I joined a book club for February, March,and April, hosted by the Center for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, and this was the first book that we read. This book was absolutely amazing and has a great message. I also got to meet with the author on Zoom during the book club meeting, and I really enjoyed hearing her perspective and listening to her talk about the inspiration for this book.

A Song Below Water is about a black siren named Tavia, who lives in Portland, Oregon, and must keep her powers a secret. If the wrong person finds out, that’ll be the end of her freedom. Effie, Tavia’s adopted sister, has her own problems. Weird things keep happening, and Effie has a suspicion that her grandma might know what’s going on. A Song Below Water uses this world of mythical creatures to convey a message about white liberalism. Elokos show white privilege, and the hate of sirens represents hate against black people.

Bethany C. Morrow has just created a masterpiece with this book. She perfectly balances real social events, with a fantasy world of sirens, gargoyles, and elokos. I just couldn’t put this book down. There was never a dull moment in this book, and every paragraph left me wondering and hungry for more. 

There is a second book coming out, called *A Chorus Rises. This time the book will be from Naema’s perspective. Naema is an eloko, and plays a big part in A Song Below Water. I’m very excited to read this book (we pre-ordered it)!

I’d say this book is for 6th graders and up. I say that because I think that adults would love this book, too. My mom is participating in the book club, and she thought A Song Below Water was great.

I give this book 5 out of 5 bookworms.

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