A Song Below Water is a 2020 YA novel written by Bethany C. Morrow. It features two high school black girls as main characters, Tavia and Effie. You’d think they’d be so-called “normal” but they aren’t. Tavia is a siren, and in this story, sirens have been black women for the past seventy-five years. However Effie’s true species is a mystery and a good deal of the plot deals with what Effie is.

Very quickly Morrow drew parallels between the sirens oppression in her modern-day fantasy and our own world with black people in the United States.

The writing was very clear and focused, and her description painted images in my mind easily. There were characters to love, to hate, to be disgusted with, to not understand, to empathize. There was something human about all of them, no matter the different fantasy creatures that were there.

Sprites, sirens, gargoyles and more populated Morrow’s setting.

This was our modern world but with a huge but what if mythological creatures were real thrown into it.

I found the read engaging, and I couldn’t put it down, so I finished it in two days. I’d recommend this book to anyone, really, everyone should read this book. There is a sequel in the works about another character, so make sure to keep an eye out for its 2021 release.

A Song Below Water is worth the read, and you won’t be disappointed to take some time to read it. It gets five stars from me. I really enjoyed it and I’m sure others will too.