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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
melinajoy's review
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-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
4.5
4.75 stars. Highly recommend!
A Song Below Water had this overall anticipatory feeling. It was really hard to put it down. "...two sister friends discovering their magical identities against the challenges of misogynoir."
Sirens, elokos, sprites, gargoyles and more! This book does a really great job of being a magical and fantasy escape, a story anyone can read and enjoy, and yet so real still managing to incorporate relevant struggles of Black people especially Black women. Plus it has sign language and Portland/Vancouver. Reading it is like listening to someone tell you a story (as in it's not in proper English, it's very conversational and internal monologues, and AAVE). It's everything someone could ask for in a book!
Effie and Tavia are great characters, but Gargy the Gargoyle was my favorite because he was so unique- I've never read a book with a gargoyle as a character!
The only thing is that I found myself confused at points with all the different characters- specifically who's related to whom at times (but I figured it out towards the end). But especially because the one of the grandmas is called Mama. So that was a little challenging for me to keep track of.
But overall, can't wait to read the next books!
A Song Below Water had this overall anticipatory feeling. It was really hard to put it down. "...two sister friends discovering their magical identities against the challenges of misogynoir."
Sirens, elokos, sprites, gargoyles and more! This book does a really great job of being a magical and fantasy escape, a story anyone can read and enjoy, and yet so real still managing to incorporate relevant struggles of Black people especially Black women. Plus it has sign language and Portland/Vancouver. Reading it is like listening to someone tell you a story (as in it's not in proper English, it's very conversational and internal monologues, and AAVE). It's everything someone could ask for in a book!
Effie and Tavia are great characters, but Gargy the Gargoyle was my favorite because he was so unique- I've never read a book with a gargoyle as a character!
The only thing is that I found myself confused at points with all the different characters- specifically who's related to whom at times (but I figured it out towards the end). But especially because the one of the grandmas is called Mama. So that was a little challenging for me to keep track of.
But overall, can't wait to read the next books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent and Abandonment
bandysbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
3.75
A Song Below Water is a mix of mythology, current events, and young adult fiction that follows main characters Tavia and Effie as they navigate the pressures of highschool. Tavia, a siren, is forced to keep her siren song under wraps for fear of persecution if her powers are discovered. Effie, her best friend, is being haunted by literal demons. At a police rally in Oregon, Tavia's powers are discovered and her world explodes from there.
The thing that I really loved about this book is the way it seamlessly weaves current events into a mythology based story. Sirens are victims of prejudice, forced to wear literal shock collars to prevent them from using siren song. Racial tensions exist as well, so Tavia is really dealing with a lot. It makes you feel so much empathy for everything she's experiencing and that's the brilliance of this.
I also love that both main characters are young strong black women. They face many challenges in the story, but are constantly reflecting on and challenging the world they are presented with. They never just accept what they are told and I think that's a particularly important quality in young adult writing.
My only critique of this book is that it felt a bit all over the place. It's almost as if there are so many good ideas that they're all competing for prominence within the story. I think it might've benefitted a bit if it had focused on one or two specific issues instead of spreading itself so thin.
All in all, I think this was well written and relevant. A good read for adults and teens alike.
The thing that I really loved about this book is the way it seamlessly weaves current events into a mythology based story. Sirens are victims of prejudice, forced to wear literal shock collars to prevent them from using siren song. Racial tensions exist as well, so Tavia is really dealing with a lot. It makes you feel so much empathy for everything she's experiencing and that's the brilliance of this.
I also love that both main characters are young strong black women. They face many challenges in the story, but are constantly reflecting on and challenging the world they are presented with. They never just accept what they are told and I think that's a particularly important quality in young adult writing.
My only critique of this book is that it felt a bit all over the place. It's almost as if there are so many good ideas that they're all competing for prominence within the story. I think it might've benefitted a bit if it had focused on one or two specific issues instead of spreading itself so thin.
All in all, I think this was well written and relevant. A good read for adults and teens alike.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence
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 consequencesnillech's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, and Violence
invioletshadows's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I went into this book expecting to love it, and there WAS a lot to love. This book blends the narrative of magic and empowerment of Black women in such a beautiful and poignant way. This book is about the silencing, dehumanization and demonization of Black women. Effie and Tavia’s relationship is so strong and complex and I loved seeing their mutual, fierce support of each other. The narrative occasionally felt a bit heavy handed, but the depiction and analysis of systemic racism, microagressions, and police brutality was masterfully written and blended with the magical aspects of the story.
That being said, I want to talk about the depiction of Sign Language and disability in this book, that almost entirely ruined the reading experience for me. I’m talking about this because I went into this book after hearing so many good things, and while I think the book deserves the praise in some aspects, I want people to think more critically about how disability is represented in books like this. Intersectionality is important, and it’s hard to praise diversity in one aspect when another aspect was handled poorly.
The biggest issue that I want people to be aware of: Tavia fakes a disability to hide her identity as a siren. She claims she has a disease that affects her vocal chords and causes her to go nonverbal as a way to cover up the times when she feels the need to stay silent to prevent herself from compelling someone with her siren voice. 1) Faking a disability is never acceptable under any circumstances. Disabled people (particularly those with invisible disabilities) already suffer from enough suspicion without fuel like this being added to the fire. 2) Choosing not to speak is different from going nonverbal. There are plenty of reasons people can go nonverbal, or be selectively or completely mute. Refusing to speak because speaking would cause you to compel someone is NOT the same as going nonverbal.
Before I continue, I’d like to thank @deafreader and @slangwrites for talking through the sign representation in this book with me! I appreciate your feedback and valuable discussions to help me better word the ways this book could have represented sign language and signing better! Several times throughout the book, the narration will say some variation of “When I speak sign”, or “She can speak sign”, etc. Signing is NOT a spoken language, and therefore this statement is unnecessary and incorrect. There are several times throughout the book where the phrase is said more accurately as “when i sign”, so the inconsistencies were very frustrating. This is something that could have been fixed with another edit pass, or having a d/Deaf or a disabled person who signs consult on this aspect of the book. When aspects of a disability are thrown into a book like this, it feels as though it was done merely for diversity kudos, without any real thought or care.
That being said, I want to talk about the depiction of Sign Language and disability in this book, that almost entirely ruined the reading experience for me. I’m talking about this because I went into this book after hearing so many good things, and while I think the book deserves the praise in some aspects, I want people to think more critically about how disability is represented in books like this. Intersectionality is important, and it’s hard to praise diversity in one aspect when another aspect was handled poorly.
The biggest issue that I want people to be aware of: Tavia fakes a disability to hide her identity as a siren. She claims she has a disease that affects her vocal chords and causes her to go nonverbal as a way to cover up the times when she feels the need to stay silent to prevent herself from compelling someone with her siren voice. 1) Faking a disability is never acceptable under any circumstances. Disabled people (particularly those with invisible disabilities) already suffer from enough suspicion without fuel like this being added to the fire. 2) Choosing not to speak is different from going nonverbal. There are plenty of reasons people can go nonverbal, or be selectively or completely mute. Refusing to speak because speaking would cause you to compel someone is NOT the same as going nonverbal.
Before I continue, I’d like to thank @deafreader and @slangwrites for talking through the sign representation in this book with me! I appreciate your feedback and valuable discussions to help me better word the ways this book could have represented sign language and signing better! Several times throughout the book, the narration will say some variation of “When I speak sign”, or “She can speak sign”, etc. Signing is NOT a spoken language, and therefore this statement is unnecessary and incorrect. There are several times throughout the book where the phrase is said more accurately as “when i sign”, so the inconsistencies were very frustrating. This is something that could have been fixed with another edit pass, or having a d/Deaf or a disabled person who signs consult on this aspect of the book. When aspects of a disability are thrown into a book like this, it feels as though it was done merely for diversity kudos, without any real thought or care.
I want to clarify that I think this was an honest mistake, done without any intent of malice or harm to readers. But as a disabled person, it still hurts when disabilities are treated with so little thought. This goes doubly so when it’s a particularly popular book that has loads of reviews where no one seems to notice, or address the aspects of the book that are harmful. Please, authors and readers, take disability representation into account. Don’t leave us out of your discussions, your critical thinking, your activism.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Self harm, Violence, Sexism, Bullying, and Ableism
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Murder
keenanmaree's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
5.0
This book was so wonderful. It’s a beautiful exploration of Black female friendship, family, and intersectionality. The characters all feel so real (even the ones who are really mythical beings) and multidimensional, and the story is so gripping that I blew through it faster than I’ve read any other book in a long time, because I just HAD to know what happened next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, and Violence
mannab's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-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
This book was incredible. From the moment I started it, I couldn’t put it down - I found constant excuses to read instead of doing anything else. Some of Tavia and Effie’s issues can get a bit repetitive, but despite that, you’ll want to know who they are and how they’re going to face their challenges. It was particularly incredible the way that Bethany C Morrow intertwined fantasy with reality so beautifully and intricately that I’m not convinced this ISN’T the real Portland.
I also really loved that Black Lives Matter was at the heart of this book and a central theme.
I also really loved that Black Lives Matter was at the heart of this book and a central theme.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Violence, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Police brutality
katrod's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and while I liked it, it didn’t live up to my expectations.
I actually really loved the concept of this book. I loved that there were elements of fantasy in a world that is very much our own. I would say it’s much more magical realism than fantasy.
I loved that Morrow tackled issues of racism, police brutality, intersectional feminism, and internal prejudices among marginalized groups.
However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the execution. At the beginning there is so much unknown that I felt myself too lost to get into the story. I didn’t know who was what, or what each mythical creature really was. Things became clearer over time, but it took too long and I spent most of the first half of the book just confused.
Because of this confusion, I think the big reveal at the end fell a little flat for me. I wanted a bigger twist, but I felt let down by how the ending all worked out.
Overall, I still liked this book. I loved the friendship between Tavia and Effie, I loved the important social commentary, and I even loved the whole Gargoyle plot line (you’ll have to just trust me on that one). I just think there were things that could have been done better.
I actually really loved the concept of this book. I loved that there were elements of fantasy in a world that is very much our own. I would say it’s much more magical realism than fantasy.
I loved that Morrow tackled issues of racism, police brutality, intersectional feminism, and internal prejudices among marginalized groups.
However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the execution. At the beginning there is so much unknown that I felt myself too lost to get into the story. I didn’t know who was what, or what each mythical creature really was. Things became clearer over time, but it took too long and I spent most of the first half of the book just confused.
Because of this confusion, I think the big reveal at the end fell a little flat for me. I wanted a bigger twist, but I felt let down by how the ending all worked out.
Overall, I still liked this book. I loved the friendship between Tavia and Effie, I loved the important social commentary, and I even loved the whole Gargoyle plot line (you’ll have to just trust me on that one). I just think there were things that could have been done better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, and Violence
caseythereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
5.0
📚 Wow, this book totally blew me away. This what if Black women were sirens idea is an incredible way to play with the way we often label Black women superhuman and then punish them for it.
📚 Obviously, it's a heavier book than your usual YA fantasy, but wow is it worth it if you're up for it.
📚 I loved both Tavia and Effie, and watching them find themselves - their true selves. On top of the larger social issues the girls are dealing with, Morrow also totally nails those awkward teenage feelings, especially the parts about how suddenly your best friend can be a stranger to you.
📚 I feel like I say this a lot, but I truly have never read anything like this book. I cannot wait for book two and to return to this world.
📚 Obviously, it's a heavier book than your usual YA fantasy, but wow is it worth it if you're up for it.
📚 I loved both Tavia and Effie, and watching them find themselves - their true selves. On top of the larger social issues the girls are dealing with, Morrow also totally nails those awkward teenage feelings, especially the parts about how suddenly your best friend can be a stranger to you.
📚 I feel like I say this a lot, but I truly have never read anything like this book. I cannot wait for book two and to return to this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Violence