Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Chlorine by Jade Song

111 reviews

frankiloves's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

there are no words for my feelings rn. It was like reading something in my head. 
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raynearchv's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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virgoreadss's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

wow. i did not expect that. i went into this not knowing much and i think that is the best way to go into it but definitely check the trigger warnings. chlorine is a dark coming of age novel about the horrors of girlhood, being a competitive swimmer with the pressures of being an athlete and the desire to become who you are truly are. it was hard to read at times but i couldn’t put the book down. it’s weird, alluring, surreal and very queer. i don’t think this is for everyone though but a great debut novel.
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pucksandpaperbacks's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense
  • 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? It's complicated
CW: Depictions and descriptions of self harm & body horror, racism, emotional, physical, and verbal abuse, sexual assault, medical content, toxic relationship w/ adult, inappropriate relations with an adult; concussion; mention & depictions of an eating disorder; suicidal thoughts.

I received the audiobook from Libro.fm for review. All opinions are my own.

Chlorine is not a tame book whatsoever. If you've been in the swimming world especially as a student athlete, you'll relate to Ren's story of the pressure that comes with wanting to be the best and when the adults around you are the abusers. I enjoyed the writing, storytelling, and especially the dual POV of Cathy and Ren. 

Catherine Ho does a fantastic job with Ren's voice and adding the horror elements when necessary. 
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bee_03's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.0

i enjoyed the premise and themes within the story, but ultimately i couldn't connect to the story as much as i wanted to due to the writing style. i thought the anticipation was done well though; while i went into the story suspecting what the climax would be, it was the anticipation for it that kept me reading. overall, a unique story, and i'm interested to see what the author comes up with in the future.
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charlesalexander's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

4.0

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pookiee's review against another edition

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dark sad medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No

3.25

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lilminx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Buckle up
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culpeppper's review against another edition

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challenging dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

Overall, I really loved this book. I listened to the book, and the two readers they chose for Ren and Cathy's chapters suited the story really well. The story was hard to listen to, at times, with this looming threat of others preying on Ren's psyche that became reality. But I was hooked. Though Ren was definitely a sharp and guarded character, her narration of her life made me ache for her, making the ending of the story so cathartic. The main criticism I have was the pacing felt off at some points, and while it never dragged there were some drawn out parts. But, mostly, I really liked Chlorine. 

Edit: bumping this up to 5 stars, it's been weeks and I can't stop thinking about this book.......
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madisonbleeker's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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