A Song Below Water by Bethany C Morrow

Welcome Back booklovers! It's been a slow reading week despite the long holiday weekend but I'm back at you with another review. This time for A Song Below Water by Bethany C Morrow. I was able to get my hands on an early copy courtesy of Tor Teen. And that it had the prettiest book cover I've seen all year was the first thing to intrigue me. The second was all the advanced praise it received.

One thing I do want to clarify because both the blurb on the back of my ARC and the blurb on Amazon stated there were Black mermaids. This is not a story about mermaids this is a story about sirens and in this story there is no overlap between the two. So don't pick up this book expecting for an underwater adventure. It's not an epic fantasy it's more of a character driven novel. This is a modern day story of two Black girls struggling to find their voice in a world that wants them to be silenced. It's a dual pov story where you follow two friends/sisters named Effie and Tavia who are navigating high school.

I never visited the Renaissance Fair so it was interesting reading about Effie's experience working as a mermaid there. I didn't even know there were mermaids there and actually stopped to look it up to discover that my state's Ren Fair also has mermaid shows. Effie gets joy from working at the Ren Fair every year playing this role that it sometimes blurs the lines between reality for her. 

This book uses magical realism with Tavia's siren experience to also talk about the real life struggles Black girl's face. Tavia is a siren who is not able to use her voice in a world where sirens are Black women and are seen as a threat. Sirens are often given silencing collars to stop them from speaking out due to fear of them using their abilities to manipulate others. But sirens must use their gift so networks exist to help protect sirens. Tavia is apart of the school chorus which gives her a way to unleash her call without drawing attention to herself.

Anyone who grew up around white people experienced some of these things like the questioning if your hair is real or fake when you wear braids or twists. Or that feeling of just not fitting in and being different because of appearance. 

I would've liked to see them have friendships outside of friendships with each other as well. I've never been one to have a big group of friends but even seeing them have relationships with other people at the school would've made a difference. 

One thing I wished was that the book dove deeper into the mythos. I wanted to see more of the magic. Because this is a world where everyone seemed to except that these beings existed even though they weren't receptive of them all. I wanted to know more about the sirens and their origins and networks. Why were people so receptive of some magical beings vs others? There was a gargoyle bodyguard that took residence on the roof of their house. Their encounters with it was fascinating. There were just so many questions I felt went unanswered here though the space was there to answer them. This book would've had more of an impact on me if the characters were fully fleshed out. It has a of important messages but the message becomes the story instead of being one part of the pieces that bring the story together. At times I felt like I was reading a think piece on Blackness in America.

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A Brown

Welcome Back, Booklovers!

In case you missed it I've been participating all month in the SeaMaydenathon. I actually dipped into my backlist TBR and read books from it despite my mountainous list of arcs and new releases. May has been a busy month for reading with all these new books being released in June. It's actually a bit of a blessing a because my June arcs were piling up! And with release dates on the same day. Luckily June is a romance book heavy month.

If you missed my interview with Author Roseanne A Brown then you need to click the link and get familiar. 

Finally finished ASOWAR. It usually takes me a little bit of time to get into fantasy while the world is initially being set up. This was no exception but after all the pieces were in place I was fully enthralled and ended up staying up into after 5 am to finish reading. I just couldn't break my reading streak and put it down! 

This is a duology written in dual pov. We follow Malik who is a refugee from Eshra and Karina, the Crown Princess of Ziran. Malik has traveled from from his homeland with his two sisters in search of a better life. But unfortunately upon arrival into the city they run into trouble and Malik's little sister Nadia ends up being kidnapped. And he strikes a deal for his sister's safe return. In order to ensure his sister's safety he must kill Karina! 

Karina is the Crown princess who everyone sees as a failure and an heir unfit to rule. She herself doesn't feel fit to rule and dreams of running far away from her kingdom. But when an ambush leads to her mother's assassination Karina must step up as sultana. But how can someone so unfit for the position lead her people? She can't even command her own court. No, Karina can't possible lead  so when she discovers a ritual to bring the dead back to life she sees an opportunity to revive her mother. The only problem is she only has until the end of the Solstasia festivals and she needs to heart of a king to complete the ritual. 

Fortunately for both Karina and Malik an annual competition provides opportunity for them both. Malik finds his opening to get close enough to the princess and Karina has the opportunity to find herself a husband.

The city of Ziran has a blend of many different sets of people and I loved the little traditions and customs described though out whether it came to the simple things like Karina's meal with Afua's family or the seductive dance between Malik and Katrina. Solstasia also has it's own unique festival traditions and there are live events and challenged throughout that are described vividly. I really felt the mixed of North and West African culture throughout the text.

Malik is no fierce warrior. He's a soft kind-hearted soul and the idea of competition rattles his nerves. But he holds some powerful magic inside of him that he can use to his advantage.

Karina has experienced a lot of loss and hides her sadness behind biting remarks and jokes. She is also very sheltered from the world after an accident claimed the lives of her father and sister.

I thought this novel found the right balance between character writing and giving us information to set up the duology while also giving enough action to stay intrigued. But it didn't rely on cheap tricks like excessive violence and instead had well thought out twists and turns. And while there is romance I thought it was well done. Sometimes in YA romance can overshadow the plot and even building of each character. That doesn't happen here. 

This debut will keep you on the edge of your seat and have you wishing for book 2 immediately. 

Opposite of Always by Justin A Reynolds

Welcome Back Booklovers!

It's May and I'm still participating in the SeaMaydenathon (@SeaMaydenathon on Twitter) and it's the first readathon I've ever done. And it's hard balance working from home with reading but I'm not doing too bad. This is the fifth book I've finished this month. Reading along with audiobooks have really been helping.

 I choose Opposite of Always because the premise made it sound like it would be a tearjerker.  And one of the prompts for the readathon is Sea Salt. I actually bought this book in ebook format last year when it was $1.99. And ironically my sister saw it on Amazon and bought me the hardcover version thinking I would like it. She was mad when she found out I already owned it. But I was kind enough to let her return it.

The only thing worse than losing someone you love is losing them again

So this story is about Jack King who meets Kate at a college party. They really hit it off and start talking. Jack even invites Kate to his high school prom. But then prom night comes around and Kate never shows. Jack is able to track her down only to mourn her death shortly after as she dies from an illness she had secretly been suffering from. Jack ends up in a Groundhog's Day type situation where he is given the chance to relive his last few months with Kate and is determined to save her.

It's been a long time since I'm read a YA book from a Black boy's perspective and written by a Black man. I listen to a lot of this book by audiobook and I liked that the narrator had a youthful voice so it actually felt like I was listening to a teen boy. And Jack is awkward, snarky, and relatable. He was very easy to root for.

At first I didn't understand why Jack King was in love with Kate. I feel like at beginning we didn't really get to know much about her to justify this Groundhog Day style time loop he was stuck in. But with the reset of time Jack wanted to spend more time with her so we got to know more about Kate and even meet her family. And we all hope for that one person who we believe is the ideal person for us and Jack believed Kate was that person. She liked his corny jokes and didn't mind his weirdness and quirks. Unfortunately his friends and even family start to feel a little alienated as he drops everything to be with Kate and struggles to fit the rest of them into his life.

The story is a little long in my opinion could've been shorter but I did appreciate it for what it is. It's a story of struggling to grasp a world without someone you love. This book is so fit to be a movie so I hope it doesn't take too long for the film adaptation to come out. Hopefully it's a 2022 film because I feel like this would be good one to watch on Netflix.

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Hey Booklovers,

I'm back with another good book by Elizabeth Acevedo. I've read four stories from her this year. Gilded, The Poet X, and my favorite book of 2020 so far Clap When You Land. I've had my copy of With the Fire on High for a few months now but I hadn't opened it up yet. I decided to borrow the audiobook from my local library so I could read and follow along with Elizabeth Acevedo's voice at the same time.

There's something special about a writer who knows how to make every one of her stories completely different and weave the right words together for an enjoyable story. The heroine in this story is named Emoni and she's a self identified Afro-Boriqua. Her mother's family is from the American South and her father's family is from Puerto Rico. She lives with her abuela in Philly where she takes care of her two year old daughter. Teen pregnancy is a tough subject to approach and she does it here with care. She addresses the stereotypes people jump to when it comes to teen mothers. Emoni is not a fast girl or someone who wanted start a family and have her boyfriend move in with her, or someone who wanted a child to have someone to love her unconditionally. She's a girl who got caught up in a relationship and decided to step up to responsibility.  And while she and her ex barely get along she still tries to keep things cordial and works out an agreement with him and his parents for the sake of her child.

Emoni is a girl who perseveres. Her father gave her to his mother to raise after her own mother died during childbirth. He lives in Puerto Rico and though he calls her and sometimes visits he plays the role of activist for everyone but her raising money for teen mother's on the island but not helping support her. So instead she works a crappy job to help pay some bills and her every groaning expenses when it comes to her child. And although Emoni has never met her mother she still keeps ties to her mother's African-American family. Her aunt often sends her emails where they exchange recipes which she sometimes makes changes with different flavors to add her own little remix to them.

Emoni loves to cook and not just simple family recipes but recipes at places where she eats out or recipes she sees on tv often adding her own twist. When she has the chance to take a culinary class her senior year she is unsure she should shake things up. After all the class involves a trip to Spain to work for a week as an apprentice and surely she can't afford that. But with some encouragement from Buela and even her chef teacher she starts to think that maybe her dream of being a chef is not so far fetched.

I love how Buela is the supportive matriarch who takes care of Emoni and Babygirl but at the same time is allowed to voice that sometimes she wants time to herself. Time where she's not in grandmother or great-grandmother mode. It's not uncommon to see a Black grandmother take on the role of mother for multi-generations of children in her family. 

One thing Elizabeth does in everyone one of her stories is paint Blackness in the most beautiful light while dropping a bit of education in the process. Despite some of the Puerto Rican people you know telling you otherwise Puerto Rican is not a race. Emoni's family hails from an area in Puerto Rico heavily influenced by their African heritage. And she holds onto that with pride educating anyone who tries to tell her about her blackness. 

Food is it's own character here. It's clear Ms. Acevedo is a lover of good food evidenced by the many tasty dishes she includes in the story.  She really does a good job showing Emoni's love of food.

My favorite story by Elizabeth Acevedo is still Clap When You Land followed by Gilded from A Phoenix First Must Burn and you should also check those out but don't skip this one. Emoni's story flips perceptions we have about teen mothers while also letting them know they aren't defined or confined by their circumstances. While this YA does have a sprinkle of romance it's very well written and one of many ingredients in the recipe that creates this satisfying story.

My Summer of Love and Misfortune by Lindsay Wong

Welcome Back, Booklovers!

You ever pick up a romance book that you think you'll adore because the cover is super cute? And then it winds up being one of the worst books you've ever read?  That's how I felt about My Summer of Love and Misfortune. Doesn't the title just sound like it will be a light and carefree romance? This should've been the perfect beach read!

I've never read an Asian contemporary romance but I have noticed more releasing this year than usual in part because of the success of  movies like Always Be My Maybe and Crazy Rich Asians. When I read that the lead character Iris Wang would be spending the summer in Beijing I thought it would be a very interesting story about experiencing a new culture. And after To All the Boys I've Loved Before overload it's nice to see a YA book with a fully Asian cast.

I actually initially liked that Iris Wang was so different than the stereotype we have of Asian girls. That being said she's such an airhead that at times it felt like she was a caricature. How does one obsess over their boyfriend think their birthday is 6 months later then it is? She deserved to be dumped for that alone. Granted he seemed to be using her for her money. Which brings up another point. Iris and her family seemed to be well off. Not on Crazy Rich Asian status but pretty wealthy if she could buy a dress that's over 6,000.00 without any additional thought. Or the way she casually buys plane tickets for Paris. And her family had a nice house and luxury cars. Yet other times she would talk as if they were a regular suburban family. Anyway Iris likes to smoke weed and party and shop. She tanks her SATS yet only applies to top colleges so of course she doesn't get in. That part was really unbelievable to me. How could her father be hopeful she'd get into Yale when it was clear she was a horrible student who didn't get straight As. Does he know the type of students that get into Yale? I blame her idiot parents for the trainwreck she is. Though in the story there was a lot of blaming that she is a zodiac tiger instead. 

I could go on a whole rant about how her parents failed her. I can get over them not teaching her Chinese or about her culture. It's hard to be immersed when you don't live in a community of your people. I cannot bypass how they didn't even have her on track to get into a state school for college. I can even get over the reckless dress purchase since I remember at that age stupidly running up an enormous data bill when I didn't even have a job and my mom could barely afford it. But that she's just so selfish really says something about their values. I've never read a book with a protagonist with such reckless disregard for her family and friends until now. 

I couldn't even get behind the romance because I didn't feel like Iris had any chemistry with her tutor Frank. And she was throwing herself at him in desperation which ain't cute. I wanted to like the family scenes but they all felt very surface level as well.

All the descriptions of tasty Chinese dishes was probably the best part. And it seemed to be the only part of Chinese culture Iris cared about. Sure she visited Tiananmen Square and briefly touched on the protests and she almost ruined a painting at the National Museum of China but Iris didn't care about exploring anything beyond the shopping malls.  I kept waiting for her to start growing as a person but realized all hope had died for that when I was more than halfway through the story and she seemed to be getting worse.

There was a twist that ended up falling flat for me because I just wasn't invested in this tale.

Participating in my First Readathon! 🧜🏾‍♀️🧜🏿‍♀️

Welcome Back, Booklovers!

I've decided to participate in the SeaMAYdenathon! I think it's the perfect way to connect with others readers and celebrate. I've never participated in a readathon before but they seem like a good way to connect with other booklovers and stick to some reading goals. And I love mermaids so a readathon themed around my favorite mythical beings is perfect.

And how fitting that one of my planned reads for the month of May features black mermaid magic!

I heard about this readathon through Leelynn's blog where there is also a sign up form to be a part of a reading team. I encourage everyone to sign up by April 30 and participate.
https://sometimesleelynnreads.com/2020/04/06/announcement-seamayden-athon-with-mir-fangirl-pixie-blog/

The prompts are doable and I love the fun names for them. I've already selected a combination of books to fit a few of the prompts.

For Siren's Call: A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

Beach Please!: The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon 

Release the Kraken: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Under the Sea: A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Rosanne Brown

Sea Salt: Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds

I'm sure I'll have enough time to read more prompts but for now I'm setting a goal I know I'm sure I can complete.