First off, this book cover is AMAZING. It was one of the main reasons I wanted to read this book—-that and the premise of two black girls (unapologetically black, with awesome twistouts and locs on the cover of a magical realism novel) with magical powers. STELLAR. Reading the book however...another story entirely.

I really wanted to love this book but it was such a slog. The book alternates POVs between Tavia, a girl who is a powerful being called a siren, and Effie,her best friend,who exhibits some otherworldly traits of her own. So right away you think there would be two intriguing narratives to follow, but we get the complete opposite. The narratives are oftentimes dry, confusing, or both.

The book has a hard time balancing the storylines of the two characters and getting its message across while still keeping the magical element of it all (a difficult feat for any book, but one this chose to take) and it shows. In the beginning we’re introduced to Tavia’s world and what being black in America and a siren is like. For her it’s like being a double minority, which the book does well at visualizing. We know what her struggles are, and what looks to be a promising plot... but then the author throws at us the fact that other fantasy creatures exist (Elokos? Giants? Sprites? Gargoyles?) And if that’s not enough, then there’s Effie’s identity crisis that gets thrown in out of nowhere .... and then there’s a

Spoiler

rally/protest, a gargoyle, traffic stop, confronting a douchebag crush, confronting their ‘nemesis’ at prom, Effie realizing who she is, her gargoyle protector falling in love with her (bleh), Tavia and Loverboy/gargoyle helping her meet her father for the first time whose behind her unlocked power, Tavia finally unlocking her power, and then Tavia (and them) kinda reviving (part) of humanity and giving hope for future sirens

???

Huh???

Like there’s so much and so little that happens at the same time and so many different directions the plot takes you, you wonder by the end of it if the BLM message really fits properly with the story anymore. And I don’t know if I feel like the characters really grew or deserved the transformations that they did (moreso talking about Tavia) but I guess that’s what trying to write a fantasy book in under 300 pages gets you. A whirlwind of confusion.


I could also share my gripes about some very pointless characters and disappointing revelations that the author chose to go with, but I’ve come to expect these flaws from YA contemporary novels at this point, so I won’t bother.

I just wish there was a proper blend between the “magical” and the “real”. I wanted more explanation for what all the terms and mythology were. And I wanted to see how their stories would hinge on their blackness and magicalness as well. I just wanted—and needed—more from this book