Chlorine Audiobook By Jade Song cover art

Chlorine

A Novel

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Chlorine

By: Jade Song
Narrated by: Catherine Ho, Imani Parks
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.19

Buy for $25.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

In the vein of The Pisces and The Vegetarian, Chlorine is a debut novel that blurs the line between a literary coming-of-age narrative and a dark unsettling horror tale, told from an adult perspective on the trials and tribulations of growing up in a society that puts pressure on young women and their bodies… a powerful, relevant novel of immigration, sapphic longing, and fierce, defiant becoming.

Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach is her guiding light. If she swims well enough, she will be scouted, get a scholarship, go to a good school. Her parents will love her. Her coach will be kind to her. She will have a good life.

But these are human concerns. These are the concerns of those confined to land, those with legs. Ren grew up on stories of creatures of the deep, of the oceans and the rivers. Creatures that called sailors to their doom. That dragged them down and drowned them. That feasted on their flesh. The creature that she’s always longed to become: the mermaid.

Ren aches to be in the water. She dreams of the scent of chlorine, the feel of it on her skin. And she will do anything she can to make a life for herself where she can be free. No matter the pain. No matter what anyone else thinks. No matter how much blood she has to spill.

©2023 Jade Song (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers
Coming of Age Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy Fiction Horror Scary
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Chlorine

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    22
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    27
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    18
  • 4 Stars
    19
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    5

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A little overhyped but solid

I enjoyed this book, but felt like it’s been a little overhyped online. It’s a pretty slow burn, but the ending result is predictable. Mild body horror intertwined with a coming age story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Original gripping story

I really enjoyed it because it’s very layered. Semi fantastical but with doses of reality in termos of competitive swimming and the blurring of roles.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Meh, it was pretty alright

It was interesting and fairly well written. I wasn't swept away and didn't really care for the ending.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An amazing debut

An amazing coming of age story for adults. I was also a swimmer all through my childhood and teen years. Quit in college. So I really related to both POV characters in different ways and both really resonated with me. The prose are also beautiful.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

So much mislisting going on here

I saw one other review saying that this book was listed incorrectly as horror. I learned of this book from reading a most-anticipated sci-fi & fantasy books list for 2023. It is truly none of the above, at least not fully. A salad bowl, perhaps? Maybe one part coming of age drama, one part family drama, one part immigrant drama, one part LGBTQIA+ love story, one part student athletics drama, and maybe a dash of fantasy that doesn’t begin until the final 5% of the book. It’s really all over the place. But that’s not to say it’s not very interesting and well written. It is. I enjoyed it immensely. But it just wasn’t what I had been promised going in. Really the best thing you can do is just read it. Skip the reviews and read.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A24 vibes: Sapphic Body Horror Thriller Coming of Age Dark Fairytale

If A24 did a wild genre blend movie of Swimfan thriller but also body horror. This dark coming of age story is unlike anything else I’ve ever read before. Told in dual perspective looking back at a young woman learning who is she, how she fits in with this swim team, and how she carves a definition of herself in a world that is at times funny and deeply stinging. This is an exceptional Sapphic work of fiction. Highly recommend if you like weird reads.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Had to sit with this one

This book is brilliant. It really made me sit with myself and think and feel things about girlhood I never wanted to revisit. It’s amazing what will will do to ourselves for other people. It felt like taking pages out of my childhood. At some points this was far too relatable. Amazing symbolism and beautiful written. This book should be talked about in college courses.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not At All What I Was Expecting.

I'll say I was definitely caught off guard by the climax. It's truly a story I was not expecting to read. The writing was well done, the characters had depth and forward-focus. One of the most unique books I've ever read. 7.2/10

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

this is incorrectly listed as horror

it is not in the horror genre, it is slipstream. would have been good to know

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

strange in the best way

This book itself is amazingly well written, and the audiobook performance is great as well. I would recommend this to anyone who loves strange, unsettling, imagery. Not only unsettling in the best way, but also has a mix of other genres which makes for a captivating read. I couldn’t stop listening. Highly recommend :)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!