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A review by katiemcgregor
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
The idea behind The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is great, but I think a lot of it's potential is missed in the execution. I definitely see why so many people say that this has a similar feel to Spirited Away; it has some similar aspects. But what could have been an extremely intricate and mystical world was barely even explored.
I think my main issue with this book is that it's has this amazing mystical world, and lore-inspired characters, but it doesn't do anything with any of them. Even after finishing the book I couldn't tell you much about the spirit world. Things are mentioned in passing, but we never get any explanation for how this world works or what the overall structure is. The world building is severely lacking. At this point, I feel like Axie Oh's writing style and tendency to focus on the characters more than world better lends itself to the contemporary genre rather than fantasy.
The characters fare slightly better; at least they have some stand out traits. But even still, their backgrounds are alluded to, but we never get to see them fleshed out. I couldn't bring myself to especially care about any of them. Just so much missed potential.
This could have been a longer book or even a duology, just to fully elaborate on the world and characters. The rushed nature of it makes it feel like nothing much happened and the things that did happen were fairly predictable. But the main issue is that everything was brushed over so quickly.
Lastly, I noticed that the sentence structures are odd. This didn't bother me so much when I listened to some of the audiobook, but as soon as I can see the words in front of me, it's super noticeable; confusing punctuation, odd word choice, etc.. This is something I noticed with XOXO as well. But, honestly, I think this comes down to the editors more than the author.
I don't know, this book isn't especially bad, but I'm ultimately left with no strong feelings. Like I said, I really wanted to love it because the concept is so fantastic, but it desperately needs some good world building to do it justice. If the concept of this book wasn't so good I don't think I would be so disappointed with the execution.
On a more positive note, can we just admire the cover art for a minute?! Both the US and UK editions are GORGEOUS!!!
I think my main issue with this book is that it's has this amazing mystical world, and lore-inspired characters, but it doesn't do anything with any of them. Even after finishing the book I couldn't tell you much about the spirit world. Things are mentioned in passing, but we never get any explanation for how this world works or what the overall structure is. The world building is severely lacking. At this point, I feel like Axie Oh's writing style and tendency to focus on the characters more than world better lends itself to the contemporary genre rather than fantasy.
The characters fare slightly better; at least they have some stand out traits. But even still, their backgrounds are alluded to, but we never get to see them fleshed out. I couldn't bring myself to especially care about any of them. Just so much missed potential.
This could have been a longer book or even a duology, just to fully elaborate on the world and characters. The rushed nature of it makes it feel like nothing much happened and the things that did happen were fairly predictable. But the main issue is that everything was brushed over so quickly.
Lastly, I noticed that the sentence structures are odd. This didn't bother me so much when I listened to some of the audiobook, but as soon as I can see the words in front of me, it's super noticeable; confusing punctuation, odd word choice, etc.. This is something I noticed with XOXO as well. But, honestly, I think this comes down to the editors more than the author.
I don't know, this book isn't especially bad, but I'm ultimately left with no strong feelings. Like I said, I really wanted to love it because the concept is so fantastic, but it desperately needs some good world building to do it justice. If the concept of this book wasn't so good I don't think I would be so disappointed with the execution.
On a more positive note, can we just admire the cover art for a minute?! Both the US and UK editions are GORGEOUS!!!
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Miscarriage