Reviews with content warning for Death - The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

137 reviews

bo0ks_are_cool91's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I read this book a long time ago and enjoyed it enough. Upon reread, I think it was good, but not great. I loved the spirited away energy and the world building, but I wasn’t invested in the romance, which is kinda ironic since this author usually writes romance. Also shin could have been my new book bf but that didn’t happen

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klsreads's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

OK, first off, the cover art is gorgeous.

I REALLY wanted to love this book. Loosely based on a Korean fairy tale, it follows Mina, a young girl who sacrifices herself to the increasingly violent Sea God to save her people. In a page right out of Spirited Away, she falls through the sea into the Spirit World and must find a way to break the Sea God's curse. There were quite a few lovely ideas in this novel, but they were underdeveloped, weaving circuitous plotholes that left me exasperated.

This book was confusing - sometimes barreling at break-neck speeds through assassination attempts and sometimes dragging through memories and myth. I wish the author had spent more time developing the characters and world. It was whimsical and sweet, but the pace moved so quickly that the world collapsed on itself. We barely had time to get to know anyone - most things were shown, not felt, and there was little time for lingering or angst. I wanted more lyrical, fairy-tale esque prose because of the format. Perhaps this would've worked better as a short story? There were lots of explanations and little trust in the reader, which makes me think it was written for a younger audience. That being said, I did like Mina, though she fit many of the "special, strong chosen one" tropes (which can be done well, tbf). Namgi might've been my favorite character (queer, found family, creature of myth? Sign me up).

It's possible I'm not the demographic audience, which is ok! I might not have a cultural understanding. At this moment, this book wasn't for me. I recommend it if you like Studio Ghibli, easy-read fairy tales, and Korean folklore.

(Am I a hater?? This is not the best review streak, lol).

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nil033's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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lindsayflor_95's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

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lunxchloe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

I have rarely felt so much love radiating through the pages of a book as I have with this novel. What a beautiful story that has had me laughing and crying and feeling like I too need to choose my own fate.

5/5

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cepbreed's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

“There is no place you can go so far away from forgiveness. Not from someone who loves you.”

For the hype this book got I was slightly disappointed. The setting was lovely and the characters all worthy of adoration but the writing fell flat for me. The Spirited Away comparisons make a lot of sense but the writing fails to reflect half of how atmospheric that movie was. I found Oh’s voice clumsy at times. The young adult genre of course means that the writing isn’t going to be the most intense in the world but it’s no excuse for so much telling. Oh didn’t spend nearly enough time establishing each scene and for a book where so much happens that was detrimental to the pace. That said I really fell in love with Shin and Mina. I’m making an effort this year to read more Asian and Asian American literature and so far am off to a strong start. All the critiques I have obviously don’t mean I didn’t like this book because in reality the contrary is true. I just see so much potential in this plot and the characters that it was sad to see that unrealized.

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