THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA, by Axie Oh, Feiwel & Friends, Feb. 22, 2022, Hardcover, $18.99 (young adult)
A girl sets out to save her family and her people from an angry deity in Axie Oh’s excellent The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea.
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… —Synopsis provided by Feiwel & Friends
Axie Oh’s The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is the best book I’ve read in 2022, and it may very well fall into my list of top folk/fairy tales of all time. I read the book as a digital arc and promptly pre-ordered a physical copy. Prior to publication date, the book had already gone into its third printing.
Still questioning why you should own this book? Read on.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is billed as a “feminist retelling of the classic Korean folktale The Tale of Shim Cheong,” which tells the story of a girl who sacrifices her life to help her father regain his sight.
Having had no prior exposure to the original tale, I came to The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea with an open mind. For me, it wasn’t a retelling, it was a completely new story that drew me in from the first page.
Oh’s beautiful prose immediately immerses you in a new world/time/place. Her world-building is so spot-on that you don’t actually realize its being constructed around you. Everything just seems to make sense within the book’s confines. The tone is clear and precise while still having a dreamlike quality and there’s one surprise after another.
Oh’s characters are well-developed and multifaceted. Those who at first seem simple, become the well-built structure in which her main characters operate.
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a book I know will become part of my reading rotation. I will be recommending this one for years to come.
Copyright © 2022 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.
