Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Chlorine by Jade Song

19 reviews

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

sophfeld's review

dark emotional funny reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Body horror, and Dysphoria

tacochelle's review

dark emotional funny fast-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? Yes

4.0

I love me some weird girl coming of age stories. Taking a story about finding your identity and making it so physical and visceral. Ren is an interesting narrator, I feel for her journey, especially how her discovering her true self runs parallel to a queer awakening of sorts. Her voice is also very decidedly that of a teenager. She's dramatic in her declarations, in a way that reminds me of friends I had in high school. I've seen some criticism of it in other reviews, but it feels believable to me. But I also  was in the sort of friend group where one could claim to be half-vampire, go on about what everyone gets wrong about her kind, and no one would bat an eye. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Blood, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

narzibenoucdel's review

dark reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Addiction, Body shaming, Medical trauma, Blood, Body horror, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Self harm, and Sexual assault

slaywithsteph's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Competitive school swimmer + queerness + mermaid pyschosis = Chlorine.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Bullying, Medical trauma, Body horror, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Body shaming, and Child death

bookscatteandme's review

dark tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Dysphoria

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

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

kspotts2010's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Blood, Rape, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, Bullying, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship

r_o_s_e's review

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Self harm, Eating disorder, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Racism, Medical content, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault

annuich's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Body horror, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Body shaming, and Toxic relationship