A Song Below Water
A Novel
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A Song Below Water
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Narrated by:
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Andrea Lang
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Jennifer Haralson
About this listen
2020 Nautilus Book Award - Gold
2020 NPR Best Book of the Year
2021 Locus Awards - Nominee
Bethany C. Morrow's A Song Below Water is the story for today’s listeners - a captivating modern fantasy about black mermaids, friendship, and self-discovery set against the challenges of today's racism and sexism.
In a society determined to keep her under lock and key, Tavia must hide her siren powers. Meanwhile, Effie is fighting her own family struggles, pitted against literal demons from her past. Together, these best friends must navigate through the perils of high school’s junior year.
But everything changes in the aftermath of a siren murder trial that rocks the nation, and Tavia accidentally lets out her magical voice at the worst possible moment.
Soon, nothing in Portland, Oregon, seems safe. To save themselves from drowning, it’s only Tavia and Effie’s unbreakable sisterhood that proves to be the strongest magic of all.
An NPR Best Book of the Year - 2020
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Teen
“An enthralling tale of black girl magic and searing social commentary ready to rattle the bones.” (Dhonielle Clayton, New York Times best-selling author of The Belles)
©2020 Bethany C. Morrow (P)2020 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
“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 José Older, New York Times best-selling 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)
“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 and Summer Bird Blue)
What listeners say about A Song Below Water
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sebrina Calkins
- 28-09-23
Heartbreaking, Hopeful & Unflinchingly Confronting
I fell in love with Morrow's storytelling in Mem, which instantly became one of my favourite books, and with A Song Below Water they have cemented themselves as one of the writers I am beyond in awe of for their imagination, craft, and the incisive, unflinching depiction of both moments of extreme emotions and trauma between family, friends and peers, and discrimination, particularly racism and misogynoir.
I am too tired to give this incredible book the review it deserves, so for now I will say that this one of the most readable and intimate stories of two unconventional sisters trying to understand themselves and the world, and one of the heaviest and most difficult reading experiences I have had due to the completely unfiltered and honest portrayal of racism and abuse with intimate personal reflection and visceral emotion. I genuinely had to take breaks and ended up triggering my C-PTSD and getting on the edge of having a panic attack -- this is on me for not making myself as aware of the CWs as I should and I only include to show the impact this book has on me.
I am really confused by some of the lukewarm responses to this blistering novel, as well as some seemingly odd and rather subjective responses to the fantastic elements, worldbuilding, and narrative. Nothing is perfect and this book does have it's flaws, but this novel is packed with quality, heart, and searing, exquisite depictions of emotion, as well as the frank and powerful discussion and exploration of seriously important topics. I have never read a YA novel that treats its intended audience with as much respect, honestly, and maturity.
Morrow truly is a master of their craft and I need to read everything she publishes. I will absolutely be picking up the second book in this series once I have had some time and space to process this one.
I'm just blown away and wish I wasn't so tired and writing this review with only one eye and a few braincells. I will have more thoughts and try to do this spectacular book more justice another time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Boo
- 25-02-24
Gripping
A really beautiful story about two sisters who are each others chosen family. The world building of layering on mythical creatures on top of modern day life is interesting and the exploration of intersectionality is done really well. If it has one flaw it is that the adults are unnecessarily stubborn in giving no information and that is often also seen in the poor communication between Tavia and Effie, the main characters, but this is not unusual in YA fiction. All in all it gripped me and had me thinking about it throughout the day when I wasn't listening to it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PT
- 28-05-22
Random but somehow interesting
There’s no real story here but somehow it kept me engaged because I like random stuff 😂 so if you want something to trigger you whilst keeping you engaged with random stuff like gorgons, sirens, sprites etc 👀 give it a listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Emma
- 11-08-20
Excellent performance
Great book overall. The plot starts slowly but I was hooked all the way through the second half. Well worth a listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- J. LoVecchio
- 24-06-20
so good!
I have so many feelings
Lots of triggery things, racial violence and oppression of minorities and parental death and lots of skin picking/trich triggers and manipulative adults
But this book is so fantastic and I loved it so much even when it made me cry. The characters are rich and deep and I really hope there is more of their story
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michela
- 13-12-20
Sirens, gargoyles and other mythical creatures
An amazing, surprising novel about two sisters trying to discover their own real selves, voice and power, while always supporting each other. A number of intriguing mysteries unfold and are eventually solved in the story, while fascinating characters slowly reveal their roles and connections to the unaware protagonists. Chilling, way too believable acts of violence and ignorant discrimination against some of the mythical creatures, added to horrible racism, are fiercely fought: black (sirens') lives matter, indeed. However, the novel is not gruesome nor morbid, and the ending is satisfying and optimistic. The narrators are brilliant.
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