Release Date: June 2nd, 2020
Genre(s): Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 288
Rating: 
.75
Synopsis
A Song Below Water is a newly-released YA fantasy novel set in our present day world. It features two friends and “sisters,” Tavia and Effie, and how they navigate the world they live in today – and the secrets that they share.
Tavia is a siren, and in a world where sirens are feared and sought after to harm, she must hide her identity in every way she can. Effie does not share Tavia’s identity, but she questions her upbringing and what family secrets are hidden from her. They live in modern-day Portland in modern times, but during the aftermath of a siren murder trial. Soon after, their favorite Internet icon reveals herself as a siren, Tavia unleashes her siren call during an unwarranted police stop, and Effie can’t break free from her past and the unknown. Soon, unrest arises across the nation, in Portland, and at home – and no secret is safe.
Review
A Song Below Water is the kind of book that covers so many topics within its central plot. From racism to politics, and familial relationships to school drama, there’s quite a bit to unpack here, and the way the fantasy element ties all of these topics together is so well done. In this novel, all sirens are Black, and in a world where African-Americans already face prejudice and judgement based on the color of their skin, this is an additional marker of tension and distrust throughout the nation. For this reason, most sirens choose to stay silent regarding their true identities, and mask their voices however they can. For Tavia, this includes signing when she cannot speak.
Effie also endures troubles of her own, although she is not a siren. From physical features she cannot explain to family secrets and events of her past, she suffers from the unknown. Over time, she has her suspicions – including what was hidden for her, and what the gargoyle does perched above their home.
And on top of it all, the girls have to do their best to conceal it all at school, where one of the girls especially has their suspicions. And while Tavia and Effie’s activism grows after several nationwide events regarding sirens, this is also a cause for suspicion for some characters.
So all in all, there truly is a lot to unpack here. The thing is, this is all just the setup. So pacing-wise, this book does start slower to set the stage for all of the above. And while the slow pacing wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, the way things moved toward the end was another. There was so much revealed at the end in just a short span of time. There were sudden twists left and right for the last ten percent of the book. Additionally, this is book is pretty short. At 288 pages, 10 percent is not a lot!
I really liked how much got put into this book, but ultimately, I don’t think there was enough time in the book to cover it all evenly. Ideally, this book could have been at least 200 pages longer to flesh out everything. Regardless, I enjoyed the book, the characters, and the world.
Ultimately, A Song Below Water is a book I definitely recommend. Although it was shorter than I would have liked for the amount that it talked about, the topics it covered and the way it meshes with the fantasy world made it a great read. I see more and more YA novels covering greater subject matter like this in the past few years, and I hope to see books like these even moreso in the future.
