Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

Oof.

While I agree that the premise is reminiscent of the movie Spirited Away and Uprooted by Naomi Novik (two things I enjoyed thoroughly), it was very much written for a YA audience. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think the main difference between YA classics and contemporary YA is that the classics are written to be understood by younger audiences but will still have a broader appeal.

At the end of the day, this one missed that mark for me. It was very much full of emo, cringey moments, insta-lovey when I could have sworn they were initially portrayed as enemies. The pacing was bizarre and very jarring (which could be attributed to a dream-like quality, if I was being generous). Situations were convenient when needed to be, and I often had to suspend my disbelief to continue reading. Lastly, the characters were lacking development and the repetition got old (referring to all of the grandmother's grandmother bits, and so many sentences starting with "But").

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magpi3's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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kbairbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

A lovely whimsical story with beautiful imagery and fun characters. Emotional, strong familial ties that don’t feel surrounded in generational trauma, intriguing plot and lovely romance. No sexual anything but that’s good because she was a literal child.

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midnightrose_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A gorgeously written YA retelling.

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maublew'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
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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harmonique's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

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theespressoedition's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

Recently, I've been finding myself somewhat drawn to books that are "no plot, just vibes." Not to say those books actually lack a plot. There's a premise there, somewhere, but it's hidden and you don't particularly follow it as you're reading. This is one of those books.

It starts out in a way that made me feel like I was reading a mash-up of The Little Mermaid and Six Crimson Cranes. How it ended, I'm not really sure? I still don't think I know what actually happened.

The story is relatively quick-paced and I found myself really enjoying the audiobook narration. The characters confused me a lot. I was never able to keep track of who was who, so the "big reveals" didn't shock me... they just kind of didn't phase me at all. Weird feeling.

Needless to say, it's not something that I was wowed by. I also didn't dislike it. I just... didn't have any strong feelings towards it one way or another and I still couldn't explain the plot to you if you asked. Maybe I'll read it again in the future and see if I understand it more? Only time can tell.

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