I found this book slow to start and the story harder to follow than I was hoping for.

I had high hopes going in and found it lacking. I know there will be others who greatly love all this story does for older lore. It just wasn’t for me

In this retelling of a traditional Korean story The Tale of Shim Ch'ŏng, readers follow Mina, who sacrifices herself to become the Sea God's bride to save her brother's love, who was supposed to be the sacrifice. In doing so, so finds herself in the Spirit Realm, bound to the Sea God, an entity who is nothing at all like she imagined. The Spirit Realm, so unfamiliar to Mina, and as she meets people and learns to navigate this beautifully fleshed out world, we watch as she learns to use her own strength and voice to save the people she loves. The story has been compared to Miyazaki's Spirited Away, and will likely resonate strongly with fans of his work. With the enchanting cover art, though, many fantasy readers are likely to pick it up and be drawn into Mina's compelling adventure.

As someone who loves romantic cdramas this book was totally my jam. I loved how the author explored destiny and fate and played around with the symbolism of the red thread. I can't wait to see what Axie Oh writes next.

This is a delightful fairy tale that was vividly told , bringing forth a non-eurocentric story and written in a very readable style.

I am always looking for diverse books to add to our collection and what could be better than korean folktales! Fast paced and imaginative this was a book I couldn't put down!

As a Korean American DESPERATE for fairy tales with Korean folklore, this HIT THE MARK. Imaginative, fantastical, beautifully written. I still think about this book!

I listened to this on audiobook, and reread the digital copy for review. I really enjoyed this fantasy story, with Korean folktale origins. It was beautifully told, with a strong heroine and fast-paced adventure.

I know some teens who really enjoy fairytale retellings, and will highly recommend it to them!

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

329 Pages
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: February 22, 2022

Fiction, Teen, Young Adult, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Folklore, Korean

The small villages in the region are destroyed by massive floods. To appease the Sea God, each year they sacrifice a beautiful maiden to be his bride. Mina never wished to be the bride of the Sea God but when her brother’s future bride is selected, she throws herself in as the sacrifice. Mina travels in the spirit realm and is helped by three sprits along her way. Her goal is to find the Sea God and find out why he has not stopped the floods.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. I really enjoyed Mina’s journey and the spirits she encountered along the way. If you like folklore, you will enjoy this book.

i LOVED this book! it has all the same vibes of a Studio Ghibli movie and I was swept into the world that Axie Oh created. Very similar to Spirited Away, and the different characters stole my heart. Beautifully done.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this book.
4.5 rounded up

Axie Oh’s writing is beautiful and oh so fanciful! Her words conjure worlds and transport readers to the Sea God’s kingdom effortlessly. This is another current read (long overdue), and I am loath to stop reading it for other books or do other things, but…..they all call out to me too (books and chores and work and life) so I am taking longer than I want. However, I am falling in love with each introduced character without question, and marking way too many sentences (and whole pages) as favorites.

I have been meaning to read Spirited Away for a long while now, and after I finish reading this book, want to read that book as well as any other books by Axie Oh. It also helps or adds to the allure of the book that this is folklore, which is something I always am fascinated by. And I always find parallels with folklore from other parts of the world (like I am doing here as well, and will write about it in a future post).

A book for teens and adults alike.

Disclaimer: I received a digital ARC for all of today’s featured books from NetGalley and/or Edelweiss, and these are my honest opinions. I also ended up purchasing copies of many of these books for my personal library!!!

I ended up listening to this on audiobook and I wan blown away by how beautiful and magical this story was. The main character was so likable and I loved tagging along her journey of falling in love for the first time and discovery herself along the way. If you are a YA fantasy fan I can't recommend this book enough. It was one of my favorite reads of the year and I highly recommend it.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This was very pleasant overall. I really liked the world, particularly the realm of the spirits, and the retelling aspect. The pacing was good overall. It felt like it moved along nicely and didn’t really have lulls where I wasn’t invested in the story. I did predict some things that happened which is fine.

The world is really cool here, and I liked the different gods and traveling to the spirit realm. Mina is bound to the sea god to be his bride, and I liked her trying to figure out how to awaken him to save her people. She’s aided by spirits on her quest as well. I really liked this part, especially when you learn more about them (I suspected some of the information about them, but it was nice to confirm it).

Mina is a fun character to follow. I liked her bravery and desire to save and protect her family as this is definitely a motive I can get behind. She’s very determined, and I liked how she brings an aspect of humanity to the gods to try to remind them that they’re important to humans. Shin has some mystery as to who he is, but I mostly enjoyed him. He seems awful at first until you get to know his motives more and see that he just wants to protect the sea god.

The sea god seems like a bit of a child and kinda naive. I did feel a bit bad for him because he’s lonely. Shin’s aides were decent, though I’m not sure I really connected with them. Again, I really liked the spirits Mask, Dai, and Miko. I thought they added a bit of whimsy, and I liked that they’re trying to help Mina on her quest and protect her. The friendships seemed pretty nicely done overall, but I was somewhat ambivalent about the romance that develops and felt like this could have used more development.

Overall, this was a very cute story, and I liked that it’s a retelling of something I’m not familiar with. I probably could have used more depth in places, but I would still recommend this if you’re looking for a charming YA fantasy.

4.5 stars, and I’m still tempted to round it up (though I’ll give myself a bit of time before I decide that). This story is whimsical and lovely, and totally gave me the vibe that I was reading a fairytale. It was well-paced, and I enjoyed the setting and the characters and the plot. And while I guessed at parts of this story, it’s really a testament to Oh’s storytelling style that everything felt very organic and earned.

Not only is this cover gorgeous but the words are beautifully written. They flow off the page and suck you in.
I adored this book way more then I originally thought I would. Because I am not gonna lie this was a cover request for me. I ended up falling in love to the point I had to go out and buy it in print.
The characters are so relatable and you cant help but rooting for it all to work out in the end.

DNF. I usually LOVE Asian culture/folklore retellings but thus one just didn't hit the mark for me. The cover is gorgeous and the writing is as well but the story just wasn't for me

The Girl who Fell Beneath the Sea is a book that immediately intrigued me because of the gorgeous cover, and then the synopsis truly dragged me in. Mina lives in a small village by the sea where every year, for the last one hundred years, they’ve sacrificed a bride to the Sea God in the hopes of quelling the storms that have plagued the country since the death of the Emperor. This year the sacrifice is supposed to be Shim Cheong, the beloved of Mina’s brother Joon. When he sneaks on the boat to save Cheong, Mina follows, and seeing the love between Joon and Cheong as they glance at each other just before she is supposed to be sacrificed compels Mina to jump into the sea in Cheong’s place. What follows is a story of love and family, finding the truth, and learning how to survive when it feels like all hope has been lost.

It took me longer than I’d like to admit to read this book, but it was truly worth it. Even though many elements were predictable, it was so wonderfully executed that I couldn’t wait to see how the reveals would occur. And the romance that’s woven in! It’s so sweet, and a great example of choosing your own fate. I also really loved the friendships and the various connections made. The way family influences Mina’s ability to keep hope alive, and the way her hope has the power to impact so many lives.

This was all around such a fantastic story, even as I found several elements predictable. If you’re a fan of retellings and reimaginings, plus the power of choice and family, I highly encourage picking this book up!

I absolutely loved the Korean Mythology infused within this retelling through the eyes of the sister of Shim Cheom. I'm normally not a fan of YA or MG, but enjoyed that this read more like a fairytale for adults.

I wanted to like this but I could not get into the story or the characters. I felt that it was pretty far fetched and not something I could connect to.

A determined, compassionate heroine that is willing to do anything to save the ones she loves. Smart, strong-willed and kind, Mina is a brave hero that readers will love.

This book was a great read. The only reason why I would not have it at my school is because I'm a principal of a 3rd-5th school. This book would be for middle school and older. This is a twist on an old Korean story. The original focuses on Shim Cheong, the most beautiful woman in the village. This one focuses on Mina, the sister of the man who is in love with Shim Cheong. Mina isn't the most beautiful. She isn't perfect. But she loves her family and people. This love gives her strength in the Spirit Realm to find a way to help her village. I am a huge fan of books that have a female protagonist who succeeds because of hard word and integrity instead of relying on her good looks and wealth!