CHLORINE

Part body horror, part science fiction, part queer teenage romance, Song’s debut novel dives into the deep end of bodily and psychological metamorphosis—but it’s not for the faint of heart.

When Ren Yu was 4 years old, her mother gave her a book of mermaid folklore, and she was immediately obsessed. Years later, when she tries out for the high school swim team, she knows instantly that the water is where she belongs, and she begins a quest to seek the “same sense of isolated grandeur” she first experienced plunging into the pool. Driven by the pressure of her demanding and sometimes creepy coach, Jim, as well as her own compulsion to win whatever the cost, Ren finds herself pushing further and further toward her physical and psychological limits. Meanwhile, she must also navigate the complications of teenage sex and romance and the complexities of her Chinese American identity. After a disappointing result at a swim meet, Ren is determined to take control of her destiny, making a shocking choice that will alter her life irrevocably. Alternating between a third-person narrative and letters written to Ren from her best friend (and perhaps more than friend) Cathy, a "blue-eyed white girl," Song’s form- and genre-blending book opens a brilliant portal into the sometimes-agonizing processes of coming-of-age and training as an elite athlete. Song is at her best when writing about the elaborate and sometimes agonizing experience of coming into one’s own power; one scene is so chillingly and effectively rendered it is difficult not to judge the rest of the novel by that standard. In comparison, the rest of the book, especially those parts that deal with teen drama, sometimes feel lackluster in comparison.

A striking portrayal of teenage transformation with a David Lynchian twist (plus mermaids!)