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ghostlyprince's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Hate crime, and Outing
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
michaelion's review against another edition
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.25
I'm not a fan of this style of mixing fantasy and reality. Like, why would the Disney princess Ariel exist in this universe? If mythical creatures are real, why in the real world would you call them mythical beings? Surely there would be some other term. Also, the writing tries to be mysterious to be point where it's confusing. Like. Just tell us what's happening instead of telling us what happened 3 pages later. Also!!! A quarter into the book, my journal entry for page 73 is "medusa?!" I guessed it that quick! Which isn't bad but is funny. In a world where "mythical creatures" are real and there's real stigma around them, even though no one's ever seen a gorgon or whatever why didn't they think of that?! I did!!! But anyway. It really hooked my attention after the halfway point, which isn't good, but I had fun. The fantasy element just clearly wasn't thought out thoroughly enough, but before the book was over I rented out the sequel at my library because I wanted to keep the ball rolling!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Self harm, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism and Terminal illness
greatexpectations77's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
4.25
This was extremely interesting, and I think this book could be really helpful for young people who are wading into social justice issues. Would definitely read this author again - I really appreciated the extent of the world-building.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Racism
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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: Bullying, Racism, and Police brutality
Minor: Body horror, Confinement, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? Yes
3.0
Because fantasy is not my typical genre, I had a hard time understanding some of the different types of characters that came up and the world building wasn’t as encompassing as I would’ve liked for it to be. That said, the allegory used to connect this fantasy story to present day was incredibly powerful. I loved the characters, Tavia & Effie, and their bravery, their commitment to each other, and to being authentically themselves. This was an enjoyable YA book for me and I learned a little about fantasy lit along the way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
anna_wa's review against another edition
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: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Hate crime, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Confinement
Misogynoir, police murdering Black people without consequencesexlibris007's review against another edition
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: Bullying, Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Outing
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Cannibalism
sarah984's review
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
3.0
There were parts of this book that I liked a lot and then parts of it that I couldn't stand, so this was an uneven read for me. Overall, Tavia’s story was compelling, and her arc of learning to find her voice and take pride in who she is really worked for me. I loved the idea of a network of other Black girls who protect her so she can still sing, but the details on that were too murky for me. Why is a girl who doesn't like sirens on it? Who runs it? Are there actual consequences for outing her? It's not clear. The rivalry with the eloko girl didn't make sense to me either. I get why Tavia would be jealous of her but like if you don't want to protect a siren don't join a network? Overall though, I thought this section was spot-on, and the metaphor worked alongside the real-world anti-blackness that comes up.
Effie’s story, on the other hand, is a mess. Nothing happens with her for so long aside from a few vague things, and then she does something awful but it's immediately reversed, so I'm not really sure what the point was. Everything about her relationship to her bio family was uncomfortable to read.
I did love the way the two girls supported each other like sisters, but the book just did not come together as a whole for me.
Effie’s story, on the other hand, is a mess. Nothing happens with her for so long aside from a few vague things, and then she does something awful but it's immediately reversed, so I'm not really sure what the point was. Everything about her relationship to her bio family was uncomfortable to read.
I did love the way the two girls supported each other like sisters, but the book just did not come together as a whole for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Hate crime, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism and Cannibalism
claudiamacpherson's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
3.5
I 100% picked up this book because it's set in Portland and I just moved to a new country and wanted something familiar, and I did love being able to picture the setting as places I know well (but the audiobook reader did mispronounce Willamette, smh). It started pretty slow and I had a hard time getting into the world and sorting through all the magical creatures, but the second half definitely picked up. Definitely the best part about this book for me was how Morrow used the magical elements to parallel racism and sexism rather than replace or stand in for them. I've read a lot of books that use magical powers and concepts as metaphors for systemic issues, but I liked the way Morrow showed the intersectionality of multiple prejudices. The writing was very YA but it was a good Portland comfort read!
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe):Hopeful! There were some elements of the plot that couldn't be wrapped up in a perfect little happily-ever-after but overall the ending was pretty happy.
Happy ending meter (no specific spoilers, just the vibe):
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: Confinement, Police brutality, and Outing
ramblereader's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Police brutality
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Outing
Minor: Confinement