Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing for an advanced copy of this to review! I saw somewhere that this had some Spirited Away vibes, and I definitely agree with that assessment. The world building and the mythology in this book are really well done. Oh brings you into this magical sea world, and continuously raises the stakes.

Not only is the world building well done in this book, but the characters are as well. Not only is Mina a strong, well developed character, but so are the friends and creatures she meets in the Spirit World. You can feel her determination on the page, and the supporting characters just help to make it a well rounded story.

While the world building and the characters were great, the main romance at the core of the book left a little to be desired. I think maybe it just needed to be a little more fleshed out than it was, and that would have made it more believable.

All in all, if you’re looking for something with anime vibes inspired by Korean mythology, this is definitely your book! 

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I saw something somewhere that said that this had <i>Spirited Away</i> vibes, and I definitely get that. This was great from start to finish! Full review to come next week.