This novel is one of the best I’ve read this year! The characters are so dynamic yet relatable. I loved the flow of the story. It held my attention the whole time.

really enjoyed this book! I thought it was beautifully written magical realism and relevant to today. Everyone should at least give this book a chance! It is an amazing debut!

If The Hate U Give was an urban fantasy, that's what it would be like. A Song Below Water is such an important and innovative novel with so much potential and I'm so sorry that it fell flat for me.

A Song Below Water is mostly a story about being a Black girl, about fear and violence and being forced to stay silent. I loved the added layer of only Black girls being sirens and sirens being the most persecuted of the magical species, who, because of their power to control others, have to live in hiding. It strengthened the message of how Black people and especially girls are feared and silenced. The background of the present-day America was amazing (and especially a pretend-liberal city like Portland, where people pretend to be open-minded until something happens) and I loved how the history of sirens went back to the social movements of 1960s, it was a great touch. Generally, the permise sounded amazing and the book still had its brilliant moments and made so many important comments.

My two main issues with the book were that (1) I couldn't tell the two main characters apart - their voices were so similar that I kept mistaking them until the very end and it's a big problem since the story has dual POV, and (2) the world-building for the magical parts was seriously missing and I actually checked it it was a sequel and I was missing some info. It's not. My problem was especially with the faire and Hidden Scales - I'm still unclear as to what exactly were they and they were a huge part of the plot.

Unfortunately, the idea that should have worked brilliantly too often felt like it was three different stories being told simultaneously and confusing each other.

I'll definitely keep my eye out on what the author writes next because these are all the technical things that can be fixed in the next books, and she has so many important things to say and so much imagination to put a fairy tale twist on them.

The synopsis and absolutely stunning cover alone would have been enough to make me want to read this book. It presented a unique premise in that this was a fantasy story that exclusively focused on women of color navigating their way through the world. It's hard being a black woman in America. Add in a power that everyone is afraid of? Even harder.

Weaving in fantastical creatures and social justice, this was a very realistic tale. Set in an alternative Portland where sprites, gargoyles, and mermaids are not creatures of lore, but actually exist. Two teenage girls, one a siren and the other unsure of what she is, are not only having to battle the normal trials of being a teenage girl, but are having to fight racial prejudices that extend beyond the color of their skin. Sirens are always black women and are feared because of their ability to control people with their voice. This adds an extra layer of racism onto sirens and black women, forcing any with the powers of a siren to remain hidden in plain sight.

It was a little difficult to get into the story at first because the worldbuilding was a little lacking and I felt like I had been thrown into the middle of a story without any explanation as to what had already happened. I kept thinking maybe I had missed something. Because of this I was fairly confused the first few chapters, unsure of what was going on. Luckily the book soon found its stride and I began to fall in love with the setting and characters.

It was worth pushing through for the final few explosive chapters. I would love to see more of these girls and this universe, I really hope this is the first book in a series. If so, I can't wait to read more!

When I saw the cover of this book, I knew I had to read it. The artwork is absolutely beautiful, and mermaids and sirens? Yes, please.

I felt this story started out a little slow, but the last few chapters definitely made it worth the anticipation. I do wish there was more detail and time dedicated to world building. The story takes place in Portland, but not the Portland we know. While I loved the idea of a tale of fantasy taking place in a city everyone is familiar with, I do wish that it had been set up to make it more believable and so that the reader could transport themselves there. There were multiple times where things felt confused and I had to go back and reread to see if I had missed something.

Despite that, I enjoyed reading about Tavia and Effie’s journey and I could see my students enjoying this story!

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for a review.

I wanted to love “A Song Below Water,” but I just didn’t. I’ve officially fallen into the abyss that is a reading slump.
I was originally intrigued by the plot. Black sirens living in a modern world? Sounds awesome! However, I couldn’t get myself to care for the characters. Tavia didn’t really connect with me and Effie was often confusing.
Overall, I really wish I were able to love this book, but unfortunately it wasn’t for me. That’s not to say it can’t be for you. There is some amazing girl power and an interesting plot.
Overall Rating: 3 Stars

I did not care for this book. It lacked character development, switched tenses (past and present) too often, and felt like I was missing whole chapters of the book. I was not able to finish the book. I would not recommend.

Not mermaids!

This is a pitch perfect YA contemporary fantasy west coast world. Our heroine and her best friend are not mermaids, but play one at the Ren Faire. There are also overprotective tone-deaf parental figures trying their best to stifle the girls' Siren and Gorgon talents. We get to see intimately the confusion wrought by too little information too late.

It's from an imprint I trust pretty far, TOR, and they are offering a winner with n optimistic outcome and headline news relevance to our real lives.

Step-siblings Effie and Tavia love and protect each other through the stresses of every day life. Siren Tavia hides her powers from the rest of the world, but can be herself with her sister. Effie wishes for a world of magic, one she finds in a carnival. While political turmoil makes life for sirens more difficult (including a frankly disturbing celebrity known as Lexie on a Leash), the girls learn to share their voices in a literal way.

This book has an intriguing cover and premise, but I felt like it was a bit of a mess in its construction. It tries to be too many things and doesn’t accomplish any of them well. It’s a fantasy lacking world building, a social issues novel lacking a compelling plot line & forcing the black siren concept, and a character driven story with two narrators who blend together. I was pulled in towards the very end, and I do admit that there were a few well crafted surprises towards the end, but this isn’t one that I will recommend.

I'm not sure I can write a review which does this insightful, enchanting book justice (and this is from someone who has a rocky relationship with fantasy!) At first I found that I was engaging a lot more with the "real life" parts of the story than the fantasy elements, but about a quarter of the way in this book really found its footing. As the story went on, the fantasy added layers to the narrative - encouraging readers to think about things in new ways.
I was completely absorbed by A Song Below Water - I didn't expect a YA novel to make me feel so tense, but at certain parts my heart was thumping, and I was desperate to know what happened next. Part of this was investment in the characters - Tavia and Ellie both felt very real from the start, and as a reader you really care what happens to them. A Song Below Water is a wonderful book, and one I'm sure I will be re-reading very soon.

A Song Below Water focuses on two girls of colour- one that is a Siren, and the other is trying to figure out who and what she is, in a world where being different could mean that you could end up being an outcast.

When we meet Tavia, she’s frightened about the world finding out that she is a Siren. Being a Siren in Portland meant that she could get a Siren collar- and be silenced. Tavia’s dad denies that she is a Siren, and insinuates that it is all in her head, which doesn’t help Tavia at all. At the start, I emphasised with Tavia, as she struggles to fit in at school, fighting the uncontrollable Siren call urges, which she masks using choir. In comparison, Effie, Tavia’s foster sister and our second main character, embraces the weird and different in order to mask that she’s not sure what or who she is. Effie thrives as her character in the renaissance faire as Euphemia the Mer, wearing a fake mermaid tail, and pretending to fall in love with another actor in the faire.

The storyline progresses slowly, and at times, I feel like nothing much has happened. In other points, there is a lot of action and that was pretty satisfying. Whilst I could follow on for most of the story, there were also a number of times where I found myself swimming in information dumps, which felt like a lot to take in, even though a lot of the information was vital to understand what was going on. It was also interesting to read in dual perspectives, as I could see what was going through Effie’s mind when things were happening, as well as Tavia’s perspective. These perspectives were rather different, and getting two views on issues that are affecting them definitely opened up my mind.

I loved the concept of this book being set in a contemporary fantasy world, where not only there are Sirens and mermaids, but also elokos and gargoyles. The variety made the world a lot more believable, rather than just having one type of mythical creature. I liked that most of these mythical creatures had a character in the story, rather than just be told ‘in our world there’s these things too!’, which made the world much more three dimensional in my head.

The characters that featured in the book were vividly described, and each definitely had their own voice that didn’t blend into the background. I really enjoyed reading about Mother Theo, who sounded like a paranoid lady that nearly sounded like she’d wear a tin-foil hat, whereas we had Tavia’s dad, who appeared constantly angry. I also found it a little too close to home that Tavia felt like the world (and more precisely the police) were watching her, given the current climate around the world where the police are currently knocking on the door, making sure that everyone is home and not outside. It was also refreshing that the romances within the book weren’t always in my face, as is the normal thing to have in many young adult books.

I’d recommend this book for those who want a fresh, different young adult contemporary fantasy that has major The Hate U Give meets Nineteen Eight Four vibes.

Rating: 3/5

(Review available on my blog on 19th May)

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.