Book Recommendation: A Song Below Water
My book recommendation this month is A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow. I loved, loved, loved this book. Morrow combined fantasy and real life in a simmering pot of magical realism that nourished my soul while opening my eyes even wider to the challenges people of color, specifically Black people, face in modern society.
Synopses from 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.
Recommendation
I could not put this book down. From the very beginning I was hooked on trying to figure out how all the breadcrumbs Morrow dropped added up. I enjoyed getting both Tavia’s and Effie’s POVs because, (*no spoilers*) although their stories were connected, each girl had her own personal experience dealing with her identity as someone “different.” Tavia knows who she is at the start and spends the book trying to figure out her place in a world that does not accept her. Effie spends her pages trying to uncover her true identity, and then when she finally connects the dots, she has to make a difficult choice.
One of the best parts of the book for me was the strong relationship between Effie and Tavia. They are not sisters by blood, but there is such love between them that anyone would be hard pressed to call them anything but family. Reading their banter made me smile.
Police brutality and inequality for people of color were both featured prominently in the book in a way that put me in the shoes of a young Black woman. I—as a white woman—will never be able to truly understand what it’s like for someone of another race to exist in the world, but since both Tavia and Effie’s stories are told in first-person, I felt like I got a glimpse of their world through their individual voices.
A Song Below Water is a magical adventure with something important to say about race relations, personal identity, and the necessity of caring for each other. And who doesn’t love a mysterious gargoyle?
I can’t wait for the second installment in Morrow’s universe, A Chorus Rises, slated for publication in June 2021.
Want more book recommendations? Check out my list in the archives.
