SuitabookA Song Below Water
Bethany C. Morrow
- Reading
- Expect a world-building-heavy beginning with two narrators and several kinds of magical beings. Keep track of each girl’s concerns separately, pause to clarify new mythology, and allow time for the plot to gather momentum.
- Themes
- Identity and heritage: Effie investigates her complicated family history while Tavia’s siren identity shapes her experience of prejudice and silence. The book appears to use contrasting supernatural identities to explore belonging and self-knowledge rather than presenting one single route to identity.
- Racism, sexism and prejudice: Tavia is described as addressing prejudice against sirens, while the wider story engages with racism, sexism and standing up for oneself and others. The framing presents prejudice as a social problem and positions resistance and solidarity as significant responses.
- Friendship and responsibility: Tavia and Effie are described as sisters-by-choice, and the story considers friendship, love and responsibility for immense supernatural power. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Some material may merit preparation: the book includes survivor’s guilt after a traumatic childhood incident, physical and emotional violence, prejudice against sirens, and unexplained bodily ailments. The extent and detail of these scenes remain unclear.