A Reader's Guide to Books and Reviews

Title: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

Author: Axie Oh, Kuri Huang (Illustrator)

Genre: Young Adult, Folklore, Mythology, Romance, Fairytales, Asian Literature, Historical Fiction, Retellings, Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal, Dragons, Novella

Status: Finished

Rating: 3.8/5

Sypnosis: Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Review: Okay, I have to admit that this one was delightful. It had a sprinkling of Spirited Away and The Bride of Habaek.

In this story, we meet Mina. Storms are ravaging her village and the villagers believe that the Sea God has forsaken them and condemned them to death. In hopes of appeasing the Sea God, they select a girl to be sacrificed to the Sea God. On this day, Shim Cheong - one of the most beautiful girls in the village and the beloved of her brother, Joon - is to be sacrificed as the Sea God's Bride, a role that the villagers hope would be the Sea God his "true bride". Unfortunately, Joon and Mina interfere and Mina launches herself into the sea to take her place as the alternate bride.

As Mina finds herself in the rich world of the Sea God, she has to unravel the secrets within and find a way to awaken the Sea God from his slumber, but will she be able to do it?

This was a really awesome read. I was hooked from the first page until the very end. The world-building is rich and filled with much intrigue. The characters were well-rounded and they completely drew you into their world.

The only thing I was not impressed with was the fact I was able to figure out things midway through the book and that kinda bummed me out. Plus the ending was rather lackluster. Maybe it was because I expected more out of this story.

But this book was well worth the read. I enjoyed it tons.