“With their debut novel, Song presents a beautiful and horrific coming-of-age story about the power of transcendance to become who you truly are.”
Ren Yu’s life begins and ends with the pool. She’s a swimmer. Her teammates are the only friends she has, her coach is her guiding light. If she swims well, she’ll be scouted, maybe get a scholarship, attend the best school. If she swims well, maybe her parents will love her. Maybe her coach will be kind. Maybe she’ll have a good life.
But these are the concerns of those confined to the land, to those with legs. Growing up on stories of the creatures of the deep, Ren knows all the tales of those that called the sailors and dragged them down to their doom. She knows the stories of those who feast on the flesh, the creatures she’s always longed to become: Mermaids.
She aches to be in water, dreams of the scent of chlorine, its feel on her skin. Ren will do anything to live the life she longs for, no matter the pain, no matter what others think.
No matter how much blood she has to spill.
Why we’re excited about this book:
Jade Song’s debut novel has been generating quite a bit of buzz in the horror community. Song’s short fiction has graced the pages of Salamander Mag, The Offing, Honey Literary, and WaxWing, with nonfiction appearing in Teen Vogue and Electric Literature among others. 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. Sarah Gailey (The Echo Wife) says: “This book was viscerally unnerving and I could not put it down.”, and Richard Kadrey (Sandman Slim, Dead Set) says: “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.”
Releasing 28 March 2023 from William Morrow, Chlorine by Jade Song is available for pre-order now.
BOB PASTORELLA
