Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Chlorine by Jade Song

2 reviews

teresaelj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.25

This book is making me think. First of all- it’s an incredibly easy and fast read. Something about it hooks you in. There is a lot going on in the book that I think gets left out with Ren as the narrator ; you know Ren loves Cathy and her parents but you also know her mental illness tells her it is not mermaid like. She battles with horrific things that don’t often get explored when a teenaged female narrator is telling a story; the pain of periods, doctors not believing you, men that are supposed to be trusted taking advantage of that, “boys being boys,” the struggles of being perfect in a world that wants women to be nothing more. It’s beautiful. You can take this literally or not. The book starts literal and then it becomes a fairy tale. A tale of either a girl transforming into a mermaid literally or a girl shedding her trauma or a girl leaving choosing death over the trauma of the world. It’s a fairy tale ending leaving a lot to think about. The letters from Cathy definitely want to lead you into a different director but even then, it makes you wonder what has happened to Cathy since the water? It is a body horror, fairy tale, horror novel. Brilliant, disturbing, and thought provoking. 
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tdied95's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.25

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