The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea Audiobook By Axie Oh cover art

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

the New York Times bestselling magical fantasy

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Deadly storms. An ancient curse. Will her sacrifice save them all?

For generations, deadly storms have ravaged Mina's homeland. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curse them with death and despair. To appease him, each year a maiden is thrown into the sea, in the hopes that one day the 'true bride' will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe Shim Cheong - Mina's brother's beloved - to be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is sacrificed, Mina's brother follows her, 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 finds the Sea God, trapped in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man and a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits, Mina sets out to wake him and bring an end to the 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 . . .

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a magical feminist retelling of a classic Korean legend, perfect for fans of Uprooted and Miyazaki's Spirited Away.

'Clever, creative, and exquisitely written' Stephanie Garber, Sunday Times bestselling author of Caraval

'A beautiful, mesmerizing retelling' Elizabeth Lim, New York Times bestselling author of Six Crimson Cranes

(P) 2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited©2022 Axie Oh Dark Fantasy Epic Fantasy Science Fiction & Fantasy

Critic reviews

A clever, creative, and exquisitely written tale of sacrifice, love, and fate
A sumptuous fairytale world to dive into full of whimsy and heart. Perfect for fans of Studio Ghibli!
A tale brimming with love. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea will whisk you away on an entrancing journey through the most magical realm. Axie Oh's characters own my whole heart
With its captivating world-building, fast-paced story and cast of memorable characters, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea will charm, delight and surprise readers
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
A true jewel of a story that shines in the world of fantasy . . . This beautifully woven tale brimming with heart, spirit, and love is a dream you'll never want to end
Shim Cheong is Korea's most famous legend and one I've heard all my life, but as a feminist it has always been my least favorite. Axie's book retells the fairy tale and empowers the girl protagonist while still preserving the beloved classic tale, set in a fantastical world so unique and fascinating. I absolutely loved every word!
Axie Oh's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a beautifully written fantasy inspired by Spirited Away and steeped in Korean mythology. Lyrical prose, incredible world building, and a heroine worth rooting for - this story is everything and then some. A stunning feat of storytelling and an un-put-downable read. I wish I could read it again for the first time. Absolutely exquisite!
Get ready to be swept into a world of gods, spirits, surprising twists, and mingled destinies. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a breathtaking cinematic fairy tale with a courageous heroine at its heart
Nicely paced and beautifully written, this engrossing fantasy is packed with memorable characters, starting with the headstrong Mina, and including the mysterious Shin, with whom she becomes inexplicably tied . . . A perfect for fit readers who love Spirited Away
[A] majestic magical marvel of a book
A luscious and beautiful experience
Oh weaves an intricate and engaging tale . . . Captivated readers will long to be pulled deeper into the story. A fantastical world to get lost in
'A wondrous, richly imagined tale of love, family, and sacrifice. Axie Oh's lyrical prose sweeps you into an extraordinary world of myth and legend, where gods of lore live and breathe, and one girl's determination to change her fate will capture your heart. Fans of Studio Ghibli will adore this magical story!
This YA fantasy is an enthralling mix of magic, romance, and high stakes, with lovely worldbuilding at its centre
The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea captivated me with its depiction of a spirit realm rooted in Korean myth and moved me with the power of love and family in its story. A beautiful new favorite of mine!
All stars
Most relevant
The tale has friendship, romance, family, loyalty and an absolutely breathtaking and atmospheric, sensory world building. If you like Spirited Away, you’ll love this. The narrator has a nice voice and is a competent reader, but lacks the ability to change her voice to depict each character. However, I still enjoyed listening to it and will listen again.

Beautifully Written

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A story of courage, hope and live that has been presented beautifully through a plausible fantasy.

Good for the soul

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I read/listen a looot. So I tend to just feel that many books are similar, some better than others. But this IS a wonderful story with great messages: be brave, follow your heart and you will follow your destiny..

Loved it

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I was so bored by this, I kept raising the speed of the audiobook to finish it as fast as possible. While I enjoyed the reveal of who the 3 spirits that helped Mina are and while there were (some, but not much) Ghibli vibes, specifically at the beginning, they disappeared pretty quickly, at least for me.

I found the protagonist, Mina, to be bland and boring and that everything came easily to her. Everyone she met came to adore her, sooner or later - usually sooner; she "saves" everyone; her choices don't really have any bad consequences. And while her romance isn't a true insta-love, it's still quite quick, imo.

It also felt more like a middle-grade than a YA, not that that's a bad thing. I am actually kinda sad that I didn't have a chance to read it as a 12-13 years old, as I think I might have adored it at that time, as I was much more forgiving regarding bland characters and was able to self-insert. So I think it's a cute fantasy book for a pretty young audience, but I didn't really enjoy it. If I wasn't reading it for a reading challenge (r/fantasy bingo 2024), I would have likely dnf-ed it.

The audiobook narrator, Rosa Escoda, was fine, but I didn't particularly enjoy her narration. Now, I am not a native English speaker, so I cannot say this for certain, but her narration sounded very British to my ears, which kept taking me out of the story, since in my mind, it clashes with Korean mythology. According to the quick Google search, she seems to be Korean, which makes it even weirder, so maybe the problem's in me?
Also, I had problems with her pronunciation of characters' names. I would hear Mina one second, Nina another, Meena on the third one. Same was true for most other characters as well. Is it Minjing or Nanjin or something else? I didn't have a physical book with me, so I couldn't check. This also meant that in certain scenes, where characters with similar names do stuff together, I would need to use context clues to figure out who is who.

So, all in all, I don't think that this is a bad book at all, but I was quite bored by it and couldn't wait for it to end. And I didn't enjoy the narration.

I was looking forward to this, but I was bored

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I truly enjoyed every seconds listening to this book it's engaging, full of mixed emotions.

amzing

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