Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Chlorine

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Chlorine by Jade Song

13 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.

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archaicrobin's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0

Chlorine is a hauntingly twisted coming of age tale about a girl obsessed with mermaids and professional swimming. Ren is such a compelling character and the sapphic romance is bittersweet and enthralling. I honestly could not put this book down even during some of the most gruesome scenes in the story. I loved the sports centric plot and loved reading about a strong, athletic, female character slowly losing her touch with reality. The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is because the ending fell flat for me, I can see why it ends the way it does and it fits the story but personally it was not to my liking. If you’re looking for a weird, slow burn horror with a strong female lead I highly recommend Chlorine. This book was so disturbing to me, I’ll be haunted by for it months…

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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.

frogggirl2's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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

4.5

I love the main character, the writing, the queer perspectives, and the examination of female friendship that goes beyond friendship. I'm always a fan of people who are fish, or think they are fish or merpeople who want to be human, or merpeople onland, or anything similar. What I had a little trouble with is the idea that she's a mentally ill girl, and she's going to have permanent disability. I don't think that's what I'm supposed to take away from this or that I'm even necessarily right about the conclusion of the book.

From a storytelling perspective, the friend/girlfriend's letters detracted from the depth of the story and its momentum.

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phdyke's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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ankita1996's review against another edition

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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

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kgoody's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

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

3.5

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woolfinbooks's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-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

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evanaviary's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-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

Chlorine is an astonishing debut: unsettling and immersive, wholly unpredictable and and a wild ride start to finish. The novel is an unfurling examination of power and obsession in competitive swimming, observing how strives for perfection consume and destroy us. While the book is billed as body horror, most of the story is a coming-of-age story that follows Ren Yu who needs to become a mermaid, whatever it takes. Her journey twists through the growing pains of high school with the rigid thirst of competitive swimming, all the while suggesting that something might be corroding Ren underneath the surface.

This book is basically a checklist of content warnings: racism, sexism, rape and sexual assault, medical violence, predatory behaviour, eating disorders, and self-harm including a graphic self-mutilation scene. There were points where my body was flinching, my hand over my mouth. This is NOT for everyone – but the writing is absolutely gorgeous. Lyrical and insightful, fully immersing you into the story.

There’s a point in the book—you’ll know when you’ve crossed it—where the story makes a flip from being a coming-of-age story with a little horror into full-out body horror. For me, the ending doesn’t stick the landing. There’s too much of a rush to the end; the stakes could’ve had more structure to them, or the horror elements introduced more incrementally. As it stands, the ending is like a drop into the deep end: a shock, but not rewarding.

Point still stands: this is a raucous debut. Truly one of the wildest things I’ve read lately. I’m always drawn to swimming stories, and Song’s firsthand experience with competitive swimming shines through. The language sticks to you, so meticulous and shimmering. A brazen achievement. If you have a stomach for bloody body horror, this might be for you. If sutures are a turn-off, I’d recommend passing on this one because the content warnings at the beginning of the book do NOT play around.

Content Warnings

savvylit's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Chlorine left me speechless. Even as I write this review, I am struggling to formulate coherent sentences to explain just how much this story affected me. Chlorine is a devastating and powerful glimpse of the myriad pressures that young women face just by existing. Then, add to that already immense pressure the specific difficulties of navigating a highly competitive sport while being a queer Asian American teenager who is also trying to maintain excellent grades. Protagonist Ren captured my heart - her intensity, perfectionism, and derealization were all highly relatable. And then her increasing mermaid obsession... it ultimately tore me apart. I've been gutted ever since I finished this novel.

Chlorine is not for the faint of heart! This is a horror novel that features some unforgettably gruesome imagery. Luckily for all of us, Jade Song includes a content warning at the very beginning to prepare her readers. However, I will say that I was still surprised by the extent of the detail in the horror scenes; but that's just me and my own comfort level with body horror.

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