The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a beautiful Korean fantasy quest.

The villagers are struggling to survive because of the turbulent seas threatening their safety and food supply. Each year, the villages sacrifice a beautiful young woman. They hope to appease the Sea God by sending him the true Sea Queen and believe the God will calm the seas, allowing the villages to thrive.

Shum Cheong has been selected to be the next sacrifice. Despite knowing her fate, she falls in love with Joon. Joon sneaks aboard the boat to try and save her. His younger sister Mina has also stowed away with the same goal in mind. She adores her older brother and is willing to sacrifice herself so that the woman he loves may live.

Mina dives into the water before the sacrifice can be made. She ends up in the Spirit World, where her soul has been stolen. The Sea God is a sleeping boy oblivious to Mina and the red ribbon attaching them.. A mysterious man named Shin cuts the ribbon and informs her that she only has one year to restore her soul, awaken the Sea God, and join the Sea God as his Queen. Shin and his otherworldly cohorts accompany Mina through the different factions of the spirit realm so she can complete her quest. Will Mina and her ever-growing list of companions be enough to succeed, or will the opposing forces in the realm confine her to the spirit world forever?

Oh crafts a spellbinding world beneath the sea where Mina tries to regain her soul and reign as Sea Queen. My biggest challenge was putting down the book. It’s a fascinating quest with entertaining characters and distinctly lovely locales with the right touch of humor. I am looking forward to reading more Axie Oh tales like The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Children's Group for providing a review copy. The opinions stated here are my own.

This book was beautifully written, but a bit too slow paced for my liking. I enjoyed the characters and overall plot, but throughout reading I found my mind wandering and having to reread parts because it was just too slow to keep me 100% invested. I enjoyed learning about the mythology, though since it is not myths I am personally familiar with, I did find myself confused at times, which is no big deal since I would just Google. Overall, it was a beautifully written book, it was just too slow for my personal preference.

This is a gorgeously written story that took me way too long to start reading. The narrator on the audiobook has a beautiful and calming voice as well, so listening was a wonderful experience.

Mina lives in a village that sends a girl into the sea every year as the sea god’s bride in hopes to appease the sea god and that the storms will abate. To save her brother’s love from that fate, Mina goes herself. What happens next is a lot of things lol. This is one of those stories that was great to read/listen to, but that i could tell you virtually no details about. here’s what i remember: she loses her voice for a while, the red string of fate connects her to shin, a spirit in the oceany realm, a dragon has pearls that are wishes, the paper boats are prayers to gods, the sea god is a lonely boy, and Mina really loves her family, including the ancestors that she meets and bonds with in the spirit realm.

the lore of this was beautiful and it was a very different fantasy than i have read in a long time! it was also the first young adult i’ve read in a long time and i am unaccustomed to having to wait like ⅔ of the book for the characters to kiss for the first time 🤭🤭

Thank you, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, for providing me with an ARC of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea in exchange for an honest review!

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is one of my favorite books of 2022. It is a fun, fast-paced, and unique fantasy novel that kept me on my toes. Mina sacrifices herself after her brother's love is chosen to be thrown into the sea to appease the Sea God. Swept into the spirit realm, Mina meets a cast of characters and hopes to solve the mystery of Sea God and end the storms terrorizing her people.

I loved the world Axie Oh created, and I hope she one day returns to the spirit realm, so readers can learn more about the Gods. I am most interested in learning the backstory behind Death God and his love interest.

I'll definitely be reading other books by this author, and I am grateful I was gifted this book. Five stars across the board.

This luscious retelling reminds me of the fairytales I read as a little girl. If you're like me and you've never forgotten those stories - and if you enjoy fairytale/mythology retellings - this is the story for you. The tale completely captivates you and draws you in. I definitely look forward to reading more by this author in the future!

This novel was absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. My only issue was that the lore was so deep and wide, I found it difficult to keep track of it all! But that shouldn't be a problem for most readers.

This prose was gorgeous, and the crafted spirit world was so well-thought-out and the story was intriguing. I loved the mythological lore of this world. Stunning read.

Deadly storms have plagued Mina's village for generations. It wasn't always like this way. Many year ago the countryside was protected by the great Sea God--both a protector and confidant of the emperor. Everything changed when the emperor died. Now instead of blessing the area with protection, many believe the Sea God curses them with death and destruction.

Every year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to become the Sea God's bride in an attempt to appease him and break the curse. Eventually villagers hope one girl might be the Sea God's true bride--able to love him and remind him of his duty to protect the people and stop the storms.

No one is surprised when Shim Cheong is chosen as this year's bride. She is, by far, the most beautiful girl in their village. But she is also the only girl Mina's older brother loves. Rather than watch them both suffer, Mina sacrifices herself in Cheong's place.

Beneath the sea Mina finds another kingdom in chaos filled with lesser gods and magical creatures all waiting for the Sea God to wake from an enchanted sleep. Trapped in the land of spirits with a god unable to break his own curse, Mina will have to take fate into her own hands to break the curse and save both her people and the Sea God himself in The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea (2022) by Axie Oh.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a standalone, feminist take on the Korean folk story "The Tale of Shim Cheong." Mina's narration is practical but also open to wonder as she explores the literal magic (and dangers) of the spirit world. Oh introduces many of the elements found in the traditional story, even including one version in the text of the novel, so that readers do not need to have familiarity with the source material before reading.

Throughout the novel female friendship and matriarchal bonds take center stage as Mina again and again makes her own fate. Alone in the spirit world, Mina draws strength from memories of her beloved grandmother and support from the other former sea brides that she finds in beneath the sea. In saving Cheong, Mina claims agency over her fate in a figurative sense but also, later, in a literal sense as her red String of Fate repeatedly tries to steer Mina in directions she refuses to follow in the spirit realm.

Mina is a proactive, clever heroine who is very aware of her strengths as well as her vulnerabilities as a mortal trapped in the spirit world. With support from surprising allies including a trio of ghosts and other mythical creatures, Mina slowly begins to make a place for herself beneath the sea while also making inroads with understanding and ending the Sea God's curse. But it isn't until Mina embraces her role as a bride and accepts help from other brides, including Cheong, that Mina is fully able to understand how to break the curse and save everyone she loves.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a retelling that is as evocative as it is inventive; a gripping story where a girl has to learn how to save herself in order to save her world. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi, Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, The Drowned Woods by Emily Lloyd-Jones, A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin, Uprooted by Naomi Novik, Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar, Spirited Away

An excellent and whimsical retelling of a classic S. Korean fairytale. Beautifully written, you are immediately transported into a vast mystical world. There are twists and turns only fairytales can provide.

Mina’s people believe that the Sea God has abandoned them and that it the root cause of the floods and the fighting. As a result, ever year the village sends the most beautiful maiden down into the sea to marry the Sea God to end the misery. Mina's brother Joon's beloved Shim was set to be thrown into the sea when Ming jumped in sacrificing herself in exchange. Ming ends up in the Spirit Realm full of minor gods and mythical animals. She goes off in search of the Sea God only to find him under an enchanted sleep. She then makes it her goal to wake him up and end her villages suffering. She has only a short amount of time to evade those who wish to stop her since humans are able to exist a long time in the spirit realm.

This was such a beautifully written story. I enjoyed the characters and their journeys. I will highly recommend this book to readers.

Thank you Netgalley for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a great read! It was cleverly written, and I loved the worldbuilding that was included. I will definitely be buying a hard copy of this book and recommending it to others.

I was gifted my advanced digital copy last month via @netgalley but all thoughts in this review are my own.

Review:
This is a feminist retelling of a classic Korean fairytale, and what really attracted me to this release was that it was recommended to fans of the movie Spirited Away (my all time favorite comfort movie). I can assure you, it really lived up to that!

If you want to be submerged in a magical world full of gods, dragons, giant serpents, you name it, this would be a great book for you. The story follows Mina who is on a mission to save her city from distructive storms that have been wreaking havoc on her people. Every year, a young woman is sacrificed to be the sea god’s wife to stop the deadly storms, but this year is a little different. Mina goes beneath the sea, against her town’s plans for the sacrifice, to the spirit realm to meet her destiny. But when she gets there, fate has a different plan for her…

There is romance (suitable for all audiences), adventure, magic, spirits, and just an amazing and straightforward world that Oh has done a terrific job bringing to life. I really really loved this one and will likely purchase a paper copy and reread in the future just like I rewatch Spirited Away on a regular basis 😂❤️

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but if all these things sound up your alley, please pick this up! It was just released today and I can’t sing its praises enough. It definitely lived up to its description and more! It really did feel like being submerged into a Miyazaki style film.

5⭐️

Visually this book was so beautiful. Great descriptions of color and light and texture, of a fantastical environment. A strong heroine with a true and courageous heart. A story of sacrifice and of fate. A romance that was steady and slow but also epic in scope. The scenes from this book felt real when I read them and they continue to stay with me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and thought the characters were well-developed and interesting. It was also nice to see Korean mythology represented in children's fiction.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea was an honest to goodness delight. I love that our main character is so devoted to making the existence of everyone else better. I love Mina and her determination to do whats right for everyone. The writing here is so beautiful and lush and really paints every sentence in vibrant color for the reader to enjoy.

This has a little bit of like, found family, but in the afterlife, which i loved. There were twists regarding identity i didnt see coming. And a really soft and precious romance that i audibly said "aww" over. Fast paced, sweet, emotional, and definitely something i would recommend to a variety of readers.

A lovely YA fantasy standalone all about family, bonds, sacrifice, and love. The writing style was quite lyrical without tipping into overly flowery, the main character was determined, steadfast, and passionate, and the setting was enchanting. I hope the author continues to write more stories like this one.

My one minor complaint was that I wish the story had been a little longer, and that we'd maybe taken a little more time to see the main character interact with her brother before the plot picked up. Still, I had a great time reading it.

"Why must everything we love be taken from us? Why can't we hold what we love forever in our hands, safe and whole?"

⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to NetGalley and Fewiel & Friends for a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea follows Mina, a girl from a local village who chooses to be brave or reckless and throw herself into the sea to save her brother's beloved: the chosen sacrifice to the Sea God. Will she be sentenced to death for interfering with the sacrifice or will she find away to awaken the Sea God on her own?

I was most excited to read this book thinking it was a story of a girl who is specifically not the 'chosen one', who goes on an adventure with her brother and the woman he loves to find the Sea God. That is my own fault for not reading the synopsis properly! I still found the actual plot interesting, but I guessed the main plot twist really early on and felt it dragged out for far too long. I also struggled to care about the side characters (particularly the children), although I understand why they were involved in the plot.

The writing was beautiful and atmospheric, and I did enjoy it! This one just wasn't very memorable to me. I didn't even realize I hadn't reviewed it for a month! Definitely going to try Rebel Seoul next.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for sending me the E-arc of The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh in exchange for an honest review.

“There are many pathways destiny can take.” Is a quote from this book that has stayed with me.
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and man did it live up to the hype!
Elements of the folklore Shim Cheong and the Sea God are beautiful intertwined throughout the pages of this story. I loved the overall theme of this book, that we all have the power to make our own choices despite what fate is willing.What we wan tin this life doesn’t just come to us because fate wills it so, we must be brave enough to make the right choices to get to that outcome.
5/5 stars

***Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley, who provided me with an electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

A feminist retelling of a Korean folktale. Do I need to say more? This book is a 5 stars read for me. If you wish to be transported into a magical world, this book is for you. If you are looking for an enchanting fairytale that will give you all the feels, this book is for you. If you liked 'Spirited Away', this book is for you. If you want to read a true masterpiece, THIS. BOOK. IS. FOR. YOU.

I loved this book. I always have loved fairy tales from around the world and this had the core of what I always remembered as my favorite parts. I couldn’t put it down.