Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Chlorine

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Chlorine by Jade Song

10 reviews

jcnfia's review

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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.

Content Warnings

embargo's review against another edition

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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.

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.

lettuce_reads's review

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challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

5.0

Picked it up not knowing what to expect, and finished it the same night because I couldn't put it down. A slow burn that's not slow-paced. The build up to the scene had me in knots, I don't know how else to describe it. The whole experience has left me in some kind of mildly disturbed, ecstatic awe. I'm going to have book-hangover for at least a week.

Content Warnings

hanz's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated

3.0

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lordslag's review

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Truly an insane (good) debut Super Awesome and Wonderful and I can’t wait to re-read and cry some more. The writing style was so engaging for me so Trust!!!! I will be picking up everything else this author releases, so happy I finally read this and if you are thinking about it Please please read!!

Content Warnings

eleniphant's review

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challenging dark emotional medium-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? Yes

4.0

Ok so I have a soft spot for “what the fuck” literary fiction. Deranged coming of age for girls fiction is near and dear to me.
I felt this book, viscerally, and sometimes more than I would want. There was relatability to the pain of girlhood, and the very heavy topics were handled interestingly and well.
Gorgeous prose though sometimes a bit try-hard. I’ll be curious to see more by this author. The whole book left me pensive.

Content Warnings

kepler's review against another edition

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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

2.0

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bitchigo's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

jayisreading's review

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dark tense medium-paced

3.0

I’m on the fence with this one. I thought the themes were incredibly strong. Song presented a wonderfully complex protagonist, Ren Yu, dealing with the tribulations of competitive high school swimming. The complexity of her character really came together due to Song’s thorough exploration of Ren’s multifaceted identity: feeling the pressure to succeed as the daughter of Chinese immigrants (and dealing with microaggressions on top of that), discovering queer intimacies in (and out of) the pool, as well as dealing with the discomforts of being a teenage girl whose body is heavily scrutinized and how it’s (mis)treated. You don’t have to like Ren—I admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of her—but you can’t deny that she’s a well-developed character.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t as taken to the plot and execution. I wasn’t quite certain what Song wanted the reader to get from this book. At its core, the book focuses on Ren’s desire to get out of her human body in order to become a mermaid. There isn’t much reflection on this, though, especially the why any of it mattered. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the use of fantastical elements to craft this longing because I didn’t understand the motivation. Ultimately, I think what I’m trying to say is that I wish this part of the book was developed more and that there was more backstory.

This was an interesting book. It didn’t entirely work for me, but I didn’t think it was mediocre or anything. One thing I will say is to pay particular attention to the content warnings. Song doesn’t embellish in their writing.

Note: I received an ARC from a giveaway.

Content Warnings

gcjay1994's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.0

Still really processing what I read, but it was impactful. On the one hand, I am kinda grossed out by what I listened to, but on the other hand, isn't that kind of the point? Ren goes through some pretty dark moments as she tries to learn who she wants to become.

As someone who is typically pretty good with most content, I was pretty triggered by a lot of things in this book. Please be wary before picking this up.

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