A Song Below Water

April 1, 2020

Gr 8 Up-Tavia Philips and Effie Calhoun Freeman, Black high school teens, have been raised like sisters. Tavia is sickened by the knowledge of what could happen to her if she ever affirms her siren identity in a society where sirens are persecuted and silenced-but wants to proclaim who she is, much to the dismay of her father. Tavia draws her strength from Camilla Fox, a natural hair YouTube personality who turns out to be a siren, too. Effie, not a siren but a powerful swimmer, cosplays as a mermaid at a Renaissance fair, and is attracted to Elric, her cosplay partner who cannot see her beyond their fictional roles. Effie is burdened by an inferiority complex, the result of her grandmother hiding major family secrets. When another siren is murdered, Tavia and Effie's sisterhood has to weather many storms. Morrow has deftly woven a contemporary tale with mythical elements to take on the invisibility and marginalization of Black women, touching on issues such as misogynoir, body image, social justice, and generational trauma. VERDICT Empowering and innovative. Morrow elevates mermaids and sirens to legitimate and compelling vanguards for social change. For contemporary YA collections and fantasy shelves, too.-Donald Peebles, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2020
Two young women literally and figuratively embody #BlackGirlMagic. Sixteen and with deep brown skin, Tavia is a siren who uses American Sign Language to push against the mesmerizing call that burns like a fire in her throat and could mean being silenced forever if it is released. Plagued with mysterious body ailments and no knowledge of her biological heritage to inform a diagnosis, light-brown-skinned 16-year-old Effie, Tavia's sister-by-choice, is haunted by survivor's guilt after a traumatic childhood incident. Portland, Oregon, provides a memorable setting for Morrow's solid and intentional unpacking of myths around black people and their aversion to water activities through their stories. Chapters alternating first-person narration between the two protagonists set up Tavia to often be the voice of social justice inquiry, especially regarding prejudice against sirens, who are always black women. Effie's storyline focuses on a different type of identity exploration as she untangles her complicated family history. Lengthy exposition with confusing plot turns and a reveal of ethnically diverse magical beings and their powers slows the first part of the book. The action picks up toward the middle, rising to create an exciting new contemporary fantasy. In this parallel world, black female empowerment is standing up for yourself and others while simultaneously navigating love, physical and emotional violence, and the responsibility of immense supernatural power. A slow, hazy beginning eventually sharpens before charging into an electric, enchanting end. (Fantasy. 14-18)

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Starred review from April 15, 2020
Grades 8-12 *Starred Review* It's not often that Black girls get to be magical, but Morrow's fascinating, sweeping story gives readers two: Tavia and Effie. Tavia is disillusioned and cynical toward the world that wants to keep both facets of her identity oppressed; she grapples with hatred and prejudice because she is Black and because she is a siren. Living in Portland, Oregon, where Black folks of the magical and nonmagical sort are sparse, exacerbates this struggle. Tavia's best friend Effie appears to be normal, but she's experiencing weird puberty symptoms and is the single survivor of an accident that turned her schoolmates to stone when she was little. When Effie's past refuses to stay buried and Tavia's siren magic slips free during an altercation with the police, the friends' lives are turned upside down. They must learn to exist, find peace and happiness, and stay safe in a world that suffers little love for Black people and even less for the magical. Morrow expertly and smartly explores race, bigotry, oppression, and injustice against a backdrop of ordinary life with a dose of the supernatural added to the mix. A Song Below Water is a must-read for lovers of fantasy and contemporary stories alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2020
Play-sisters Tavia and Effie are both black Portland, Ore., teens with secrets. Tavia, who is selectively nonverbal, is a siren in a world that persecutes sirens and seeks to silence their mythic voices. Effie, who plays a mermaid at Renaissance fairs, doesn’t know what brand of mythical creature she is, only that she’s changing day by day. When the murder of a recently slain black girl is tacitly justified by rumor that she may have been a siren, Tavia’s heavily insulated world is turned upside down, with Effie as her only constant. And as Effie’s inexplicable abilities grow, the world outside becomes increasingly dangerous for the girls, whose secrets cannot remain so forever. In this thought-provoking YA debut, Morrow (Mem, for adults) excels at grounding her fantastical reimagining of the modern world through depictions of marginalized experiences: social justice takes on fantastic proportions in a society occupied by gargoyles, sirens, sprites, and elokos, all occupying differing public statuses of reverence and fear. Though uneven pacing and an excess of dropped subplots congest the book’s first half, this triumph of black sisterhood and female resilience is sure to draw readers. Ages 13–up. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Agency.