A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow Review

A Song Below Water | Bethany C Morrow | Tor Teen | Pub: 6/2/20

 

“What’s gonna happen is gonna happen.”

Fantasy books are a fairly new genre for me. Besides loving Twilight and Harry Potter when I was younger, fantasy just didn’t seem to be for me. But in 2019 I started reading more fantasy and it has quickly become a go to genre. A Song Below Water is a YA Fantasy. Checked off two of my favorite genres.

This book follows Tavia and Effie as the navigate junior year of high school, Black Lives Matter and the various types of mythical creatures in the story. Tavia has to hide who she really is, and Effie doesn’t know who she really is.

A woman was murdered, and the court decided it was fine because she was supposedly a siren. This sparks outrage amongst the other sirens and then a famous YouTuber outs herself as a siren. Things start to get really crazy after that.

This story is full of friendship and love and trying to teach you how to love who you are even if you’ve been made to feel like you’re not allowed to, like you don’t belong.

The first half was a little slow but still kept me interested. At some parts the paragraph would suddenly be a flashback so that was a bit confusing but overall, it was a fantastic read. I can’t wait to see what Bethany C. Morrow comes up with next. Also, I really would like this to be made into a movie.

 

Synopsis (Credit: Goodreads)

 

Tavia is already at odds with the world, forced to keep her siren identity under wraps in a society that wants to keep her kind under lock and key. Never mind she's also stuck in Portland, Oregon, a city with only a handful of black folk and even fewer of those with magical powers. At least she has her bestie Effie by her side as they tackle high school drama, family secrets, and unrequited crushes.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation; the girls’ favorite Internet fashion icon reveals she's also a siren, and the news rips through their community. Tensions escalate when Effie starts being haunted by demons from her past, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice during a police stop. No secret seems safe anymore—soon Portland won’t be either.