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A song below water / Bethany C. Morrow.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, NY : TOR Teen, 2020Copyright date: ©2020Edition: First editionDescription: 288 pages ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781250315328
  • 1250315328
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • [Fic] 23
Summary: "In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers. Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school's junior year. But, everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment. Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it's only Tavia and Effie's unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all."-- Provided by publisher.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Book Book Bedford Public Library Young Adult Fiction Fiction YA MOR Available 32500002299387
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Bethany C. Morrow's A Song Below Water is the story for today's readers -- a captivating modern fantasy about Black sirens, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today's racism and sexism.

In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers.

Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school's junior year.

But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment.

Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it's only Tavia and Effie's unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.

"It's beautiful and it's brilliant."--Jason Reynolds, #1 New York Times bestselling author and National Ambassador for Young People's Literature

"An enthralling tale of Black girl magic and searing social commentary ready to rattle the bones." -- Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times bestselling author of The Belles

"A Tom Doherty Associates book"

"In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers. Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school's junior year. But, everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment. Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it's only Tavia and Effie's unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all."-- Provided by publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

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. (June)

School Library Journal Review

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

Booklist 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.

Kirkus Book Review

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) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Bethany C. Morrow is a national bestselling author. Her young adult novels include A Song Below Water , A Chorus Rises , and the Little Women remix, So Many Beginnings , and she is editor/contributor to the young adult anthology Take The Mic , which won the 2020 ILA Social Justice in Literature award. Her adult novels include Mem, and the forthcoming social horror, Cherish Farrah . Her work has been featured in The LA Times, Forbes, Bustle, Buzzfeed, and more. She is included on USA TODAY's list of 100 Black novelists and fiction writers you should read.
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