creature thrown in. I like this combination of real and fantasy, it just was hard to get a full grasp of how these magical aspects fit into our real world. This is partly because the main perspectives aren't outsiders to this world and and their first person narrative doesn't tend to offer more information beyond what is needed for the scene at hand. There are leaps that I could make though considering the real-world conflicts this book touches on, so I could work through what some of the mythical aspects are supposed to represent. Granted, it didn't feel like we got to see a lot of magic being used because Tavia is trying to hide hers and Effie doesn't know what hers even is. Mainly, I feel like this book would have been able to hit harder if it had an extra 100 pages. It jumped from point to point so quickly that I really wanted some of the books scenes to have breathing space. It also hit a lot of its points on the head and felt like it didn't trust me as the reader to understand the metaphors of the magic, particularly how the siren voices relate to the voices of black women. However, some people might want that overt messaging. The best part of this book by far were the characterizations of Tav and Effie.
Start - 3.75
I liked the start, it really drops you in the world and expects you to pick up the magical creatures as you go. The magic comes second to the struggles of being a black girl in America, and I think from the opening the book is clear on that point. I also think that Tavia's struggles with her siren nature are introduced really well.
Characters - 3
I really like Tavia and Effie. They are so specific and youget to know a lot of details about their lives from their hair to interests, to how they feel about their family relationships. They felt very real and I love when characters have those small traits about them that bring them to life. For Effie it was her itchy skin, while for her the issue is magic related, it was described so realistically. Maybe it helped that this time of year my skin absolutely hates me as well, but I digress. For Tavia, I enjoyed her talking about her love of hair, and youtube, and choir. Their sisterhood and love is also very real and I liked getting to see such a healthy depiction of friendship. The reason that this category is lower than what it sounds like it should be is because all of the side characters fell flat. They felt far more 2 dimensional in comparison, especially when they're put up against Tavia and Effie and how fleshed out they were.
Atmosphere - 3.5
Like I said early, I like the idea of combining these mythical beings and the modern world. I even like how a lot of the creatures had twists to them and weren't cookie-cutter from the myths. I just didn't like the full execution of how these elements were conveyed to the reader. Some of it felt like it was more confusing than it needed to be and some felt like pieces of information were missing. Personally, the Eloko's didn't feel fleshed out. Not that it felt like the author didn't know how they interacted with the world, just that it wasn't written very specific. They seem to be liked by everyone but how their power works and why people are okay with what seems like influence over others (but not being okay with the influence of sirens) I wish had more time to be explored.
Plot - 2
This is the lowest score and the main contributor to my overall feelings. This book is pretty short for how much ground it's trying to cover. This leads it to feel like it jumps from major-plot-point to major-plot-point. It doesn't have the smaller scenes that let its ideas and plot develop fully. It also jumps time a lot moving us forward too rapidly. The fact that it is also told in first person perspective gives some of the scenes a more stream of consciousness feel which sometimes seems to lead the focus of the reader towards non important things. Which can make some of what it talks about confusing, like "why are we now here when we were just there?" Hopefully my description even makes sense XD. If not we can all be jumbled together.
Ending - 3.75
I think it's resolved too quickly and some of its points I don't feel were foreshadowed enough, but I like the idea of how all of these points came together by the end. I could see why they were all brought up by the end, but like I said earlier another 100 pages I really think would've done this story a service.
Style - 2.5
Combined with the stream of consciousness feel, so many plot points it was trying to cover, plus the sometimes heavy-handed writing, it didn't feel like the strongest part. I enjoyed pieces of it, mostly when we got to see the girls experiencing their magic. Those moments felt compelling. I also really liked the writing involving the little kid statues in the park, how they got there and the resolution that comes from them. Those moments were some of my favorite. They felt really grounded and unique.
Overall - 3
This has an interesting premise and pulls in different mythical creatures that aren't typically shown in most media. I think that fits well with the themes. This book is definitely a message book rather than a fantasy focused one and its setting is a contemporary Portland. The lives of the teenagers seem to be fairly normal, just with the occasional magical creature thrown in. I like this combination of real and fantasy, it just was hard to get a full grasp of how these magical aspects fit into our real world. This is partly because the main perspectives aren't outsiders to this world and and their first person narrative doesn't tend to offer more information beyond what is needed for the scene at hand. There are leaps that I could make though considering the real-world conflicts this book touches on, so I could work through what some of the mythical aspects are supposed to represent. Granted, it didn't feel like we got to see a lot of magic being used because Tavia is trying to hide hers and Effie doesn't know what hers even is. Mainly, I feel like this book would have been able to hit harder if it had an extra 100 pages. It jumped from point to point so quickly that I really wanted some of the books scenes to have breathing space. It also hit a lot of its points on the head and felt like it didn't trust me as the reader to understand the metaphors of the magic, particularly how the siren voices relate to the voices of black women. However, some people might want that overt messaging. The best part of this book by far were the characterizations of Tav and Effie.
Start - 3.75
I liked the start, it really drops you in the world and expects you to pick up the magical creatures as you go. The magic comes second to the struggles of being a black girl in America, and I think from the opening the book is clear on that point. I also think that Tavia's struggles with her siren nature are introduced really well.
Characters - 3
I really like Tavia and Effie. They are so specific and youget to know a lot of details about their lives from their hair to interests, to how they feel about their family relationships. They felt very real and I love when characters have those small traits about them that bring them to life. For Effie it was her itchy skin, while for her the issue is magic related, it was described so realistically. Maybe it helped that this time of year my skin absolutely hates me as well, but I digress. For Tavia, I enjoyed her talking about her love of hair, and youtube, and choir. Their sisterhood and love is also very real and I liked getting to see such a healthy depiction of friendship. The reason that this category is lower than what it sounds like it should be is because all of the side characters fell flat. They felt far more 2 dimensional in comparison, especially when they're put up against Tavia and Effie and how fleshed out they were.
Atmosphere - 3.5
Like I said early, I like the idea of combining these mythical beings and the modern world. I even like how a lot of the creatures had twists to them and weren't cookie-cutter from the myths. I just didn't like the full execution of how these elements were conveyed to the reader. Some of it felt like it was more confusing than it needed to be and some felt like pieces of information were missing. Personally, the Eloko's didn't feel fleshed out. Not that it felt like the author didn't know how they interacted with the world, just that it wasn't written very specific. They seem to be liked by everyone but how their power works and why people are okay with what seems like influence over others (but not being okay with the influence of sirens) I wish had more time to be explored.
Plot - 2
This is the lowest score and the main contributor to my overall feelings. This book is pretty short for how much ground it's trying to cover. This leads it to feel like it jumps from major-plot-point to major-plot-point. It doesn't have the smaller scenes that let its ideas and plot develop fully. It also jumps time a lot moving us forward too rapidly. The fact that it is also told in first person perspective gives some of the scenes a more stream of consciousness feel which sometimes seems to lead the focus of the reader towards non important things. Which can make some of what it talks about confusing, like "why are we now here when we were just there?" Hopefully my description even makes sense XD. If not we can all be jumbled together.
Ending - 3.75
I think it's resolved too quickly and some of its points I don't feel were foreshadowed enough, but I like the idea of how all of these points came together by the end. I could see why they were all brought up by the end, but like I said earlier another 100 pages I really think would've done this story a service.
Style - 2.5
Combined with the stream of consciousness feel, so many plot points it was trying to cover, plus the sometimes heavy-handed writing, it didn't feel like the strongest part. I enjoyed pieces of it, mostly when we got to see the girls experiencing their magic. Those moments felt compelling. I also really liked the writing involving the little kid statues in the park, how they got there and the resolution that comes from them. Those moments were some of my favorite. They felt really grounded and unique.
Overall - 3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent, Hate crime, Police brutality, Murder, Racism, and Grief
Some of these tags seem like they'd be quite intense, but the book handles them all in a way where they aren't in such explicit detail or over sensational. I think high schoolers would be able to handle the content of this book, they might just need to talk about some of it afterwards.anna_wa's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Last night I couldn't put this book down. I stayed up until 3 AM going all the way from page 107 to page 288 (the final page of the book). There was twist after twist after twist and I needed to know the answers to all the questions I had. It was both satisfying and heartbreaking when I finally got those answers (heartbreaking for what the characters had to go through).
The reason I couldn't give this a full five stars in my brain is because of the beginning. The beginning was extremely confusing, and I don't mean it was confusing in a "we're leading up to something" way that all Fantasy/SciFi books are confusing. I mean that it was confusing in an "I don't know what the author is trying to get at here with this dialogue/description" way. For a while I thought about rating it 3 stars because of how confusing the beginning was.
But then I hit the second half of the book and it all clicked. Morrow was in her element there and no longer did anything feel out of place or like it needed more editing. She kept me going, on the edge of my seat, to find out what would happen to Effie and Tavia and their gargoyle, to find out if my theories were correct. (Some of them were but then some of them weren't, and in both cases I was delighted.)
I don't want to spoil too much but I will warn anyone who intends to read it that, despite this being a story of sirens and elokos and other magical creatures, it deals with a lot of very real issues from our world. From the very first chapter Murrow makes it clear that the real life police killings of Black people are gonna be a very important part of the story. But there's a lot more than that (which you can see if you choose to click on my content warnings). However, each and every one of these issues is handled with the sensitivity they deserve from the author. The seriousness of them isn't skimmed over because "it's a magical world so magic can solve everything!" No, there are some things magic can't solve (and some things magic makes worse).
But it also isn't completely a sad story either. Without revealing too much, the ending is promising, tentatively optimistic. And the love between Effie and Tavia is strong from beginning to ending no matter what. Definitely recommended for fans of magical realism and fans of found-sisters-loving-each-other-despite-all-the-obstacles.
The reason I couldn't give this a full five stars in my brain is because of the beginning. The beginning was extremely confusing, and I don't mean it was confusing in a "we're leading up to something" way that all Fantasy/SciFi books are confusing. I mean that it was confusing in an "I don't know what the author is trying to get at here with this dialogue/description" way. For a while I thought about rating it 3 stars because of how confusing the beginning was.
But then I hit the second half of the book and it all clicked. Morrow was in her element there and no longer did anything feel out of place or like it needed more editing. She kept me going, on the edge of my seat, to find out what would happen to Effie and Tavia and their gargoyle, to find out if my theories were correct. (Some of them were but then some of them weren't, and in both cases I was delighted.)
I don't want to spoil too much but I will warn anyone who intends to read it that, despite this being a story of sirens and elokos and other magical creatures, it deals with a lot of very real issues from our world. From the very first chapter Murrow makes it clear that the real life police killings of Black people are gonna be a very important part of the story. But there's a lot more than that (which you can see if you choose to click on my content warnings). However, each and every one of these issues is handled with the sensitivity they deserve from the author. The seriousness of them isn't skimmed over because "it's a magical world so magic can solve everything!" No, there are some things magic can't solve (and some things magic makes worse).
But it also isn't completely a sad story either. Without revealing too much, the ending is promising, tentatively optimistic. And the love between Effie and Tavia is strong from beginning to ending no matter what. Definitely recommended for fans of magical realism and fans of found-sisters-loving-each-other-despite-all-the-obstacles.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Misogyny
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Cursing, Death of parent, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Confinement
Misogynoir, police murdering Black people without consequencesdigthewarmth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Pretty good magical realism world-building. This got to be a bit long-winded though. Also the racial inequality parallel is too on the nose, and I'm confused who the audience is for this book. People who need to hear this message probably won't pick up a book with two lead black female characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime
exlibris007's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Bullying, Racism, Outing, Hate crime, Death of parent, and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Cannibalism