Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Chlorine by Jade Song

18 reviews

tifftastic87's review against another edition

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

3.5

Ren is obsessed with two things in life, mermaids and swimming. When a head injury takes her out of the sport and then a disqualification takes away a team victory, Ren starts feeling the pressure to be perfect. To swim like a mermaid, and she plans a final act to reveal at regionals.

I liked this more in concept than in execution. There were a lot of really tense moments that kept me reading, but the pacing was incredibly slow and that made it difficult for me to finish. I like a slow paced dreamy literary horror, but there was something about this one that didn't quite work for me. I wanted a little more out of it. I did really appreciate the conversation the book was having about the pressure on teenage girls, the expectations on those who are not wealthy and how being a first generation child of immigrants can really mess with that. Ren felt incredibly isolated constantly, and that put her in a lot of really awful situations, I felt for her in those moments. I am still unsure about the ending, but I did like some aspects of it. I think the somewhat metaphorical examination of mental health was done really well, but also here I wanted a little more. I think the ending is where it kind of lost a bit of the punch it was going for. 

Spoiler for the ending:

The fact that Cathy helped Ren essentially commit suicide because she felt guilty for not helping her when she was sexually assaulted was a really odd choice. Using that I don't like how the letters from Cathy took up so much space when it was just Cathy continuing to center herself in Ren's story again. I get what it was going for, with the lack of centering Ren in those letters, but I wish something more had been done with it. It was more again of Cathy centering herself in the ending, by being able to spend that time with Ren when she was emotionally vulnerable rather than actually being helpful to her.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Self harm, Racism, Blood, Eating disorder, Body horror, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Addiction, and Abandonment

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.

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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

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! 

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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

lexiesophocli's review

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.5

felt a lot like ‘our wives under the sea’ in that the mystical element was very confusing, despite the rest of the story being an interesting read. I was waiting for a deeper dive (pardon the pun) into the characters and their motivations but it never came - all in all, this book felt a bit shallow (wow two for two on the wordplay) and lazy for what could’ve been an incredible read! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Medical content, Body horror, Blood, Self harm, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Pregnancy, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Addiction, Drug use, Abortion, and Car accident

jaimeelou's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Self harm

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Medical content, and Sexual assault

danimacuk's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pregnancy, Racism, Bullying, Confinement, and Drug use

lordslag's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Truly an insane (good) debut Super Awesome and Wonderful and I can’t wait to re-read and cry some more. The writing style was so engaging for me so Trust!!!! I will be picking up everything else this author releases, so happy I finally read this and if you are thinking about it Please please read!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Self harm, Body horror, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Car accident, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, and Bullying

seawarrior's review against another edition

5.0

Chlorine is a brutal, brilliant coming-of-age tale of a young woman determined to carve herself the destiny she aches for. Ren Yu tells her narrative with a distanced, combative air. She is uninterested in the reader's sympathy or judgement, her story belongs solely to her, and she knows it. I was quickly drawn to Ren's defiant and tenacious nature. She refuses to be anyone other than herself, even when deemed disturbed and mutilated by those she once trusted. Song perfectly captures the weight of pain in adolescence and the impossible, frenzied want to transcend human perils and emerge triumphant. This is a grisly, unparalleled gem of a story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Drug use

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

bluedilly's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Gore

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Addiction, Fatphobia, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Pregnancy, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Cannibalism, Death, Pedophilia, and Panic attacks/disorders