A review by jayisreading
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

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.
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