School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--Tavia Philips and Effie Calhoun Freeman, Black high school teens, have been raised like sisters. Tavia is sickened by the knowledge of what could happen to her if she ever affirms her siren identity in a society where sirens are persecuted and silenced--but wants to proclaim who she is, much to the dismay of her father. Tavia draws her strength from Camilla Fox, a natural hair YouTube personality who turns out to be a siren, too. Effie, not a siren but a powerful swimmer, cosplays as a mermaid at a Renaissance fair, and is attracted to Elric, her cosplay partner who cannot see her beyond their fictional roles. Effie is burdened by an inferiority complex, the result of her grandmother hiding major family secrets. When another siren is murdered, Tavia and Effie's sisterhood has to weather many storms. Morrow has deftly woven a contemporary tale with mythical elements to take on the invisibility and marginalization of Black women, touching on issues such as misogynoir, body image, social justice, and generational trauma. VERDICT Empowering and innovative. Morrow elevates mermaids and sirens to legitimate and compelling vanguards for social change. For contemporary YA collections and fantasy shelves, too.--Donald Peebles, Brooklyn Public Library
Publisher's Weekly Review
Play-sisters Tavia and Effie are both black Portland, Ore., teens with secrets. Tavia, who is selectively nonverbal, is a siren in a world that persecutes sirens and seeks to silence their mythic voices. Effie, who plays a mermaid at Renaissance fairs, doesn't know what brand of mythical creature she is, only that she's changing day by day. When the murder of a recently slain black girl is tacitly justified by rumor that she may have been a siren, Tavia's heavily insulated world is turned upside down, with Effie as her only constant. And as Effie's inexplicable abilities grow, the world outside becomes increasingly dangerous for the girls, whose secrets cannot remain so forever. In this thought-provoking YA debut, Morrow (Mem, for adults) excels at grounding her fantastical reimagining of the modern world through depictions of marginalized experiences: social justice takes on fantastic proportions in a society occupied by gargoyles, sirens, sprites, and elokos, all occupying differing public statuses of reverence and fear. Though uneven pacing and an excess of dropped subplots congest the book's first half, this triumph of black sisterhood and female resilience is sure to draw readers. Ages 13--up. Agent: Victoria Marini, Irene Goodman Agency. (June)