A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

In a version of the world where Sirens, Sprites, Gargoyles, and other mythical creatures are real and everywhere, two sisters in Portland are having a rough Junior Year. Tavia is struggling to keep the fact that she is a siren a secret from just about everyone in order to keep herself and her family safe, and Effie is trying to solve the mysteries of her past in order to keep tragedy from striking again.
Plus all the normal drama of being in high school. As suspected sirens become more and more prevalent on the news and mysterious statues start popping up around Portland, the girls must decide if their secrets are keeping them safe, or if their voices must be heard.

I absolutely adored this book. I was able to get an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) through a book club I'm a part of at The King's English (please support your local bookstores!). So I didn't know anything about the book when I got it, except that it was a new YA book that had a beautiful cover featuring two stunning black women and I wanted to know more. The magical realism of Morrow's work is breathtaking, and her use of mythical creatures to talk about race relations in the world was perfect. Some books make your heart hurt when they show you the world just as it is and how scary and heartbreaking that can be. This book made me feel a lot and I loved every moment of it.

I absolutely recommend this book. In fact, go preorder it right now! Goodreads says it should be coming out in June of this year, so order it now as a present for your future self and support this amazing author! And then when you get it I will have people to talk to about it, which I would really love. It was a fast read, but I couldn't read it during my breaks at work because it made me too emotional. So if books make you cry, that's definitely something to take under consideration.

I know with everything happening in the world it is hard to focus on the positives in life, but if it would help you, I would love to hear what you're doing to keep yourselves sane through all of this! I am doing a lot of crafting and restarting video games immediately after finishing them :)

XO, Ellen