Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - Chlorine

I’m kind of conflicted on what to make of this book. I think the author is very talented, but this book could have used stronger line editing; in particular, I noticed some ineffective repetition (for example, there’s a relatively short sentence at one point containing the phrase “next to me” twice) and moments where descriptions feel a bit overwritten. The raw, visceral quality of description in this book could be heightened and made more significant if they were trimmed up to be less dense and more specific. Stylistic consistency in the way translation is handled in-text would also be beneficial. A lot of the issues in the writing itself are common and somewhat forgivable in debuts, and the technical errors makes me think the author wasn’t given adequate resources for feedback and editing before publishing.

Giving us more of a basis to why

Cathy is so deeply in love with Ren

would make their relationship dynamic feel a lot more powerful:

we see that she’s in love with Ren, and we know why Ren keeps her around, but we aren’t really shown how Cathy gets to that point

. I can definitely relate to the candid portrayal of being a walking, talking cry for help and no one noticing, which is something I think is emphasized about

Ren in hindsight throughout Cathy’s letters

. I think it would have been more effective if there was more of a portrayal of escalation

for Ren leading up to the big “transformation”, more things showing her willingness to sacrifice her own well-being for success/freedom building up, getting more concerning, and going unnoticed over time

While this book didn’t totally hit for me, I’m interested in seeing what Jade Song writes next. A lot of the themes at play are things I’m interested in reading about, and the writing shows promise—I just was not the target audience for certain aspects of this book, particularly the coming of age/high school aspect. There were definitely elements in this book that did speak to my own teenage experience, I.E. distrust for doctors and the extremely painful periods, and while I was far from a high school athlete, I’ve seen the effects of the high-pressure environment meeting mental health struggles and physical overexertion in people I know who were. Ultimately, this was definitely the right choice of audiobook to listen to while I was left up all night having insomnia from contraction-level cramps.

Content Warnings

lexiesophocli's review

Go to review page

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.5

felt a lot like ‘our wives under the sea’ in that the mystical element was very confusing, despite the rest of the story being an interesting read. I was waiting for a deeper dive (pardon the pun) into the characters and their motivations but it never came - all in all, this book felt a bit shallow (wow two for two on the wordplay) and lazy for what could’ve been an incredible read!

Content Warnings

rhiannonmohar's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

_allyrose_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

a black-swanesque type of story of a young asian woman and her love (and obsession) of swimming and the lengths she would go to come out on top

Content Warnings

aubreystrawberry's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

this was a unique take on being a little too into sports (if that’s the interpretation you want, I have a few) that is a little too real. the delusion and cult-like community causing people to reach a breaking point…. yoinks

Content Warnings

pryingblackbird's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad 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

4.0

Content Warnings

charlie_woodchipper's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow, this will definitely become a comfort read (Or rather listen, on audible, which was incredibly well done. Especially when Ren screamed near the ending)

Having done 1 year of competitive swimming in high school, and quitting because it was hella toxic, I 100% relate and 100% remember being horrified by the girls whose swimming was there whole life. It was uncanny and unsettling, just like in this book. Boys and men were also forbidden in my school from participating or being coach, because there had been too much sexual violence in the past. Men and boys are really all the same

I related with Ren and Jim ""relationship"", knowing what it's like to fall prey to predatory adult men, feeling valued and special by them

I related to how traumatic putting a tampon on is for the first time. My mother's impatience. How I HAD to do it, because I had swimming practice. How she made me put lub on for it to finally work. I went through the same thing

I related with Cathy's codependency. I had a Ren of my own during childhood all the way to highschool

Being born with OCD from family genes, I related to Ren obsessive and compulsive behaviours

I can't wait to read more from Jade!

Only two things that made no sense to me ; How the team still had a party after Ren made her tail (I'm convinced they would have been WAY too disturbed for that. Secondly, although it was very satisfying, how Luke believed Ren mermaid haunted him. Like Virginie Despentes in King Kong Theory said, very few rapists actually believe that they are rapists. I think Luke, if he were a real boy, would most definitely not picture himself as a rapist for what he did in the shed. Most likely would have convinced himself it was consensual

Content Warnings

ankita1996's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

More...