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A review by readingwithrae
A Chorus Rises by Bethany C. Morrow
4.0
4 stars.
this really was the perfect follow-up to 'a song below water'! going in, i did have my doubts about if naema could carry a whole book by herself (and if i could get over how she treated talia in book one.) and i will admit, for the first half of this book, i still didn't like naema! i thought she was a self-absorbed jerk! but as it turns out, that's literally the whole point of this book.
in the beginning, naema is the girl we all knew from book one. she's got a grudge against talia, is mad that talia is this local celebrity while she's been cast as the villian, and basically wants the world to hear her side of things. thus, she decides to head out of portland and go to a family reunion in arizona, hoping that while she's away she can plan a "comeback" of sorts, starting with getting her side of the story turned into a film. her investigating leads her to a fansite called 'knights of naema,' a collective who think naema has been unfairly portrayed in the media and want to protect her from harm. at first, naema is flattered and even joins herself, thinking this is exactly what she needs to be top dog once again. but as time goes on and the knights go further and further into extremism (specifically, targeting black girls who they suspect to be sirens), naema realizes that they don't care about her at all; they just see her as the "model minority" and would turn on her in an instant if she wasn't eloko.
the way this book handles the concept of the model minority is absolutely stunning. i think using a character like naema for this purpose works super well, because we get to see a girl who goes from saying she's "eloko first" and completely ignoring her identity as a black woman, to realizing that these extremists only like her because they can use her to say they're not racist (as in, 'you can't say i'm racist, i'm a fan of naema!). once she figures out that these are not the people she wants to be adored by and starts putting her identity as a black woman on the same level as her eloko-ness, we see a real change from naema. she begins connecting with her ancestors, learning from those who came before her, and realizes that she doesn't have to choose; she can be both eloko and a black woman.
overall, if you're looking for a quick read with a great message, definitely give this a read!
this really was the perfect follow-up to 'a song below water'! going in, i did have my doubts about if naema could carry a whole book by herself (and if i could get over how she treated talia in book one.) and i will admit, for the first half of this book, i still didn't like naema! i thought she was a self-absorbed jerk! but as it turns out, that's literally the whole point of this book.
in the beginning, naema is the girl we all knew from book one. she's got a grudge against talia, is mad that talia is this local celebrity while she's been cast as the villian, and basically wants the world to hear her side of things. thus, she decides to head out of portland and go to a family reunion in arizona, hoping that while she's away she can plan a "comeback" of sorts, starting with getting her side of the story turned into a film. her investigating leads her to a fansite called 'knights of naema,' a collective who think naema has been unfairly portrayed in the media and want to protect her from harm. at first, naema is flattered and even joins herself, thinking this is exactly what she needs to be top dog once again. but as time goes on and the knights go further and further into extremism (specifically, targeting black girls who they suspect to be sirens), naema realizes that they don't care about her at all; they just see her as the "model minority" and would turn on her in an instant if she wasn't eloko.
the way this book handles the concept of the model minority is absolutely stunning. i think using a character like naema for this purpose works super well, because we get to see a girl who goes from saying she's "eloko first" and completely ignoring her identity as a black woman, to realizing that these extremists only like her because they can use her to say they're not racist (as in, 'you can't say i'm racist, i'm a fan of naema!). once she figures out that these are not the people she wants to be adored by and starts putting her identity as a black woman on the same level as her eloko-ness, we see a real change from naema. she begins connecting with her ancestors, learning from those who came before her, and realizes that she doesn't have to choose; she can be both eloko and a black woman.
overall, if you're looking for a quick read with a great message, definitely give this a read!