New Yorkers think tourists are annoying. Tourists think New Yorkers are mean.
We created the Union Swing in Union Square to prove them wrong.
In Greater Together, we paid homage to the workers who deserve it most.
Jade Song is a novelist, writer and art director.
"Fierce... so vivid... 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."
- Richard Kadrey, bestselling author of Sandman Slim
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. Out now from William Morrow / HarperCollins!
Ren Yu is a swimmer. Her daily life starts and ends with the pool. Her teammates are her only friends. Her coach, 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. Ones that called sailors to their doom. Ones that dragged them down and drowned them. Ones that feasted on their flesh. Ones of the creature that she’s always longed to become: 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.
"Song’s debut is a strikingly original coming-of-age story... Full of contradictions, magnificently balancing and remarkably sustaining wonder with dread and magical realism with harsh reality, with a heartbreakingly beautiful and intensely uneasy tone, this is a story that will hold readers in its thrall. Ripe for discussion, Chlorine is a great choice for fans of weird, immersive, female-driven body horror by authors like Julia Armfield, Cassandra Khaw, and Carmen Maria Machado."
- Booklist, starred review
"A spiky, sapphic coming-of-age that embraces fantasy and horror to explore girlhood and its discontents."
- The Millions, Most Anticipated Books of 2023
"In Song’s disturbing and visionary debut, a child pushed too hard to succeed becomes a monster of her own making. Her mermaid’s tail is revealed in all its Cronenberg-esque glory. The body horror is striking, as is Song’s prose... It’s a singular coming-of-age."
- Publisher's Weekly
"Song’s body horror here somehow accurately mirrors the terrifying process of puberty in a coming-of-age story that’s not for the faint of heart."
- Buzzfeed, 2023 Books You Should Read
"This book was viscerally unnerving and I could not put it down."
- Sarah Gailey, bestselling author of The Echo Wife
"Song sucks readers in with unforgettable language & explores our carnal desire of want. Reading it was like an out-of-body experience."
- Adam Vitcavage, Debutiful
"Fierce and propulsive debut..."
- The Economist
"...An aching siren song, one that points us towards those uncharted dimensions of desire and identity that swim and shimmer, in and out of being."
- Trisha Low, Tor.com
"Like the scent of chlorine on one’s skin, this not-to-be-missed debut novel lingers.”
- Library Journal, starred review
"Chlorine is not for the faint of heart. Fierce and visceral, it seethes with rage and pain and the urgency of transformation. There are no pretty mermaids wearing seashell bras here, but readers open to sinking into darker waters will be captivated."
- Ann Claycomb, author of Silenced
"Haunting, one-of-a-kind debut..."
- Polygon