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archaicrobin's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Body horror
embargo's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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:lettuce_reads's review
- 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
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Eating disorder, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Racism and Homophobia
There's a content warning in the author's note.henrygravesprince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Self harm, Medical trauma, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Eating disorder, Racism, Gore, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, and Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny, Body shaming, Medical content, Xenophobia, and Ableism
frogggirl2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
From a storytelling perspective, the friend/girlfriend's letters detracted from the depth of the story and its momentum.
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Drug use, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Rape, and Sexism
hanz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Misogyny, Homophobia, and Racism
sapsquatch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault and Misogyny
charlie_woodchipper's review against another edition
- 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
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!
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Self harm, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Racism, Misogyny, Eating disorder, and Medical trauma
Minor: Animal death
eleniphant's review
- 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.
Graphic: Body horror and Sexual assault
Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, and Homophobia
ouijabroad's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
I read this in about a day because I couldn’t put it down! The writing is beautiful and as a child who never wanted to leave the water and longed to be a mermaid so badly I connected with Ren on some level (not to the extreme she went to of course). I remember hopping around with my legs crisscrossed at the ankles in my elemntary school classroom and being enamored with the mermaids in the cartoon of Peter Pan.
The telling of a coming of age tale that didn’t fall into tropes and cis-heteronormativity was refreshing.
My only real “complaint”, and I’m using that term loosely because as I said I loved this, I don’t know if I would call this book a horror book; there’s really only one visceral scene and the rest, while unsettling (or maybe not depending on if you believe Ren’s ideas about herself) is mostly a coming of age story mixed with a fairy tale…then again, growing up a girl is pretty horrible. The descriptions of how Jim is with the young girls made me seethe and cringe as someone who has experienced this kind of behavior by many men I’ve come into contact with at a young age. It seems universal. I did find a lot of truth in Song’s writing even if Ren and I experienced very different childhoods.
Normally ambiguous endings annoy me but I was satisfied with this one. Then I keep thinking is it ambiguous though?! I think it’s up to the reader and some context clues to decide that.
Again I really loved this even though it strayed pretty far out of my chosen horror genre. Looking forward to reading more of Jade Song’s work in the future!
Graphic: Body shaming, Gore, Blood, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Self harm
Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, and Rape