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readingwithtemperance's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
I want this book turned into an animated film immediately, preferably by Hayao Miyazaki please and thank you.
I feel like I just really love books set in the afterlife honestly. I loved that you could visit your ancestors and all of the gods and goddesses. And choose what form you take as well.
The story itself was beautifully crafted. Very atmospheric and whimsical. I love stories based on folklore!
I feel like I just really love books set in the afterlife honestly. I loved that you could visit your ancestors and all of the gods and goddesses. And choose what form you take as well.
The story itself was beautifully crafted. Very atmospheric and whimsical. I love stories based on folklore!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, and War
bethann_coleates's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
gkaltam's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent
piprigsby's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this book was so good!! it was very whimsical and adventurous, and i loved the romance elements!! i will say that the first portion of the book is a bit confusing because the exhibition just throws you in and you learn alongside the main character, but at a point you just realize that it is a very fantastical world and so the worldbuilding falls into place. the conclusion was also good and overall it was a pretty good book. the one kind of downside is that at times it was written feeling a little young (even for a ya because i mainly read ya as a ya) but yeah that's about it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
smileymiley550's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
klsreads's review against another edition
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).
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).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Bullying
rileydobereading's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
e_riahh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and War
renpuspita's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"Aku memang marah, tapi bukan kepadamu. Aku marah pada takdir yang diberikan kepadaku. Ketika aku sadar, agar kau bisa mendapatkan apa yang kau inginkan, aku harus kehilangan satu - satunya yang pernah kuinginkan."
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea sempat bikin heboh di tahun 2022 karena selain covernya yang menarik, ceritanya dibilang mirip animasi Ghibli, yaitu Spirited Away. Gue sih belum nonton ya, jadi ga banyak ekspektasi juga pas mulai baca. Pun, ternyata terjemahannya juga memakai cover yang sama dengan versi aslinya. Apa mungkin karena itu, untuk buku tipis ga sampe 300 halaman dengan font kecil sangat membuat mata gue berteriak "alamak!!", harganya pun hampir 100k? Hehe.
Girl Who Fell (kepanjangan, gue singkat aja) adalah adaptasi bebas dari kisah rakyat Korea, The Tale of Sim Cheong. Namanya juga adaptasi bebas (banget), jadi Axie Oh bebas mengkreasikan kisah Sim Cheong versinya sendiri. Sim Cheong memang tetap dijadikan pengantin Dewa Laut, tapi tokoh utama buku ini justru Mina, adik dari Joon, dimana Joon yang tidak rela Cheong dikorbankan berusaha menyelamatkan kekasihnya tapi Mina juga ga rela Joon dihukum mati karenanya. Dari situlah cerita bergulir, membawa pembaca pada dunia Dewa Laut yang menurut gue cukup nano - nano mitologinya. Membaca kisah Mina di dunia Dewa Laut justru mengingatkan gue sama novel The Ghost Bride, karena tokoh utamanya sama - sama berkelana di dunia para arwah. Bedanya, gue masih bisa lebih menoleransi Mina ketimbang Li Lan di The Ghost Bride.
Saat gue bilang adaptasi bebas, Axie Oh emang banyak memasukkan unsur mitologi di buku ini. Istana Dewa Laut mau ga mau mengingatkan gue sama legenda Urashima Taro dari Jepang dan gue bertanya - tanya ini dunia dewa laut ternyata tetanggaan juga sama dunia arwah dan dewa - dewi lainnya? Karena selain Dewa Laut, ada juga dewa - dewi lain, seperti Dewa Kematian yang berasa terinspirasi dari Hades dan lalu ada Dewi Bulan dan Kenangan yang gue ga tahu kenapa kok saingan sama Dewa Laut. Ga dijelasin juga sih, hahaha. Staple mitologi korea seperti gumiho atau rubah berekor sembilan pun juga ada dan Axie Oh memasukkan makhluk mitologi bernama Imugi (atau Imoogi). Imugi ini seperti naga, cuma mereka perlu 1000 tahun untuk menjadi naga beneran dan dasarnya mereka jahat. Tapi Namgi, salah satu karakter di buku ini yang nantinya jadi teman Mina, adalah imugi yang baik. Selain Namgi, ada juga Kirin, yang kalau tahu makluk2 legenda Asia, pasti dah bisa nebak Kirin ini apa lah ya.
Selain makluk mitologi, Girl Who Fell sarat dengan dongeng, karena dongeng adalah senjata Mina untuk bertahan hidup di dunia bawah laut ini selain dengan pisau yang Mina warisi dari neneknya. Dongeng - dongeng memang sangat berperan penting di buku ini, karena ada beberapa aspek dalam dongeng nantinya akan membantu Mina. Salah satu dongeng yang menurut gue unik adalah dongeng tentang tukang kayu dan bidadari, karena kesamaan dongeng ini dengan beberapa dongeng di dunia lain bahkan termasuk di Indo sendiri yaitu legenda Joko Tarub. Terus terang gue suka dengan cara Axie Oh ngecampur mitologi dan juga dongeng di buku ini, walau memang ada beberapa hal yang butuh penjelasan. Aura magis dan mengagumkan dunia Dewa Laut ini ditulis dengan cukup baik. Hal lain yang gue cermati dari buku ini adalah beberapa bagian terasa sangat melankolis dan lembut. Bagian favorit gue adalah saat Dai melindungi Miki dari serangan Imugi. Membaca bagian Dai yang bener - bener menyayangi Miki itu bikin gue sangat terharu :'). Tema keluarga memang kental banget di buku ini selain juga misteri di balik kenapa Dewa Laut dikutuk.
Gue baca beberapa review yang bilang kalau romansa antara Mina dan Shin itu agak hambar. Menurut gue, sebenarnya ga juga ya hahaha. Ini masih mendingan dan gue juga ngerasain kok perasaan Shin yang mendamba ke Mina. Mungkin karena romansanya bukan tipe slow burn ya, kan waktu Mina juga sangat terbatas di dunia Arwah jadinya kayak berasa cepet aja ini jatuh cintanya. Tapi gue tetap ngerasain kok dan romansanya pun bukan tipe yang cukup lebay. Karena buku ini pakai PoV pertama Mina seperti laiknya buku2 YA fantasy, jadi pembaca ga tahu apa yang sebenarnya Shin pikirkan tentang Mina dan kapan tepatnya pemuda ini mulai jatuh hati ke Mina karena kita hanya tahu semuanya dari sudut pandang Mina. Pun, menurut gue, kisah (hampir) cinta segitiga antara Mina, Shin dan Dewa Laut itu agak maksa dan konklusinya pun termasuk yang terburu - buru. Tanpa kisah cinta segitiga sebenarnya bisa lebih bagus sih, cuma mungkin buat bumbu - bumbu biar bikin gregetan kali ya.
Untuk stand alone YA fantasy romance, menurut gue The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea sudah cukup bagus. Ada bagian yang kurang, seperti romansa antara Mina dan Shin yang lebih bisa digali lagi dan kisah cinta segitiga yang menurut gue ga perlu - perlu banget. Banyak juga bagian yang bagus seperti penggambaran dunia Arwah, sentimen terkait dewa - dewi, tema kekeluargaan yang kental, hubungan pertemanan antara Mina dengan Namgi, maupun Mina dengan Kedok, Dai serta Miki; dan penggunaan dongeng yang membuat cerita jadi kaya. Mina sendiri emang beberapa kali bertindak gegabah tapi gue cukup suka sama gadis ini karena dia berani menentukan takdirnya sendiri. Untuk terjemahannya sendiri cukup rapi dan enak dibaca serta minim typo. Cuma ya, CUMA, fontnya sangat diirit - irit, bikin versi terjemahan ini bahkan lebih tipis dari versi aslinya yang 300 halaman lebih!
Recommended untuk yang cari YA fantasy romance yang diadaptasi dari kisah rakyat dan juga stand alone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Blood
Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent and War
staceyinthesticks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War