My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Title: A Chorus Rises (A Song Below Water, #2)
Author: Bethany C. Morrow
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 6/1/21
Publisher: Tor Teen
Categories: Urban Fantasy, Racism, Hate Crimes, Social Media, Identity, Young Adult
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Tor Teen for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
The Hate U Give meets Shadowshaper in Bethany C. Morrow’s A Chorus Rises, a brilliant contemporary fantasy set in the world of A Song Below Water.
Teen influencer Naema Bradshaw has it all: she’s famous, privileged, has “the good hair”— and she’s an Eloko, a person who’s gifted with a song that woos anyone who hears it. Everyone loves her — well, until she’s cast as the awful person who exposed Tavia’s secret siren powers.
Now, she’s being dragged by the media. No one understands her side: not her boyfriend, not her friends, nor her Eloko community. But Naema knows the truth and is determined to build herself back up — no matter what.
When a new, flourishing segment of Naema’s online supporters start targeting black girls, however, Naema must discover the true purpose of her magical voice.
- Absolutely love the cover! Both covers for this series are so beautiful.
- I actually enjoyed this book more than I did A Song Below Water and I think because Naema’s voice is so strong whereas in the previous book, Effie and Tavia almost blended together. But Naema is vocal, she knows who she is, and how she wants to be perceived at online and in person. She is flawed but that’s why I liked learning about her character. Naema is the “mean girl” from the first book but this is her story now, and I like how she confronts her struggle about being Eloko and a black girl.
- I think I got a better understanding of what Eloko means from this book, but still, not totally, not even Naema knows much about her magic as an Eloko is seems. I liked that Naema leaves Portland, where Eloko are well known and visits her family in Arizona. She’s out of her element and we get to see her interact with family who she hasn’t seen in awhile, we also learn a little more about how Eloko connect to their Ancestors.
- I liked how she and Tavia come together at the end to fight something bigger than the drama between the two of them. I like how the issues of social media and how the media as whole perceives or creates certain storylines to fit their agenda.
Triggers: racism, hate crimes
- This is supposedly a companion novel instead of part of a series and can be read alone, but I’d be lost if I didn’t read A Song Below Water beforehand. I would recommend reading A Song Below Water first.
- Naema isn’t a likable character in book one and even in the beginning of A Chorus Rises, but she grew on me and owned up to some of her mistakes by the end.
- I still feel like Elokos are vague after reading both books. Would like to have more information about them and world building.
I enjoyed how this story explores racism, and media’s role in a sensitive situation like Naema and Tavia’s story through an urban fantasy lens. We had Tavia’s story in book one and Naema was the mean girl. Now it’s the mean girl’s turn to tell her story and I her complicated and someone trying to figure out what being black and Eloko means. I do recommend reading A Song Below Water before this one to get the whole picture of what happens with these girls, if not you might be a little lost.
📚 ~ Yolanda
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