Marija’s Reviews > Chlorine > Status Update

I would’ve loved to learn about this Faye Wong thing a bit earlier

Very explicit period talk

Winning as a human concept she, as a mermaid, is beyond now? Because she understands that there is no winning when someone loses? That’s an interesting choice, for sure.

The coach is a pedophile. To be fair I was warned…

How do you half a grape??

This is a first person POV, but it’s because the main character (who calls herself Ren Yu, which is mermaid in Chinese) is speaking directly to the reader. At first it seemed too heavy handed for me, but I think it could actually work for me.

Right off the bat we’re muddying what it means to be a mermaid. The main character clearly had some kind of transformation happen to her… at least I think, but the book describes the transformations of the girls in the swim team in an almost supernatural light as well.

The lesbianism is, of course, a highlight

We’re laying it on THICK that she despises men… I don’t want this to be a “every man to exist is evil” kind of book because it’s cartoonish and doesn’t convey the more insidious nature of misogyny and sexism…