Scan barcode
A review by secondhandpages
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow
5.0
I heard mermaids and I picked up the book. That was all I needed to be sucked into it. Additionally, the element of adoption (which is VERY close to my heart) made the book even more appealing to me. I genuinely did not know what to expect as I opened the book - I was hoping for more of an underwater adventure - but what was delivered was SO. MUCH. BETTER.
**If you are expecting a fantasy book, be aware that this is more urban fantasy/magical realism. It's worth mentioning immediately in the review as the misconception seemed to be a sticking point in many of the reviews I read prior to picking up the book.
A Song Below Water follows two young black girls (Tavia & Effie) navigating life - both magical and non-magical - in Portland, OR. With a stunning whirlwind of fantasy, racism, current events, topics, and politics, Morrow creates an engaging and heart wrenching read. The parallels drawn between racial injustices with the use of magical beings (specifically Sirens), as well as tensions between the magical species themselves, help readers to empathize and shed light on a topic that gets ignored far too often.
My favorite part of this entire novel was the friendship between Tavia & Effie. Far too often I feel like the YA genre gets swept up in love, and to see a novel surrounding two friends and their struggles to not only survive, but THRIVE together, is as refreshing at the Sirens that steal scenes in the novel!
I would highly recommend this novel to any and all!
**If you are expecting a fantasy book, be aware that this is more urban fantasy/magical realism. It's worth mentioning immediately in the review as the misconception seemed to be a sticking point in many of the reviews I read prior to picking up the book.
A Song Below Water follows two young black girls (Tavia & Effie) navigating life - both magical and non-magical - in Portland, OR. With a stunning whirlwind of fantasy, racism, current events, topics, and politics, Morrow creates an engaging and heart wrenching read. The parallels drawn between racial injustices with the use of magical beings (specifically Sirens), as well as tensions between the magical species themselves, help readers to empathize and shed light on a topic that gets ignored far too often.
My favorite part of this entire novel was the friendship between Tavia & Effie. Far too often I feel like the YA genre gets swept up in love, and to see a novel surrounding two friends and their struggles to not only survive, but THRIVE together, is as refreshing at the Sirens that steal scenes in the novel!
I would highly recommend this novel to any and all!