Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Chlorine by Jade Song

54 reviews

_sappho_wannabe's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.75

This book was so intense and horrifying in the perfect way. If you liked Our Wives Under the Sea you would like this.
Would be 5 stars if I could see myself rereading but I don’t.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Body shaming, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Blood

Moderate: Violence, Gore, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, and Sexual harassment

adhesivedolphin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

5.0

Holy. Shit. I was recommended this book and it's one of the most intense things I've ever read. I wanted to share it with some friends, but this is one of those books that is tailor-made for a specific kind of person. I was lucky enough to be one of those people. I feel like some of the themes of Sorrowland are also at play here. I felt so strongly for Ren and Cathy through the story. This is one of those stories that's hard to talk about without spoiling it. So if you're into sapphic, body and psychological horror and feminist themes, read this!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gore, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Body horror, and Bullying

Moderate: Sexual violence, Body shaming, and Sexual assault

teresaelj's review against another edition

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Body horror

Moderate: Misogyny, Gore, Mental illness, Addiction, Cultural appropriation, and Panic attacks/disorders

foresturken's review

dark emotional sad 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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Physical abuse, Body horror, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, and Self harm

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.0

the narrative wasn't cohesive, the writing wasn't my favorite, and the dialogue felt unnatural. i think i wanted more of a revenge story but we didn't really get that.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Pedophilia, Gore, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Medical content, Sexual content, Abandonment, Classism, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Toxic relationship, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Confinement, Pregnancy, and Abortion

aliclare's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? It's complicated

5.0

Magical realism

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Gore, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

sofipitch's review

dark medium-paced

4.75

To call this Kafkaesque would be redundant, it's a cunning reflection on the desire for perfection and the expectations put on young athletes. I know someone whose ankles are permanently damaged from the practice she was made to do for swim team, which made this feel not even far from reality. My only complaint is this could have been shorter, it often meandered too long, while at times tried to be sharp and biting. It would have been better if it had been sharp throughout.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, and Gore

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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Self harm, Gore, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Blood, Drug use, Body horror, and Emotional abuse

amalas_bookstop'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! 

---

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

pixie_d's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore