Reviews

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

Only show reviews with written explanations

introvertisa's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous fast-paced

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

3.0

não é ruim! mas definitivamente eu deixei de ser o público há alguns anos

eleiya_umei's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

After Ogiwara Noriko's [b:Dragon Sword and Wind Child|1110224|Dragon Sword and Wind Child (Tales of the Magatama #1)|Noriko Ogiwara|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348282368l/1110224._SY75_.jpg|29779], this is the second YA myth retelling that is all plot and no story, where you never get a feel for any of the characters and do not share in their experiences. This one, however, feels worse because of the simplistic writing and repeated "Tell, Don't Show".

This book reminded me a lot of my favorite childhood movie, Spirited Away, but it never executed its beats competently. Mina does not have a very personal reason to do anything in the spirit world, her romance with a god is barely a crush and yet is said to be meaningful, her character is supposed to undergo a development and yet she's been following her heart since the very beginning.

TGWFBtS starts at - depending on your plot model - either the First Plot Point or the Threshold-Crossing without establishing the protagonist and her status quo/ordinary world first and suffers from it throughout the whole book by using "Tell, Don't Show" to compensate.
It's most excruciating at the beginning, though, since it happens during an intense moment and disrupts it. Most of the times, it takes you out of the situation but it never achieves what it might want to: making you understand and feel for the characters.
The story suffers from never resting in a moment, taking the time to establish an atmosphere for the world or just the situation, to get to know any of the characters, be they main or side ones, and to build relationships between them. This ultimately results in annoyance/disinterest whenever a character is said to feel something and utter disbelief whenever a character states their feelings towards another.

At times I felt like the book was treating their readers as though they're dumb, not giving them a chance to figure out what was happening. For example, instead of showing a character's change in voice, it is told after the fact: Mina is alerted to it and then explains in her narrative how he was speaking before and how he is speaking now (p. 175). This book is not a children's nor a middle grade book; it is marketed for teens aged 13-18 and I don't believe they need to be lead by the hand through the book.

As mentioned above, the writing is simplistic. Sometimes, it feels like a draft to which details in environment, emotions and behaviors will be added later. Sometimes, it feels performative - in the way it describes feelings, sensations, characters and their relationships. "This is a metaphor for how you've brought life into our lives", "I am [this] and [that] but I hope to you, I'm a friend", "There is longing, hope and love in his eyes". (Examples slightly paraphrased.)
Like shown above, the writing doesn't find a less explicit way to describe feelings etc., doesn't seem to know how to play with words and this makes the reading experience strenuous.

The writing as well as the lack of moments you just get to experience incapacitates the characterization and thus doesn't make the characters feel like actual persons nor does it make any of their relationships believable.
This impairs the romance as well, although there are more elements to developing a believable romance which are missing as well, e.g. reasoning behind romantic attraction. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga gets ridiculed for its romance, yet there at least we understand why the characters are attracted to each other: Edward who is used to figure people out by hearing their thoughts is intrigued and challenged by the only person whose thoughts are inaccessible to him. Bella is captivated by the angelic being who saved her life and can offer her a fantastic world of immortality.
What attracts the romantic leads in TGWFBtS to each other? I never grasped the answer.

I am utterly disappointed by this book, I should not have fallen for the stunning cover and interesting premise. But there are worse books out there that lack the potential TGWFBtS had.
And it reminded me of the struggles I myself have, with writing in general but also myth retellings in particular. It's hard to find the balance between staying close to the original myth and making it your own, making it a new and enriching story. And worldbuilding, when the OG only gives you the most necessary parts of the world and how it functions, is difficult as well.

(BTW, Axie Oh, I saw you putting in Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan into your story and not doing anything with them. As a fan of The Untamed, I'm disappointed in your tribute to MXTX/MDZS. Though I hope your publisher didn't make you cut out more LGBTQ+ elements than "WWX" flirting with a boy. That would be despicable for a publisher to do in 2022.)