"Ms. Song is good on the growing pains of young adulthood.[This is] a book that enlivens its coming-of-age yarn with a touch of mystery and a twist of myth." -- The Economist "Song's harrowing novel subverts the standards of merfolk lore -- clamshell bras, underwater kingdoms, the love of a sailor or prince." -- New York Times Book Review "Like the scent of chlorine on one's skin, this not-to-be-missed debut novel lingers." -- Library Journal (starred review) "A notable debut that marks a distinctive career to watch." -- Kirkus Reviews "Ren Yu is a fierce young woman who's dreamed of mermaids ever since she can remember--dreams so vivid that the first touch of water in a swimming pool alters her life forever, sending her down a path that's both beautiful and frightening. Chlorine isn't just a coming of age story.
It's the tale of transformation from human to something wilder and more transcendent. It's about love and longing and the willingness to do anything to become who you truly are." -- Richard Kadrey, New York Times bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series "Chlorine is not for the faint of heart. Fierce and visceral, it seethes with rage and pain and the urgency of transformation. There are no pretty mermaids wearing seashell bras here, but readers open to sinking into darker waters will be captivated." -- Ann Claycomb, author of the forthcoming Silenced "This book was viscerally unnerving and I could not put it down." -- Sarah Gailey, author of The Echo Wife "In Song's disturbing and visionary debut, a child pushed too hard to succeed becomes a monster of her own making. The body horror is striking, as is Song's prose, in which she riffs on the various ways the team members are "mutilated" ("We mutilated our beauty, though this sense of beauty was an outdated version defined by narrow wrists and bird bones").
It's a singular coming-of-age." -- Publishers Weekly "This fantastically strange, explosive debut novel entrances even as it unsettles. It's so brilliantly written." -- Buzzfeed "A visceral and startling debut novel by Jade Song, Chlorine is a portrait of ambition, defiance and longing set in the world of competitive swimming. Song invites readers to enter into Ren's obsessions not with judgment or disgust, but with an understanding that is surprisingly tender in the face of the novel's abrasion." -- Shelf Awareness ".Chlorine is an exceptionally strong debut. It's shocking and tender, fantastical and intimate, gorgeous and grotesque.
After reading "Chlorine," readers will not only forget everything they know about mermaids -- they may never look at a mermaid the same way again." -- The Harvard Crimson "With their debut novel, Song presents a beautiful and horrific coming-of-age story about the power of transcendence to become who you truly are." -- This is Horror ".a tender story of a lonely outcast girl who just wanted to transcend into a body which reveled in power not pain." -- The Fantasy Hive.