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linefelcei's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Child death, Blood, and Grief
lunxchloe's review against another edition
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
5/5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and War
Minor: Child death, Death, and Blood
cepbreed's review against another edition
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.
Song:
- Pictures of Us - beabadoobee
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Blood
julieuhh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
baolade's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, and Blood
_marycappiello3's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
ernea_navish's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I absolutely adore this one. Picked it up blindly based on a beautiful cover and the Asian-inspired background, but ended up loving it to the max.
The writing is easy to follow, even tho for some the start might be a little bit chaotic. The plot jumps right into action, not wasting time with long introductions so some might feel lost. I personally loved it this way... You meet all the characters with the flow, learn about the world together with the characters. There aren't unnecessary filler chapters. It also felt like watching a K-Drama / C-Drama instead of reading a book.
The story-line follows a young girl, sacrificing herself out of love for her family and her people. She gets to a Spirit Realm, where she needs to help break a curse if she wants the disasters happening to her people to stop. And while doing so, she meets many more characters who either help her or try to harm her. The plot twists in there are really good. The action as well.
The romance is sweet and natural, not breaking the flow of the main plot but at the same time not being just a side story-line. The whole book just keeps you on your toes, expecting what might happen next.
Only disappointment is that the book could’ve been longer. Not in a bad way. However, some scenes would be much more magical, if they went into more details.
And the hate relationship; it really made me anxious of who Mina will end up with. And any decision she would make did make sense, which was very good. But it still made me anxious that my wished ending would not happen...
The writing is easy to follow, even tho for some the start might be a little bit chaotic. The plot jumps right into action, not wasting time with long introductions so some might feel lost. I personally loved it this way... You meet all the characters with the flow, learn about the world together with the characters. There aren't unnecessary filler chapters. It also felt like watching a K-Drama / C-Drama instead of reading a book.
The story-line follows a young girl, sacrificing herself out of love for her family and her people. She gets to a Spirit Realm, where she needs to help break a curse if she wants the disasters happening to her people to stop. And while doing so, she meets many more characters who either help her or try to harm her. The plot twists in there are really good. The action as well.
The romance is sweet and natural, not breaking the flow of the main plot but at the same time not being just a side story-line. The whole book just keeps you on your toes, expecting what might happen next.
Only disappointment is that the book could’ve been longer. Not in a bad way. However, some scenes would be much more magical, if they went into more details.
And the hate relationship; it really made me anxious of who Mina will end up with. And any decision she would make did make sense, which was very good. But it still made me anxious that my wished ending would not happen...
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence and Blood
jayisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A feminist retelling of the Korean folktale, “The Tale of Shim Cheong,” The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea has a lot of heart, and it’s clear that Oh poured a lot of love into her characters and the worldbuilding. Being familiar with the original folktale, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t about Shim Cheong specifically (though she appears as a side character), but, rather, a rather headstrong and earnest sixteen-year-old named Mina. Alongside Mina is a cast of relatively memorable characters, perhaps one of the more notable ones being Shin, who ends up being Mina’s love interest. (I should note that this is definitely a slow burn romance, which won’t be for everyone—) I did find Oh’s characters somewhat weak, especially compared to her worldbuilding, but they certainly weren’t one-dimensional either. I think it was just wanting a bit more character development and time to sit with the cast. I also found the novel’s pacing a bit uneven at the start, but it really came together as it continued.
All-in-all, I enjoyed this YA novel more than I thought I would. I think I was especially taken to the emphasis on storytelling, and I really appreciated how Oh seamlessly wove in other Korean folktales into the novel through Mina.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Grief
Minor: War
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
lawbooks600's review against another edition
adventurous
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? Yes
4.0
Representation: Asian characters
Score: Seven points out of ten.
I wanted to read this one for a while but never got around till now. I glanced the blurb, which made The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea look intriguing and enjoyable. I headed in with high expectations considering the equally high ratings. When I closed the final page of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, it was a delightful reading experience.
It starts with the first character I see, Mina, living her life when someone had to sacrifice themselves for the Sea God. According to the myth, the Sea God has cursed the land with storms and floods--a human sacrifice to become the Sea God's bride is the only solution. This time it's Mina's brother who had to sacrifice himself but Mina joins and intervenes, risking her life. I thought Mina would not survive the opening pages, but surprisingly, she enters a realm previously unknown to her, a world filled with spirits, and most prominently, the Sea God. He's younger than Mina thought, since he's only a teenager. The former half of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is tedious to read, but the pace quickly picks up during the latter half. There was more action there, but the conclusion is only okay. At least there's a high note in the end.
Score: Seven points out of ten.
I wanted to read this one for a while but never got around till now. I glanced the blurb, which made The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea look intriguing and enjoyable. I headed in with high expectations considering the equally high ratings. When I closed the final page of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, it was a delightful reading experience.
It starts with the first character I see, Mina, living her life when someone had to sacrifice themselves for the Sea God. According to the myth, the Sea God has cursed the land with storms and floods--a human sacrifice to become the Sea God's bride is the only solution. This time it's Mina's brother who had to sacrifice himself but Mina joins and intervenes, risking her life. I thought Mina would not survive the opening pages, but surprisingly, she enters a realm previously unknown to her, a world filled with spirits, and most prominently, the Sea God. He's younger than Mina thought, since he's only a teenager. The former half of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is tedious to read, but the pace quickly picks up during the latter half. There was more action there, but the conclusion is only okay. At least there's a high note in the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Grief
Full trigger warnings: Near-death experience, floods and mass death in the past mentioned, death of children and others, blood, grief and loss depiction