Tavia and Effie are sisters — not by blood, but in every way that matters. Both of them badly need the support and love of a sister. Like her late grandmother, Tavia is a siren. But the world, not to mention Tavia’s father, dislikes and distrusts sirens, and Tavia lives in fear of her secret being discovered. Meanwhile, Effie was long ago the only survivor of a terrifying incident in a Portland park, and she has begin to fear that the incident is coming back for her.
After a few years of hearing about — but not being able to find at a library! — Bethany Morrow’s first book Mem, I was pumped as hell for her YA novel. And I was right to be: It’s excellent. Tavia and Effie’s friendship forms the heart of this book, and it’s a beautiful center for a wonderful book. Though the book includes some gestures toward present and past romance for the girls, their sisterhood remains the central relationship. Not for a single second do you doubt that these girls are going to protect each other and fight for each other, no matter what’s happening to them. Without spoilers, Tavia makes a sacrifice for Effie at the end of this book that brought genuine tears to my eyes. Though at first it seems like Tavia’s the sister the story’s really about, and Effie’s the sister who will stand by her to the end, you pretty quickly learn that Effie’s got her own stuff, and it’s no less painful and important than what’s going on with Tav.
Which is actually another really strong element of the book: Everyone Has Stuff! A Song Below Water hands out the full measure of humanity to just about every character, with the possible exception of Effie and Tavia’s classmate Naema; she’s a real piece of work. Notably, this isn’t limited to the kids! Though Effie’s mother is deceased and she doesn’t know her father (that’s a whole other thing), she has two in loco parentis who spend all their time not telling her anything about her dad or her heritage. Tavia’s dad takes every opportunity to remind her that he didn’t want a siren daughter, and her mom never steps in to defend her. But what’s lovely and unusual is that the book doesn’t write anyone off for their imperfections (except, again, maybe Naema, who’s a real asshole). Tavia and Effie are old enough girls to hold the cognitive dissonance of loving their parents while understanding that they’re flawed.
If there’s a true enemy in this book, it’s the American system of racism and other kinds of bigotry. Bethany Morrow can’t have known that the country would be in the grips of such significant social unrest when her book came out, but it’s a tragically apt environment for A Song Before Water. LL McKinney coined the phrase stand-in bigotry for speculative fiction stories that use the structures and vocabulary of real-world oppression, while applying them to fictional identities. McKinney makes the vital point that stand-in bigotry often uses real oppression as a prop while declining to interact with the real systems of prejudice that do terrible harm in our own world, as exemplified by the police brutality that has racked our nation over the past week and a half.
Morrow beautifully sidesteps this error. A Song Below Water is fundamentally about racism and sexism, which interact with and exist alongside the fictional prejudices she creates. Tavia and Effie are reminded again and again that they can only depend on each other, that Black girls stand for Black girls because nobody else will do it. Despite the fantastical elements of this book, A Song Below Water exists very much in our own world, with all of its painful flaws and structural inequalities. Morrow makes Tavia’s struggle with her siren identity a truly intersectional one, as she understands the risks she already runs as a visibly Black, visibly female person, and tries her best not to add another area of risk by admitting she’s a siren. It’s a heartbreaking struggle; every part of it keeps her from being fully who she is.
At its heart, A Song Below Water is the story of two girls trying to do right by each other and themselves. As you can probably tell, I loved it and I recommend it most highly.
Note: I received an e-ARC of A Song Below Water from the publisher, for review consideration. This has not affected the contents of my review.