The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea (Axie Oh)

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
Axie Oh
Feiwel and Friends
Fiction, YA Fantasy
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: For one hundred years, since the emperor fell to invaders, Mina's homeland has been plagued by deadly seasonal storms. It is said that the Sea God is angry, and that only a bride can appease him... but every year, despite the annual sacrifice of a young woman to the waves, the storms return, worse than ever, even as squabbling men grasp for power and things grow more desperate.
This year's sacrifice is supposed to be Shim Cheong, the loveliest girl in Mina's village... and the girl who stole her brother Joong's heart. The lovesick young man follows her on the boat - and Mina follows him. Thus it was that when the god's dragon rises to claim the sacrificial bride, it is Mina, not Cheong, who plunges into the depths.
She finds herself in a fantastic city under the waves, where fish and whales swim through the sky and spirits mingle with gods and ghosts. She also finds everything she thought she knew about the story of the Sea God and the sacrifices turned on its head. The god himself is barely more than a boy, caught in an enchanted slumber, while around him powerful houses scheme and plot - some to protect him, some to depose him. Mortal brides don't fare well in this dangerous place, as Mina learns all too soon. Caught up in politics and magics beyond her understanding, Mina clings to the only things that remain to her: the love of her family, the determination to save her people, and the stories spun by her grandmother.

REVIEW: As one might guess, this story is rooted in Asian folk tales and legends, with myriad gods and watchful ancestral spirits and mythical beasts that may be helpful or dangerous (or both). Being something of a fairy tale, one can mostly guess the broad strokes of how the story unfolds, but the characters are nevertheless engaging and Mina makes for a decently strong heroine, one who will not let herself be a simple pawn of fate or victim but who determines to forge her own destiny despite the incredible odds against her. It moves fairly well, never dragging, as Mina faces victories and defeats and frustrations. A few "twists" were fairly obvious from the outset, and at a couple points the characters need to be pushed or led to conclusions they should've come to on their own, but overall I enjoyed it for what it was.

You Might Also Enjoy:
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (Grace Lin) - My Review
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Nghi Vo) - My Review
Dragon Keeper (Carole Wilkinson) - My Review