A Song Below Water: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Description

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. Nevermind 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.

Reviews

"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."--Booklist, starred review

"A watery and melodic crossroads of the real and the mythic, A Song Below Water lures readers with its seductive and beautifully black siren song. 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 series

"I love this book so, so much! Bethany C. Morrow delivers a blistering modern classic with this gorgeous tale of friendship and power. A Song Below Water somehow manages to be intensely happy and sad at the same time and all in the balance of great, riveting storytelling. The best YA novel I've read all year." -- Daniel Jos Older, New York Times bestselling author of Shadowshaper

"Morrow masterfully blends the real lives of Black girls in contemporary Portland with a mythic world of sirens, gargoyles and other supernatural creatures to create a compelling coming-of-age story in which two sisters, bound by love and fate, find their voices and their power." --Rebecca Roanhorse, Hugo, Nebula and John W. Campbell Award Winner, author of Trail of Lightning and Star Wars: Resistance Reborn

"Delving into misogynoir, mythology, and the importance of friendship, this remarkable work cements Morrow's status as a literary master."--Buzzfeed, Best YA Speculative Fiction of 2020

"Empowering and full of surprises, A Song Below Water reminds us how important it is to use our voices, even when we're afraid. Morrow has created a world that's both familiar and brimming with fantastical creatures, and the result is timely, necessary, and utterly captivating." - Akemi Dawn Bowman, award-winning author of Starfish

"A rich, intricate dive into mythology, misogynoir, and the way the world makes black girls out to be monsters. Like the siren's song, A Song Below Water is irresistibly compelling." --Heidi Heilig, award-winning author of The Girl from Everywhere

"The world is lush and intense, the voice intoxicating, and the message eternal. Morrow will have you under her spell from page one." -- L.L. McKinney, author of the Nightmare-Verse series

"A compelling tale packed with endlessly inventive magical concepts, blazingly current social commentary, and heroines you'll fall hopelessly in love with. I'm obsessed." -- Sarah Kuhn, author of Heroine Complex series

"A Song Below Water is a lush, colorful, and deeply moving masterpiece about mythology, the sometimes masked evils of racism, and all the ways the world hurts black girls. An irresistible and perfectly bewitching read that I couldn't put down!" --Jay Coles, composer and author of Tyler Johnson Was Here

"A Song Below Water is a captivating tale about the magic of sisterhood and the importance of being seen for who you truly are." --Parker Peevyhouse, author of The Echo Room

"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. Empowering and innovative. Morrow elevates mermaids and sirens to -legitimate and compelling vanguards for social change."--School Library Journal

"From sirens to mermaids to sprites and gargoyles, the magic is familiar -- but different enough to be exciting. Morrow... tackles anti-blackness and white supremacy head-on, while still giving Tavia and Effie the space to be realistic, flawed teenagers. In this magic-infused version of America, having a voice is literally a superpower -- a powerful message for the times we're living in."--NPR

"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." --Kirkus Reviews

"You will want to cheer." --Locus

"A complex, layered, culturally relevant fantasy." --BookBub

"Delving into misogynoir, mythology, and the importance of friendship, this remarkable work cements Morrow's status as a literary master." --Buzzfeed, Best YA Speculative Fiction of 2020

"BLACK. MERMAIDS. That's it. That's the tweet." --Electric Literature

"A Song Below Water showed me that there will be times when life feels out of control, but those times don't last forever. And sometimes the unknown can be transformed into beauty that can change the world." --Lightspeed

"An intriguing combination of contemporary themes and genre sensibilities." --Den of Geek

"A charming and fierce read, an ode to the bonds of friendship and an indictment of the world around them--and the world around us." --Bookriot

"It's beautiful and it's brilliant." --PBS

Author Bio

A California native, BETHANY C. MORROW has lived in Montreal, Quebec for several years before settling in northcountry New York. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Sociology, and studied Clinical Psychological Research at the University of Wales, Bangor before focusing on her writing. She is also the editor of the forthcoming young adult anthology Take the Mic (Arthur A. Levine Books). bethanycmorrow.com Twitter: @BCMorrow