As Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage month draws to a close, it’s not too late to broaden your worldview and sneak in one more read in May. In The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea YA author Axie Oh gives us a feminist retelling of the Korean legend The Tale of Shim Cheong.

The story begins with a sister’s love, a country in turmoil, and the tale of an angry Sea God. Each year the nation hopes to placate the Sea God with a human offering, a bride of course. Mina’s brother’s beloved Shim Cheong is this year’s offering, and within a few short pages of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea’s lyrical tale it is easy to forget that such things are myth. You instantly find yourself afraid as you read that Mina has broken two of the Sea Gods three rules, her brother having already broken the third. You forget that such stories aren’t real thanks to the narrative talents of Oh and her clever scene styling. You forget that there is no real Sea God. When the dragon appears through the water, you realize that this will be no mere tale of a simple folks mythology concerning the tides and weather, but a full blown journey into the heart of myth and story, where dragons do indeed lie. Dark blue scales hit the deck as the dragon rises above the boat and in that moment I could almost taste the saltwater.

Mythology has always drawn me in. My elementary school teachers read to us from traditional Ashanti tales of Anansi the spider, and from the Punjab mythology that most of my classmates heard at home. The perpetuation of stories across cultures and nations has always appealed to me. All religions share similar stories of floods and saviors, all mythologies have a creation story, and some kind of pantheon of overlords. From a young girl growing up in England, to a young girl in Korea, or Alabama, it is stories that ties us together.

The memories of spirits and gods might be hazy, but not the memories of books. Stories are eternal.

The stories of Asian communities have appealed to me since I first encountered Amy Tan and Kazuo Ishiguro over twenty years ago. I am drawn to the stories of people who are unlike me in face and history. I know what it’s like to be a white girl growing up in a once great empire, but it’s everything else that I want to know about. In the opening pages of her narrative Oh sets up what for me is the perfect description of how we create gods around us all the time.

The world is filled with small gods, for each part of nature has a guardian to watch over and protect it.

The gods of Korean folklore that she presents us with bear a remarkable similarity to the Greek and Roman pantheons. Each with their own characteristics and playing their part in ruling over an area of the human world. What Oh then does with the nature and “life” of gods as the story develops follows a more unusual approach, and I am fascinated with the perspective of the gods that she paints. The dialogue she allows them to have regarding their own feelings towards humanity is an illuminating insight into the ego of man and myth. All of which begins from the perspective of Mina, as she throws herself into the path of the gods.



An unbearable anger rises up within me, starting in my stomach and clawing up to choke me. The gods have chosen not to grant our wishes – our wishes from the paper boat festival, but also the small wishes we make every day. For peace, for fertility, for love. The gods have abandoned us. The god of gods, the Sea God, wants to take from the people who love him – take and take and never give.

This is the expectation we have upon entering the world of the gods, and Oh starts from here in painting a fuller picture of the ruled and the rulers, the gods and the supplicants. Nothing is simplistic, and nothing is as it seems. The development of the Goddess of Moon and Memory is particularly captivating, and bears great similarities with how we build certain people up in our modern world.

The book is remarkably aware of the times we currently find ourselves in, but then all mythology has something to say about principalities and powers, the way the world works. Maybe we all need a little mythology to thrive on right now when the world is so very cracked and broken. Great stories should inspire us, and this retelling of the classic Korean folktale inspires me. The tale of Shim Cheong, Mina and the Sea God has been repeating in my mind since I finished the tale, and has me reaching for more mythology, for more retellings.

My eldest brother, Sung, says trust is earned, that to give someone your trust it to give them the knife to wound you. But Joon [the younger brother] would counter that trust is faith, that to trust someone is to believe in the goodness of people and in the world that shapes them. I’m too raw to believe in anyone right now…



Mina, the central voice and actor of the narrative, is an irrepressible heroine. You know almost immediately that she will risk everything for her people, and when she utters the words “Take me instead” you aren’t surprised at all. This is barely even a spoiler as it happens so quickly in the opening of the story.



An unbearable anger rises up within me, starting in my stomach and clawing up to choke me. I am the maker of my own destiny.

Every step Mina takes shows that she will take active agency in her own life. Even when her choices are limited, she is the agent of her own change. She will look at her options and pick the best one, even if it matches the one others would choose for her. She advocates for herself. She makes decisions at her own expense. She will choose action over comfort and her own happiness. Once Mina sacrifices herself to the sea, she learns that not everything she has been told in her stories is quite true, and she must navigate the myths of her people with the people of the myths in order to save herself and her country. I did not want her story to come to an end, and I sincerely hope Oh decides to provide more mythology from this world so that I can immerse myself beneath the sea once more.



Oh has an absolutely wonderful way with words. Not only does her narrative draw you in, but you will find yourself tasting the words she uses, and the phrases she employs, as if at a delightful bakery full of wonderful treats. She borrows from mythology, and family legend, and modern times, to create a patchwork of story and words that is so wonderful to read you don’t want to skip a beat. While my English literature oriented brain will often seek to speed read, I found myself often pausing and re-reading sections just to feel the words again.

I’ve heard the cadence of these words before. They’re a farewell.

Axie Oh is a first generation Korean American, born in NYC and raised in New Jersey. She studied Korean history and creative writing as an undergrad at the University of California – San Diego and holds an MFA from Lesley University in Writing for Young People. Her passions include K-pop, anime, stationery supplies, and milk tea. She currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with her puppy, Toro. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is her fourth book and was released on February 22, 2022. GeekMom received a copy of this book for review purposes.

Luscious, romantic, and so perfectly fairytale-esque. I loved reading this so much and I think it captures the heart of the original Korean folktale so well.

For fans of Spirited Away, this is a book for you!

This book feels like a Miyazaki film in the best way possible: you're immediately thrown into the action, dragged along as you discover the world at the same time as the character. At times, the characters are cliche, but the intense worldbuilding and setting more than make up for their lack of depth, as well as the core message about family.

In short, this is a beautiful story about family (whether blooded or found), and as an added bonus, the cover is beautiful!

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a beautiful retelling of the Korean folktale "The Tale of Shim Cheong." While I was unfamiliar with the original, this story presented a wonderful entry to the tale that I've since read. The story is beautifully written and short and sweet. Highly recommended!

THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA is a tale that touches upon themes of processing grief and the love shared between friends and family. Sixteen-year-old Mina chooses to sacrifice herself to the Sea God in place of Shim Cheong, the love of her brother Joon's life. In this ultimate act of love between siblings, Mina hopes that Joon will be able to live a full life with Shim Cheong by his side. Once in the Spirit Realm Mina finds the Sea God withdrawn and detached from the world around him. Resolved to find an end to the storms that plague her country, Mina sets out to understand how to help the Sea God overcome his grief.

I'm not familiar with THE TALE OF SHIM CHEONG, the myth that inspired this book; so I can't speak to that. However, I did get Miyazaki animation vibes while reading, particularly when secondary characters Mask, Kai, and Miki interact with Mina. These three spirits are mysterious and quirky, but bear no ill will towards Mina, reminding me a lot of SPIRITED AWAY. Although they don't have a lot of page time, I found them the most engaging. However, many of the secondary characters are introduced very quickly and thrust into the plot with barely any preemptive build up as to their background or importance. Overall, I found that this was a problem throughout the book that also affected the world-building.

Marketed as a young adult fantasy novel, I thought the writing, characterization, and world-building were on the younger side of this genre. Frankly, I felt it should have been categorized as middle grade. The writing style is simplistic and to-the-point and the plot is fast paced and doesn't allow for much introspection or character growth. Perhaps this is more commonplace in middle grade books--I wouldn't know as I don't read them). But for a young adult book, and based on the amount of raving I saw, I expected the characters and the story to be more fleshed out.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the case, which was disappointing because the Spirit Realm has so. much. potential. There are so many different gods and goddesses and mythical beasts mentioned, but barely any exploration beyond that. Instead the characters felt flat, the conversation stilted, and the romance underdeveloped. I also felt like a lot of plot elements weren't fully explained or the solutions to any hardships had a convenient solution.

I also found it somewhat puzzling that the marketing bills this as a feminist retelling. Again, I can't speak to the original myth, but I think THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH THE SEA barely squeaks by as feminist. Just because there's a main female character who isn't afraid to voice her opinions, or has a strong relationship with her grandmother, doesn't make it a feminist retelling. Yes, Mina takes charge of her life and decides to sacrifice herself to save another girl. But, instead, what about trying to change the tradition of sacrificing a girl every year to the Sea God in an effort to stop the storms? Why not question these types of traditions? And, once Mina reaches the Spirit Realm, she constantly needs rescuing. Despite knowing that she's vulnerable in the Spirit Realm, she puts herself in questionable situations, she doesn't ask the right questions, she doesn't (at the very least) ask how she can protect herself.

If you can't tell by now, unfortunately this book didn't work for me. I think a younger age group would enjoy this. In fact, the subtlety of any feminist themes (i.e., the voicing of one's opinions as a girl; a quest run by a girl) are probably appropriate for middle grade. But I think they're too subtle and simplistic for the YA age group.

This book was exquisite. A retelling the Korean myth of the Sea God, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea shows what true courage and love looks like. This story follows Mina, as she journeys to the Spirit realm to find the Sea God and break the curse that has them suffering from terrible storms and other environmental phenomena.

The character development is great, Mina, Shin Namgin and Kirin especially, have a ton of character growth throughout the story.

The world building for the spirit realm was exquisite. I found the interactions between spirits, gods and mythical beasts to be fascinating.

The love story was heartbreakingly beautiful, I laughed and cried equally. Yet it was very well balanced with Mina's quest and didn't take away from the main story, as much as it enhanced it.

Overall would recommend 100%.

I received an ARC of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea in exchange for an honest review. Thank You author Axie Oh, NetGalley, and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this amazingly written book. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea was packed with vivid imagery and was one of my favorite reads for my 2022. I was unable to finish the whole book before it was archived due to me going into labor and then having to get into a new routine with my Newborn. I have Purchased The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and I'm looking forward to finishing it ! I recommend this book to any fantasy and mythology lover, and to those that would love to give fantasy a go. Thank you once again to author Axie Oh, NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for this opportunity.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. It read a bit young for me. I recognize I am not the target demographic, but I generally can get on with YA if it has more of a mature or well-developed tone.

However, I really enjoyed the fact that it was a Korean-inspired story, weaving folklore into a contemporary novel. I would love to see more books like this out there in the future and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to give this title a chance. As a librarian, I'm always interested in seeing if books will be a good fit in our collection. I'd definitely recommend it to teens looking for something a bit less heavily plot based, with great atmosphere and whimsy.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I initially had a difficult time getting into this book. It had a slow start, after the lyrical first chapter. I stuck with it, though, and ended up loving the second half. I think one of the things that was off-putting to me was how fast the love story seemed to develop, but given the overarching theme of fate that was probably by design. Once the narrative picked up for me I couldn’t put it down, but that wasn’t until like 60% or so. Given how much everyone has loved this one, I think maybe I just wasn’t in the right mind frame? But ultimately I give it a 4/5 stars. It was imaginative and lovely and I love mythological stories.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

I am absolutely delighted to say that Axie Oh has done it once again! The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is such an enthralling and beautiful novel. Let me say that I haven't devoured a book this quickly in a while.

I was interested in this book the moment I saw the cover and read the description. I was hooked right from the opening, and I just knew I was going to be in for a treat. Even though we don't know much about Mina and Joon in the beginning, the bits and pieces are enough to show that they care about each other, and I love a good sibling bond. The first meeting between the sea god and Mina was not what I expected, and I thought it was a really interesting plot development. I also loved the other characters, especially Shin. I really enjoyed the layers to his character and each time we got to know more about him. It was also interesting to read about all the other gods, what they represent, and their motives. I was also curious about Mask and Dai and how they were involved in everything, and finding out about their identities was a lovely reveal. I thought Mina was a wonderful main character as she has so much strength within her but also compassion that really shines through.

And of course I have to mention the romance. It was so cute, I was truly screaming, crying, kicking my feet at 3am. I love them so much. The plot twist at the end also surprised me. I think some people may have guessed it, but it got me. I was honestly so enraptured in the plot that I didn't see it coming, and I thought it was a wonderful twist. I only wish we got a little more of an epilogue just because I want to see more of the romance/cute moments between the two.

Overall, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea was a novel that I honestly could not put down. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially those who enjoy fantasy!

I found this to be beautifully written and loved the story. I'm unfamiliar with most Asian mythologies so I appreciated learning about Korean storytelling and stories. Mina was an inspiring heroine and I loved her relationships with her family and friends.

This was one of my most anticipated books, but sadly I just didn't like it. I spent most of the time confused. I felt like nothing was explained and once it was, it wasn't done in a cohesive way. This one just wasn't for me.

Absolutely loved this and I do not think I have ever read a book like this before! This book gave me a vibe like her previous book which is called XOXO where the character FL falls in love with a trainee and I loved both of her books. If you love retellings and especially Korean fairytale retelling, then please read this!
4 stars!!

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Positives: Short and sweet. A Story filled with lots of love and hope.

Negatives: Not much plot. For a story with a deadline, it lacks urgency.

3.5 stars

It’s a beautiful, heartwarming and insightful story. A fairytale of old.

I loved Mina’s character; her determination and steadfastness. Even though non of the reviles are surprising, it is still a blast to read. It’s so full of live and wonder and fairytale magic and wisdom.

I don’t even know how to put into words how beautiful this story was. From the exquisite writing to the well written characters to the engaging storyline, this book really had everything I wanted and needed.

Stopped at 14%. Feels very YA with a hero’s journey set up. Our average YA reader is likely to enjoy. The opening is interesting, and it’s likely three to four stars for the middle grade/YA age group if it continues as it has. Adults, not as much.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC.

I…LOVED this book.

Over the summer I read XOXO, which was such a fun and swoony story. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea keeps some of the elements that made XOXO an addicting read (new places/experiences, family, ~romance~) but brings a different side of Axie’s writing to the forefront. It’s one of those stories that captivate you, pulling you into a new world. I wanted to both read Girl in one day and take the time to soak in every little detail.

Girl is told from the perspective of Mina, the younger sister of the infamous Shim Cheong’s lover. I loved how Axie reinterpreted the core of the original Korean folktale by expanding the perspective of the story (aka adding Mina) but also clearly asked questions, digging deeper into the characters and their hearts. Plus, Axie wove her story with such elegance and lyricism that it was hard not to want to stay by the characters’ sides.

Retellings always appear with simple curiosities like “what if” and “why”: Why is Shim Cheong almost a myth before she is even gone? Why do Mina’s people believe that *girls* must be sacrificed to appease the Sea God and his anger? Why can’t Mina—and the others in the story—be in charge of their fate, their destiny? Why do others have a say in how they live their lives, both on earth and after death?

Mina is a protagonist that everyone needs. She’s a character is never shies away from expressing her fear, but she also understands that she’s worthy, that she’s loved, and that she’s in control of her fate, whether others try to push her into a predetermined path or not.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a beautifully told retelling of a Korean fairy tale. In this version, Mina, a young woman who is not especially beautiful or talented, makes a split-second decision to sacrifice herself to the Sea God, an angry spirit taking out his vengeance on her people. When she takes the place of another, she falls into the sea and then into the spirit realm where she is not quite sure what to expect. She learns that the Sea God is not ignoring her people or is angry at them, he is cursed to sleep. In his place, Lord Shim is managing his affairs and Mina's fate is tied directly to Lord Shim's. Mina has one month to awaken the Sea God and to recover her own lost soul before she must stay in the spirit world forever.

There was so much to love about this book. The writing was so beautiful, and I loved the characters and the worldbuilding. I wish I could explore this gorgeous and fantastical place. I can definitely understand the comparison to Spirited Away, but it's not quite the same. It stands up beautifully on its own outside of a comparison to anything else. I know several teens who will love this book and I'm so excited to recommend it to them.
Recommended for middle school and up.

This book was possibly the most anticipated read of 2022 for me! I loved the story and how it came together. :While I know Spirited Away is not Korean, I saw a lot of similarities with Girl and Spirited. It was beyond magical and I'm so glad it came through and I didn't let myself hype myself up to much for it!

Axie Oh is definitely a must read author and I will preorder all of her books!