The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
A New York Times Bestseller!
Axie Oh's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is an enthralling feminist retelling of the classic Korean folktale "The Tale of Shim Cheong," perfect for fans of Wintersong, Uprooted, and Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.
Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.
Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.
Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.
But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…
Praise for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea:
An ABA Indie Bestseller
"On every page I found something marvelous and new, and I was eager to keep reading because I wanted to further explore this wondrous new world." —The New York Times
"A beautiful, mesmerizing retelling I wish I’d had when I was growing up. ... A heartfelt tale that I will be recommending for years to come." —Elizabeth Lim, New York Times-bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes
"A clever, creative, and exquisitely written tale of sacrifice, love, and fate." —Stephanie Garber, New York Times-bestselling author of Caraval
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
Yep, I got super Spirited Away vibes. I will say it was different enough to be its own story, but there were definitely scenes and character traits/challenges that reminded me of Spirited Away, which is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli creations so...I'm not mad at it.
-----------
Apparently, this reminds people of Hayao Miyazaki's work?
...say less
Each year a beautiful young maiden is selected for the honor of becoming the Sea God's new bride in the hopes that one year the True Bride will be found. The one who will rescue them all and return them to the Sea God's good graces. But this year's chosen sacrifice is her brother's love, Shim Cheong, so in an effort to save the couple, Mina throws herself into the sea in Shim Cheong's place, and finds herself waking in the Spirit Realm. But humans cannot live forever among the spirits, so Mina must track down the Sea God and convince him to end the storms that are destroying the lands, all before this world takes her as one of its own.
A gorgeous tale with marvelous world building, this is one of those books I wish I could forget just so I could relive it all for the first time. The characters bring so much light and life to the story, particularly Mina and the ragtag group of demons and spirits determined to help her complete her task. I adored them all and absolutely cried my way through the end. From cover to cover (including the artwork!) this was simply stunning.
At first, it was honestly difficult for me to NOT compare the beginning of this novel to Ghibli's Spirited Away movie, and I had troubles visualising Oh's world with Spirited Away superimposed in my mind's eye. I couldn't even help jumping to conclusions with my train of thought.
However, as soon as we meet the characters and explore the Spirit Realm and all the Korean myths and culture woven into it though, it's completely different and so magical and wonderful. Chef kiss.
I'm in love with this exact flavour of novel, and I couldn't get enough. And the cover illustration is STUNNING - I could stare at that forever.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.