Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Chlorine by Jade Song

48 reviews

sofipitch's review

dark medium-paced

4.75

To call this Kafkaesque would be redundant, it's a cunning reflection on the desire for perfection and the expectations put on young athletes. I know someone whose ankles are permanently damaged from the practice she was made to do for swim team, which made this feel not even far from reality. My only complaint is this could have been shorter, it often meandered too long, while at times tried to be sharp and biting. It would have been better if it had been sharp throughout.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Gore

faeriefangss's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Self harm, Gore, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Blood, Drug use, Body horror, and Emotional abuse

letterpress's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I think I am still trying to get my mind around what I just read. So I am giving it 4 stars, I think? 

At the start of this book you meet Ren Yu, a girl that born for the water. It starts with a love for mermaids and joining the swim team, it then slowly evolves into something else. This is a coming of age story that deals with tons of problems and pressures of being a teenage girl, both physically and mentally. 

This book doesn’t have tons of dialogue but that could be by design Ren is so obsessed and driven she doesn’t really need anyone else. Even though she does have a best friend in Cathy who she tolerates best among everyone. As you read it is very easy to get deeper up into her all in mentality and slow entry into reality of becoming a mermaid. 

Another really good novel by a debut author! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Body horror, Dysphoria, Bullying, Mental illness, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gore, Body shaming, Drug use, Cursing, Self harm, and Sexual content

pixie_d's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

sidekicksam's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Ren Yu is coming of age against the sharp chemicals of chlorine in the pool water. A tale of obsession, competitive sport, adolescence, racism, misogyny and friendship/love, this was a wild ride of an audiobook to listen to. Gory and a bit grotesque, I felt the book explored the harrowing conditions of the human experience and the need to escape it beautifully. Not necessarily horrific but more harrowing, this was exactly the kind of weird story I was hoping it would be! 

Lovers of books like The Pisces, Bunny and The Vegetarian will definitely love this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

literarianrose's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

I'm not really a horror girlie, and I'm DEFINITELY not a gore girlie... That said, I will read everything Jade Song writes. Her prose is immaculate. While the FMC is obviously unwell, I can believe an American teenager going to such extremes. The most unbelievable thing was

that the ER didn't immediately unstich Ren's legs

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gore, and Self harm

oywiththepoodles's review against another edition

dark 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Body horror, Medical content, Self harm, and Gore

jcnfia's review

dark 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

4.5

OH MY GOD. Thank you for your time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Blood, and Body horror

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, Homophobia, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Mental illness

Minor: Bullying and Classism

jennifercheck's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Mental illness, Body horror, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

embargo's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense slow-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

4.0

It can be hard to strike a balance when dealing with body-horror to keep the story grounded. I think Song does a pretty phenomenal job of balancing reality and the fantastic here. There's some real "horror-of-the-mundane" in the early parts of the book with her descriptions of injuries and periods and the like, which keeps the eventual ending from feeling too out of left field. 

This is definitely a horror novel that relies on the tension of the inevitable. It's pretty obvious where everything is heading, but the buildup is done methodically. The pay off feels natural in a way I wouldn't have thought would be possible if just describing the premise of the book. It feels less like a "how could they?", where the horror is directed at the MC and more of a "well of course", where the horror is directed at the culture that has led her to this moment. It's upsetting, but it doesn't feel like a sideshow, which is often my issue with body horror.

If you're the type of horror reader who likes to dissect the themes and symbolism more than you like the scares, this might be one to check out. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Rape, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Bullying, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Okay, a lot of CWs on this one. In order to give info without spoiling too broadly, I'll split the spoilers into a few groups: Violence and Gore, Mental Health, and Sex Violence and Gore, major spoiler for end of the book:

The ultimate horror of the book is the MC, who longs to be a mermaid, eventually self mutilates by cutting off bits of her legs and sewing them together. This is described fairly in depth. There are also other scenes where things are very graphically described in a way that conflates them with violence, even if they aren't typically seen as "violent", such as the MCs first period being described in a graphic manner. There are some sports or accident related injuries also described quite graphically.

Mental Health:

The over all plot of the book is about a young woman's coming of age in a way that shows that even things that may be deemed typical/normal are, (for the MC as well as many irl women) intensely traumatic. She is neglected by her parents. She and other teens are emotionally and physically abused by her coach. She is at times bullied by others. She has one close friend, and their relationship is unhealthy in about 2 dozen ways. There's a heaping helping of gaslighting from pretty much everyone. There is a lot of medical trauma, as well as drug abuse (primarily of ottc pain killers) and disordered eating (primarily restriction). The ending of the book could very easily be read as a metaphor for suicide. It is not explicitly stated as such, but (and here's the big spoiler, so last chance to dip if you care about that) she ends up sewing her legs into a tail. She is hospitalized, with those around her unable to understand her motivations or desire to "keep her tail". She eventually convinces her friend/love interest to help her break out of the hospital and "release her" into the river. You can read this as a fantastical story, but at the same time, it is very easy to read "becoming a mermaid" as a stand in for committing, especially within the cultural contexts provided by the mermaid myths listed throughout the book. The book is deeply sympathetic towards the MCs desire to become a mermaid. To me, it read very much as still a horror, and another way that the MC was let down by literally everyone around her until she had no options that were acceptable left to her. But ymmv, and it is emotionally intense, so if that's not something you're in the right headspace for, be aware.

Sex:

The MC's coach is pretty explicitly grooming her. It is unclear how far he is/was planning on going with it, but it's pretty textbook grooming. She is raped by a team mate at a party. The MC prevaricates on if it actually "counts" as rape, but in my opinion, it is done in such a way to make it clear to the reader that yes, it is rape, and the fact that she herself doubts her own assault is playing into the themes of societal breakdown/failure when dealing with young girls. The MC is sapphic. As a bisexual woman, I would say that she is a lesbian experiencing comphet, but at the very least she experiences attraction primarily towards women but does not feel she can act on it. There are some moments of dubious consent between the MC and her best friend- generally comes across as two repressed girls trying to take whatever they can get out of homosocial interactions, but some moments could be seen as sexually exploitative.