Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

Chlorine by Jade Song

26 reviews

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

clovetra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

fuck. that was beautiful. this is easily *the best* book i’ve ever read. not just of 2024, but i think in my life. i actually kind of want to cry now that ive finished it. i also want to cry because of how beautiful it was. i want to cry because i relate to and understand ren so well. i want to cry because jade song’s writing style is orgasmic. i want to cry because this book had all my favourite features - body horror, sapphic romance, perfectionist main character who strives to be the best, mature themes, mixing reality with fantasy and science fiction. this book was pure bliss, and i don’t think i possess the capacity to explain the perfection of this story.

even though this book came out only in 2023, i await patiently yet enthusiastically for jade song’s next book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Self harm

Moderate: Sexual content, Racism, Sexual assault, and Physical abuse

Minor: Pedophilia

maecaitlin's review against another edition

dark 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

3.25

A stunning ballad to perfectionism. Song’s debut novel is beyond impressive. The character of Ren Yu is fascinating as Song does an excellent job of exploring the deep ocean of girlhood. The mermaid identity is a rejection of the weighty expectations placed on Ren - getting into an Ivy League college, maintaining her virginity, pushing down her queerness.  Song is empathetic towards these struggles, and it shrines through the book.

As a psychological horror, the setting of a small suburban town creeps in throughout. Ren’s transformation is deeply disturbing. I have certainly never thought about mermaids as a horror device before this. Song is extremely original and I look forward to whatever she writes next.

The only area of development I would like to see is more introspection. Song does a solid job in describing the mixed emotions of experiencing an assault, yet this nuance is not consistent throughout her prose. Many of the male characters are one-note and fall flat as antagonists. Ren and Cathy’s relationship is inconsistent in a way that could be purposeful. However, this inconsistency makes the ending lose weight as a sense of mutual desire and connection is never felt between the two.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Self harm, Sexual assault, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: Medical trauma and Medical content

Minor: Pedophilia

rhiannonmohar's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Self harm, Blood, and Body horror

Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Body shaming, and Bullying

ktwoolen's review against another edition

dark funny sad tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Pedophilia

srosa037's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Body horror, Pedophilia, Medical content, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Blood, Body shaming, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

leanne_miron's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Toxic friendship, Blood, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Body horror, Medical content, Body shaming, and Adult/minor relationship

kaiyakaiyo's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This book was brutal, and a little more gritty than I usually like, but Ren’s brain was a fascinating, sometimes relatable place to be for almost 300 pages. 

at the beginning, I couldn’t tell if Ren had truly become a mermaid or if she was just leaning heavily into imaginative, metaphorical language (or was completely delusional), but Cathy’s letters made it clearer that she truly did transcend humanity. I liked that it felt a bit ambiguous, but did like the confirmation before things got too nebulous. 

I can’t put my finger on why this is a 4.5 instead of a 5, but it is. a good read, but not quite favorites shelf-worthy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Body horror, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Xenophobia

y0sh1's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

the perfect book for someone like me: who grew up reading books about mermaids and wanting to be one, and who turned into someone who reads books about complicated female main characters. so lovely. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

laurenhannah217's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault and Pedophilia