A review by bobinsbooknook
Chlorine by Jade Song

dark 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

4.5

Dark, Sapphic and outright graphic! - Be sure to check content warnings before reading!!!

This coming of age story gave me genuine visceral reactions that saying I enjoyed reading the book isn't quite accurate ... a more accurate depiction of my experience reading would be heavy and intense.

The graphic body horror in this book is not to be taken lightly and and certainly isn't for everyone. For me though, I found Jade Songs writing so captivating that I was practically reading the horror between my finger tips!

The whole premise of this story is unlike anything I have read before and had me hooked from the outset. The development of Ren and the shift in her warping mindset was incredibly captivating and felt very well written.
 
I also found the writing to be very clever in the way it allowed certain darker themes to sit just beneath the surface to create this constant sense of unease throughout the book - particularly with the coach.

In terms of LGBTQIA+ representation, beyond the characters, I felt that viewed through a different lens - this story could be used as a very indirect yet powerful metaphor for members of the trans community struggling with their identity.

This doesn't quite hit the 5 star mark for me due to the some stagnation towards the middle in terms of Ren's transformation journey from Human to mermaid and conversely the change in dynamic between Ren and Cathy in the end felt almost slightly rushed.

Overall this book was so twisted, extreme and bizarre and made for a contemporary-horror read that I doubt I'll be forgetting anytime soon.
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