(As always check TW/CW, but some main ones are racism (eg. police brutality, racial profiling), sexism, injuries, illness, and death)
“I hear the water, I hear its song.”
Meet Tavia and Effie: two girls in the ever-damp Portland, Oregon. They are best friends, turned adoptive sisters after illness takes Effie’s mom. Tavia is a siren in a world that accepts magic– just not her kind. Sirens are mythical women with their voice as their power. They are also a group consisting solely of Black women. Both of these facts intimidate their society so sirens are hunted, unfairly trialed, and put under harsh scrutiny. Effie is a Renaissance Faire mermaid as her mom was. She gets swept up in the magic and romance of the faire for a few weeks each summer and takes the place that her mom had just years prior. On top of the troubles they already face, they also have the daunting task of completing high school. Crushes, maybe-exes, popular girls that you want to hate but just can’t, choir practice, bigotted teachers. It’s high school if you’ve ever dreamt of it.
“See, “nobody” believes mythos, but they never forget it either.”
This world has most of the mythical creatures you can think of. There are the aforementioned sirens that can bend your will with their voice. Mischievous sprites that induce trauma. Elokos with a song and bell they hold dear and a natural charm about them. Gargoyles that protect suburban homes. Pretty much anything you think you’ve heard a myth about is probably real. However, the myths are often not correct. Sirens are not out to get everyone even though they’ve been hunted and purged from society to the point where they are few and far between.
“They’re talking about the danger she posed, never the danger we face.”
Sirens and black women are linked in this novel. Not all black women are sirens but all sirens are black women. Our main thread of anxiety in this story is Tavia’s secret getting out. We read an all-too-familiar tale of a black woman being killed by her boyfriend and instead of her being the victim, they spin it on its head and claim that she was a siren and he was practicing self-defense.
“Our power’s not enchanting or endearing anymore; it offends.”
The minute “siren” is uttered all logic goes out the window and black women are scrutinized and forced to comply with whatever the masses want from them. Sirens and therefore black women can do nothing right and are forced into uncomfortable and unsafe situations in order to survive. Keep your head down. Don’t talk back. Be small and silent. The excuse for racism seems to be the fear of supposed sirens.
“It’s because of what a difference a sister makes.”
This is not just a heart-breaking and grueling tale about bigots. A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow is a witty, fast-paced book full of humor that only narration by two teenage girls can give. There are strong themes of sisterhood and friendship and what both of them entail. It is a modern novel of self-discovery with themes of sexism, racism, trauma, and grief sewn in the pages. At just below 300 pages, this 2020 book is sure to sweep any YA-lover off their feet and into a world just like our own with mythos intermixed.