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me about to drag everyone to read this book with me:
sign me up for this gorgeous cover
excuse me... did you say Spirited Away?? me about to drag everyone to read this book with me:
sign me up for this gorgeous cover
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but did somebody mention
MIYAZAKI'S SPIRITED AWAY??
here take all of my money and give it to me now!
i don't read fantasy books~but did somebody mention
MIYAZAKI'S SPIRITED AWAY??
here take all of my money and give it to me now!
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Me: Did someone say SPIRITED AWAY?!
Continue reading... ...more
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea lured me in with its premise, a retelling of Korean mythology The Tale of Shim Cheong AND it was compared to Studio Ghibli movies such as Spirited Away, so I had to read it!
TGWFBTS follows Mina, a girl who lives in a coastal area bartered by deadly storms, whose people believe that their sea god is cursed and to free him from the curse, a young woman is selected as his bride a
Thank you to the publishers and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea lured me in with its premise, a retelling of Korean mythology The Tale of Shim Cheong AND it was compared to Studio Ghibli movies such as Spirited Away, so I had to read it!
TGWFBTS follows Mina, a girl who lives in a coastal area bartered by deadly storms, whose people believe that their sea god is cursed and to free him from the curse, a young woman is selected as his bride and sacrificed to the sea. Mina's older brother falls in love with the next Sea God's bride and in an act of love, Mina follows and jumps into the sea in her place, and is sucked down to the Sea God's spirit realm beneath the waves.
But even as she finds herself tied to the Sea God by a red string of fate, her quest to free him won't be easy, when a man claiming to serve the Sea God severs the string and steals Mina's soul. So Mina is thrust into a political plot between rival Spirit Houses, all while trying to save her soul and free the Sea God in order to save her people.
The Ghibli Spirited Away comparisons were NO JOKE. While this Spirit Realm also takes some of Ponyo's aesthetics, the similarities were unmistakable, which is great! A girl who finds herself in the Spirit Realm mostly on accident, with food vendors and festivals and strange characters and young men who want to help her escape. It gave off the same whimsical escapism fantastical vibes as those movies (which I love)
I will say that I feel like the book wavered between the Sea God and Shin in a way that seemed kind of love triangle-y and did make me wonder MANY times who she was truly going to end up with, but it ended well and actually succeeded in making me tear up a bit so I really don't have any complaints.
When I downloaded the arc months ago and put off reading it, I had a nervous feeling this wouldn't live up to my expectations/I wouldn't like it (YA books have a tendency to do that for me) but I'm pleased to report it did meet all of them and I was surprised how good it was! I stayed up reading long into the night to finish it, because I couldn't put it down after the 50% point. I highly recommend it, and it really is a must read for Ghibli lovers.
Definitely adding it to my print collection come February, because LOOK at those covers. I'm obsessed. (However I think the UK one is winning at the moment)
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Well, that's gonna
Well, that's gonna
This story explores the depths of love, grief, forgiveness and hope while exploring a spirit world as vivid as our own. I can't wait to have a copy on my shelf!
Everything I hoped for! This is the lush, atmospheric, slow-burn romance, myth retelling of your dreams! I am sad for everyone waiting til 2021 but I did beg to read this many times for the last 5 years before I finally got to, so I can absolutely assure anyone that it is worth the wait.This story explores the depths of love, grief, forgiveness and hope while exploring a spirit world as vivid as our own. I can't wait to have a copy on my shelf!
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*adds to tbr*
don't lie, you did exactly the same.
thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for a sincere review!
one look at that cover-*adds to tbr*
don't lie, you did exactly the same.
thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for a sincere review!
...more
A story of a strong will used with a passionate heart. Not looking out for yourself, but for others. Of seeing a course to help others and knowing that it will rob you of your own joy, but doing it anyways.
And realizing that sometimes, when you do what's right, you are actually following your heart.
Sure to be a story the resonates strongly with readers, do not
A remarkably beautiful story, weaving in proverbs and poetry, and telling a tale... not just of the past, but timely for our day as well.A story of a strong will used with a passionate heart. Not looking out for yourself, but for others. Of seeing a course to help others and knowing that it will rob you of your own joy, but doing it anyways.
And realizing that sometimes, when you do what's right, you are actually following your heart.
Sure to be a story the resonates strongly with readers, do not miss this fable-esque take on a Korean myth!
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I was pulled into this book because of the cover. I know, I know, that's bad, but it's absolutely stunning. And it sounded absolutely incredible as well. A girl who sacrifices herself save her brother, who is swept into the sea and into the Spirit Realm. A story of a Sea God and deadly storms and enchantments. It sounded so, so good.
Axie Oh's writing, and this book, are stunningly gorgeous. Seriously, I want to infuse the beauty of this book into everything because it shines so bri
*Spoiler free*I was pulled into this book because of the cover. I know, I know, that's bad, but it's absolutely stunning. And it sounded absolutely incredible as well. A girl who sacrifices herself save her brother, who is swept into the sea and into the Spirit Realm. A story of a Sea God and deadly storms and enchantments. It sounded so, so good.
Axie Oh's writing, and this book, are stunningly gorgeous. Seriously, I want to infuse the beauty of this book into everything because it shines so brightly. It feels like sea foam, a fresh mint leaf, like water cupped between the palms. Just, so, so gorgeous.
Reading this book was a bit complicated for me. I don't know if it was mood or something else, but I found myself not completely loving it towards the middle. I was still ingrained by the story, the characters were solid, the relationships were top notch, but I just did not find myself completely connected into it. And that's fine! I just thought it wasn't a book for me. Some books are like that. I knew it was going to be a favorite for a lot of people. But, the ending completely turned that on it's head. I ended up falling completely in love. Aspects slotted into place and the story completely bloomed open. The twist, I feel weird even calling it a twist because it doesn't feel that dramatic. It fits so incredibly well. Yes, I was shocked by the turn of events, but it also feels incredibly natural. Like yes, this is where the story is supposed to be. This is exactly what is supposed to be happening now. Everything in this book came together so, so well.
Really, I think this book is fantastic storytelling all around. Even in the parts where I wasn't completely in love, I could realize that. It just flows together and creates something special.
The relationships between the characters, and the characters themselves, were so, so sweet. They are more than sweet of course, but they just have this sweetness about them that makes me adore them. The friendships, the romantic relationships, the familial ties, all of them were incredibly well done. Actions were done because of love, because of dedication to certain people, to commitment. The bond between humans was showcased here very clearly, and very plainly, and I thought it was done incredibly well.
Overall, I ended up loving this book. While I didn't fully love the plot at certain points, the ending made me fall completely in love with the whole thing. The entire thing is completely stunning, from writing to characters to the world to the relationships to how the plot unfolds. It's truly an amazing book.
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Also "feminist fairytale retelling"
GIMMIE
February 2022 needs to get here ASAP!
The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea is a captivatingly lush and utterly compelling, feminist retelling of Korean legend Shim Cheong. YA fantasy fans are going to love this, it's absolutely stunning!
For generations deadly storms have ravaged Mina's homeland. Her people believe the Sea God who once protected their land has now cursed them with death and despair.
To appease him, each year a girl is chosen to be thrown into the sea, in hopes that one day a 'true bride' will be chosen and end
4.5 starsThe Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea is a captivatingly lush and utterly compelling, feminist retelling of Korean legend Shim Cheong. YA fantasy fans are going to love this, it's absolutely stunning!
For generations deadly storms have ravaged Mina's homeland. Her people believe the Sea God who once protected their land has now cursed them with death and despair.
To appease him, each year a girl is chosen to be thrown into the sea, in hopes that one day a 'true bride' will be chosen and end all their suffering. But the chosen 'bride' is the girl Joon (mina's brother) loves and his plan to interfere with the sacrifice is a death sentence. To save her brother Mina takes Cheong's place.
Swept away to the spirit realm (a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts), Mina finds the Sea God trapped in an enchanted sleep. With help from the mysterious Shin and a motley group of demons, gods and spirits, Mina plans to wake him and finally end the storms once and for all.
This was absolutely amazing! Axie Oh's writing is exquisite and the world building was utterly breathtaking, I loved how vividly detailed and otherworldly it felt not to mention the slowburn (and emotionally intense) romance which was utterly divine!
Mina was a remarkable protagonist: strong, compassionate, willing to sacrifice herself to save the one's she loves—and it's that selfless and empathetic nature that made her one of my fave characters (alongside Shin, Mask,Dai, baby Miki, Kirin and Namgi-trust me your gonna love them all.)
I did figure out the identities of a few characters about halfway through the book but, the reveal was so well crafted (I literally cried happy tears) that working it out beforehand didn't lessen my enjoyment at all.
I'm also impressed with just how effortlessly Axie Oh has reimagined a story that heavily involves sacrifice into an empowering and heartwarming tale love and family that just I didn't want to end.
Overall, this masterfully written retelling is full of love,perseverance, friendship and above all, hope. If you loved Studio Ghibli's Spirited away then you're gonna absolutely love this—it's soo good!
Also thanks to Hodder&Stoughton and Netgalley for the e-arc.
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positives:
- the plot starts right away without preamble
- whimsy, studio ghibli vibes
- the main character is willful and passionate
- themes of family, fate, sacrifice
- quick and easy to read
negatives:
- i felt so rushed ?
- underdeveloped relationships
- plot holes (and why is everything so convenient?)
- unclear moti
positives:
- the plot starts right away without preamble
- whimsy, studio ghibli vibes
- the main character is willful and passionate
- themes of family, fate, sacrifice
- quick and easy to read
negatives:
- i felt so rushed ?
- underdeveloped relationships
- plot holes (and why is everything so convenient?)
- unclear motivations of antagonists
- amateur writing style
it's not terrible, it's a pretty rudimentary YA fantasy actually (which would usually warrant 3 stars from me), but the pacing is just too fast for me to get attached to anything and anybody (it felt like someone was pushing me from behind). there is momentum to the plot and it keeps moving forward, but it sacrifices character and plot development. i didn't feel the romance at all (except maybe a liiittle bit during the epilogue) and i found the characters a bit lukewarm because of the simple writing style. and while it isn't a completely awful book, i wasn't amazed by anything either. it needs more grace and elegance is all. other than that, it's a pretty quick read (finished it in one day) and it is mildly enjoyable! i'm just not the target audience.
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Thank you Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.
I liked the writing style a lot; it was an easy, good read because of it. The characters and world building were good. The way the reader gets information through stories told by the main character is also something I liked a lot because these are stories in the first place told by her grandmother and it's a character I grew into.
There is only
Thank you Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.
I liked the writing style a lot; it was an easy, good read because of it. The characters and world building were good. The way the reader gets information through stories told by the main character is also something I liked a lot because these are stories in the first place told by her grandmother and it's a character I grew into.
There is only one thing I didn't like and it's something that annoys me more then when I was younger. It is when in YA books the main character, in this book 16 years old, has to marry someone. Let them grow up and find their own way without having to marry so young.
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AND THE COVER IS SO PRETTY
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Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56978100-the-girl-who-fell-beneath-the-sea
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