: "A Chorus Rises" is a contemporary fantasy novel set in the world of Bethany C. Morrow's previous work, "A Song Below Water." The story follows Naema Bradshaw, a teen influencer and Eloko, who was once famous in Portland but is now infamous following the events of the previous book. Naema is dealing with the fallout of being vilified by the public and decides to retreat to the Southwest to reconnect with her family and her true self. The novel explores her journey of self-discovery and resilience as she confronts societal expectations and personal trauma.

"A Chorus Rises" tackles themes of popularity, race, and identity. The book delves into the challenges faced by Black women, societal expectations, and the concept of "model minorities." It also explores the dynamics of social media influence and the public's fickle nature. The story is a timely reflection on how society rewards certain behaviors while marginalizing others.

"A Chorus Rises" excels in its character-driven narrative and thematic depth. Naema's journey is compelling and relatable, making her transformation satisfying to witness. The book's strengths lie in its timely social commentary and the author's skillful writing. However, some readers might find the plot development slower in the first half as it focuses heavily on introspection. Despite this, the novel remains a powerful and necessary read, particularly for young adults navigating similar societal pressures.

Unfortunately ran out of time to finish book, would be happy to give a full review if given an extension

This was a wonderful sequel. Powerful, though provoking and important topics. I feel it’s not right for me to comment too much on my thoughts as a young white woman as I’m not the target audience.

A Chorus Rises is the sequel to A Song Below Water so you'll want to read the first book before picking up this one. This series is such a great modern take on sirens or mermaids and how they could be in our world in the present setting. Our main character Naema is a teen influencer who has an amazing voice (since she's an Eloko or siren). If you like reading young adult books with some magic, this book series is for you.

I want to preface this by saying that as a person I don't understand the whole influencer culture so I may be too judgmental for this book.

It all just felt rather mellow dramatic and woe is me. I didn't find the main character overly likable (that may have been the point) and it made it hard to connect with the plot.

The first book was fantasy and fun with exploration of identity and race, the climax an impactful moment where the community came together to celebrate safe return of the stoned children. We have purchased many to add to our libraries. I enjoyed it overall, and was hopeful that the second book would continue the explore the fantasy elements and how the girls stayed connected after their struggle.

The second book was focused solely on the rest of the world, racial identity, media perception of race, media response to the incident, social platforms that will soon be outdated, and the fun and fantasy just disappeared. In some cases, the fantasy felt mentioned as an afterthought.

I was disappointed and decided to stop reading once I hit 35%. Leaving five stars, clearly I'm just not the target audience.

This is the sequel to A Song Below Water and my feelings for both are pretty much the same!I loved how well these characters are written: there is growth and change, because I definitely remembered why Naema was the villain in the first book. But then hearing all her thoughts and ideas and wishes, you're able to resonate on some level with her.
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This one just wasn't as good aas it's predecessor. I really liked a song below water. I don't feel like we really got a good understanding of why Naema was the way she was in book one. I think this has some good conversations about internet culture but ultimately not a book I would recommend. Book one did it better.

A really enjoyable sequel from the first book. I really enjoyed the premise and would highly recommend, especially to a young audience.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor Teen for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Naema is a morally grey character in this book and this was a fast paced followup to the first book

This is the sequel to A Song Below Water, which I absolutely loved. I was really intrigued by the idea that A Chorus Rises follows Naema since her role in ASBW was antagonistic and ultimately resulted in betrayal of the main character. Her redemption arc in Chorus captures the complexities of humanity and gives us much more understanding into her actions and the pressures and oppression she was also facing.

A favorite among my students that is a great mix of folklore, modern issue and black girl magic. The novel a sequel to "Song Below Water" offers the perspective of Naema and a deeper look into her motives that led to conclusion of the previous novel. A great read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I had enjoyed A Song Below Water and was intrigued by the idea of a sequel from the viewpoint of ASBW's very antagonistic "mean girl". She's a very UNlikable character (and the family dynamics at the start which in part prompt her move seemed like an easy way to earn her some sympathy). Ultimately, though, her her redemption arc was that much more satisfying.

In A Chorus Rises, Morrow takes another look at the powers (and dangers) of social media, racism, and how one small decision can get out of control and take on a life of its own in an instant.

This sequel to A Song Below Water had an interesting tactic in choosing Naema as its protagonist, who was the antagonistic mean girl in the previous story. I enjoyed unpeeling those character layers as this was a very introspective book. Morrow interweaves these snippets of newspaper articles and online chatforums, slowly building a terrifying picture of radicalisation, racism and hatred. Naema ultimately redeems herself in a climactic showdown.

I really enjoyed A Song Below Water and enjoyed a further exploration of the black sirens. It started a little slow for my taste but I really enjoyed the POV from the "mean girl" and the way one simple action has consequences that become out of control. Just like with ASBW, I find the portrayal of social media and its uses and abuses within A Chorus Rises, mainly because you don't typically see that.

I could not get into the A Song Below Water universe. Sorry this sequel/companion novel was not for me.

This is a sequel to A Song Below Water, which focuses on Naema, the popular Eloko who was a sort of antagonist to Tavia the siren in the first book. Unlike the first book, this one took a little more to get into - Naema is not a likeable character, making the story harder to read. Overall the narrative felt stiff, and often the characters' choices made little to no sense. The narrative would have benefitted from circling back to some of the moments that needed clarity and expanding on them rather than moving on. Overall the story was just a little plain for me. More character exploration and explanation would have made this a much more enjoyable read.

Absolutely loved the first book in this series. This one did not entrance me like the first unfortunately. I could not connect with Naema and found her to be a bit whiny and annoying.

This was a fascinating and high-interest sequel to the first book. I enjoyed getting to see them have continued adventures! I hope that there are more books in the series.