Bibliographic Information:
Title: Chlorine
Author: Jade Song
ISBN: 9780063257603
Publisher: William Morrow
Copyright Date: 2024
Format/Genre: Hardcover, Fiction, Magical realism; Literary fiction; Adult books for young adults, Immigrant experiences; Body horror; Coming of Age (Chlorine: NoveList Plus - Powered by EBSCOhost, n.d.; Title Detail: Chlorine : A Novel, n.d.).
Awards and Honors: 2024 Alex Award (Title Detail: Chlorine : A Novel, n.d.)
Reading Level/Interest Level: Written for adults but teens (9th grade and up) will enjoy this book.
Plot Summary: The protagonist of our story is Ren Yu, an Asian teenager living in Pennsylvania. Growing up she read stories of mermaids and as she got older, she became an outstanding swimmer and dreamed of becoming a mermaid herself. Or were these fantasies of becoming a mermaid just an outlet for the body and gender dysmorphia she was experiencing?
This book includes some sapphic longing between Ren and her best friend Cathy. Cathy is obviously in love with Ren, but Ren seems to struggle with her feelings. Her thoughts of becoming a mermaid seem to be driven by her desire to escape the body and the life she currently lives – constantly being driven by her parents to succeed and being around her inappropriate swimming coach.
Author Background: Jade Song is a writer, art director, and artist. Chlorine was their debut novel and it is an Alex Award Winner, which denotes it as a book written for adults that young adults will also enjoy. Chlorine is also being translated into French, Chinese, and other languages. She was also selected for the 2024 Black List Writers Lab for her adapted screenplay of Chlorine. Her second novel, I Love You Don’t Die, and debut short story collection, Ox Ghost Snake Demon will be coming out in 2026 and 2027 respectively (Jade Song, n.d.).
Critical Evaluation: The end of the book leaves the reader questioning – did Ren actually become a mermaid and swim away, or did she commit suicide? Overall, this is a pretty dark read. The book does not really go into why, but Ren seems to hate her body and wishes to escape it. As much as Cathy tries to get closer to Ren, Ren usually treats Cathy as a subordinate, even as they share intimate moments like shaving each other before swim meets. I could see how this book could win an Alex Award though, as it contains many of the features of YA books – teenagers dealing with teenager problems – parents, overbearing (and borderline abusive) coaches, love interests, and not really knowing who you are just yet.
Titlewave says it best on why this is a good book for the YA crowd – “Ren's experiences as an elite high school athlete, her difficulties fitting in, body dysmorphia, and burgeoning sexuality will resonate with many older teens” (Title Detail: Chlorine : A Novel, n.d.).
Creative Use for a Library Program: Ren seeks to escape her body and become something else for various reasons and this is something that many other teens may feel. I think either after, or while reading this book, having the teens talk about what they would be if they could turn into anything else – and why would they choose that form – would be interesting and hopefully open up some more conversations.
Speed-Round Book Talk: Ren is a Asian teenager growing up in Pennsylvania, and she swims for her high school team. Like, she’s a REALLY good swimmer. If she can keep winning, her parents will be happy, she’ll get a scholarship for college, maybe her coach will stop being a dick! But those things aren’t the top of the priority list for Ren. Ren wants to be a mermaid – aches for it. And she will do whatever it takes to become her dream.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation: The book has several content warnings at the beginning, any of which could be potentially off putting for anyone wanting to challenge this book. Those warnings are: racism, misogyny, self-harm, eating disorders, homophobia, depression, and sexual violence. Some other items parents, or those who might want to challenge the books, might take offense with are talk of abortion, drug abuse/abuse of medication, drinking, and smoking. Overall I think these concerns can be defended by providing the collection development policy of the library and going over what it entails with the patron.
Reason for Inclusion: I was very interested in including several Alex Award Winners in my blog, as I feel young adults might be interested in reading books that are considered more “adult.” And this book tends to have the same sort of themes that are found in popular YA books.
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