Reviews

Chlorine by Jade Song

kajpm's review against another edition

4.75

Damn. Wow. That body horror made me puke at work but other than that it was a phenomenal and haunting book. (Not mad about the puking, that’s on me for having a weak stomach)

krrksch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

zoeymcbain's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

kamcburns's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

cryptidstar's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was so goood!  as a queer ex swimmer also obsessed with mermaids (to a less intense degree) I was super excited to read this book and it didn’t disappoint. I feel like even though

sewing your legs together and ultimately escaping into the water to be a real life mermaid

is most definitely unhinged, it’s also the kind of unhinged that I think really represents the feeling of being a high achieving, mentally ill, queer high schooler. My least favorite part of the book was Ren and Cathy’s relationship simply because Ren clearly didn’t actually care for Cathy. I wish Ess was in the story for longer, but then again I also think smoking more weed might have made changed Ren’s trajectory a little too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Self harm

Moderate: Bullying, Racism, and Sexual harassment

gregoryreadscomics's review

3.0

I found this book to be more of a think book and less of a feel book. This book is Black Swan but with swimming instead of ballet. A harsh insight to the dangers of losing yourself into a competitive sport or really any all encompassing activity or hobby. Personally, I found the book to be just okay. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t good. It just was. All in all, I don’t think this book was meant for me.

jaimygdala's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mkell13's review against another edition

dark tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

thepetitepunk's review

5.0

Thank you Libro.fm for the ALC!

I've been struggling to find favorite books for 2023 but here we go. I finally found one.

Chlorine is an impressive coming-of-age debut about girlhood, puberty, bodies, trauma, sexuality, and obsession. With its biting prose and vivid imagery, I was engaged throughout the whole novel (especially with the fantastic audiobook narrator!) It's a fresh twist on the horror genre, where the horror elements really don't pop out until the end. Our narrator is obsessive and unkind, yet there's a profound calling for empathy throughout. I also appreciated how unapologetically queer and Asian this was.

The best kind of horror is the one where the monsters are reflected in ourselves.

sonoran_innkeeper's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0