Monthly Archives: February 2022

[Blog Tour] 5 Asian Fantasy Book Recommendations for Fans of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

Listicle,

Hello and welcome to part 2 of my blog tour stop for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. You can find the full details about the book in part 1. Here I’m presenting some book recommendations based on The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea. Some are older than others but they’re all Asian fantasy stories. If you’ve been following me/my blog since 2016 you might have seen me talk about one or more of these before. The book publishing world moves so quickly that backlist titles get neglected and forgotten pretty easily when they’re not part of an ongoing series, so I decided I’d give these a spotlight again.

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

This book was basically the first high fantasy YA by an Asian author published by one of the Big 5. Set in a Chinese-inspired fantasy world, it follows the story of Ai Ling, a young woman who sets off on a journey in order to find her missing father. Her journey takes her far beyond the world she knows to the realms of the gods themselves.

Prophecy by Ellen Oh

The first in a Korean inspired sword and sorcery fantasy trilogy, Prophecy features a kickass heroine on her quest to save her kingdom from foreign invaders and step into her destiny as the Dragon Warrior.

The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury

The Forbidden Wish is an ode love both platonic and romantic, told from the point of view of a female jinni who is woken from her lamp by a charming thief centuries after watching her closest friend’s kingdom fall. It’s a fresh twist on the story of Aladdin by an author of Syrian descent that remains one of my favorite YA fantasy romances to this day.

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Like The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, The Star-Touched Queen, which draws on Hindu lore, features a young woman named Maya who becomes the bride of a god as the result of a cursed horoscope. She struggles to forge her own destiny while navigating the realm of Death and the shadows of her past life. The whole series set in this universe is a gorgeously written feast for the imagination, and I recommend reading the companion, A Crown of Wishes, and the novellas collected in Star-Touched Stories.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

While Julie Kagawa is best known for her Iron Fey books, Shadow of the Fox is a must-read in its own right. Japanese folklore serves as the inspiration for this trilogy, which follows a humble kitsune (fox spirit) as she takes on the heavy burden of protecting a piece of the scroll of the Kami Dragon, whose power to grant any single wish every millennium would be devastating in the hands of the wrong sort—and there are many who covet it and will do anything to get their hands on it.

[Blog Tour] Review for The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

Review, ,

I’m about 1/3 of the way through the spring semester and am mentally hanging by a thread to the point that I mixed up the date for this blog tour post, but! I got a nice reprieve from school while reading The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, which was one of my most anticipated reads of early 2022 since I’m a long-time Axie Oh fan and also the cover for this book (by artist Kuri Huang) is gorgeous! Thank you to Colored Pages for hosting this tour. You can find the schedule with all the other tour stops on the tour launch page.

Book Information

Title: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea
Author: Axie Oh 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022 
Genres: Young Adult, fantasy

Synopsis

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…

Review

Not to be punny, but The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is such an immersive read. Nearly all of the story takes place in the undersea kingdom of the Sea God, which is populated by spirits and immortals of all kinds. Although it feels like a cliche to say so, I got Spirited Away vibes from the story, but not just because it’s Asian. The alienation and wonder of being in a completely different world with its own rules, the race against time to save what one holds most dear, the ever present beauty and danger of the spirit world, and the deceptive appearances of many of the characters—all of these elements lent the story the same enchanting qualities as Spirited Away.

Our protagonist, Mina, is nothing special on the surface, not the most beautiful or talented girl in her village, not even the original bride chosen to be sacrificed to the Sea God.  Yet her love, for her family, for her people, and for the gods themselves makes her shine as the protagonist and spurs her to acts of bravery. Her physical strength may be unremarkable, but her mental fortitude is admirable. She finds strength from the bonds she forges with others and holds them close to her heart.

The supporting cast of characters includes a wide array of beings, from friendly spirits in the form of children to spiteful gods with their own whims and agendas, as well as several of the other girls who were previously sacrificed to the Sea God. Although this story is a standalone, I found myself wishing I could return to the world of the Sea God to hang out with the many friends and allies Mina makes along the way.

At its core, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is a story exploring the meaning of fate and the power of love to overcome all. Even as she is pressed on all sides by forces that try to bend her to their will, Mina persists in following her heart and holding on to hope. Her story is a guiding light in the storm and a perfect read for times of trouble. Overall, this book is a lovely start to Axie Oh’s venture into the fantasy genre and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

Don’t forget to check out my book recommendations for the blog tour in my next post!

About the Author

Axie Oh is a first-generation Korean American, born in New York City 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 in Writing for Young People from Lesley University. Her passions include K-pop, anime, stationery supplies, and milk tea, and she currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her dog, Toro (named after Totoro). She is the author of multiple books for teens, including The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea.

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