The Girl Who Fell Beneath the SeaReview posted August 30, 2022
Dreamscape Media, 2022. 8 hours, 50 minutes.
Review written July 30, 2022, from a library eaudiobook
Starred Review
2022 Sonderbooks Stand-out:
#7 Teen Fantasy Fiction
This book is magical! Here's how it begins:
The myths of my people say only a true bride of the Sea God can bring an end to his insatiable wrath. When the otherworldly storms rise from the East Sea, lightning breaking the sky and waters ripping up the shore, a bride is chosen and given to the Sea God.
Or sacrificed, depending on the measure of your faith.
This year, when the most beautiful girl in the village is being offered, Mina sees her brother Joon, who loves the girl, get on the boat with her. Mina follows him to save him from the sea god's wrath -- and then offers herself instead of the intended bride. She will tell the Sea God what she thinks of him for abandoning his people to the awful storms for a hundred years.
But when she gets to the Sea God's city beneath the sea, nothing is as she expected. The Sea God looks like a boy -- and he is asleep. There is a red string of fate between them. But when another young man cuts the red string of fate, he captures Mina's soul in the form of a bird, so her first task is to get her soul back.
But that's only the beginning. As Mina finds out what's going on under the sea she learns that some of the other gods are trying to take advantage of the Sea God's slumber. So they don't want her to succeed. Others are loyal, but they don't know how to help her. And she meets many spirits who have found their way out of the river of souls and help her in her tasks.
And yes, Mina finds love. But how will that interact with destiny? And can she trust herself to choose her own destiny?
A truly beautiful story with many elements of Korean mythology that will enchant you as you listen.