Chlorine Sky by Mahogany Browne - Athena

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 “Chlorine Sky” by Mahogany Browne is a novel portrayed with a collection of poetry-style chapters. We follow Sky, the main character, as she deals with issues surrounding the many relationships in her life. The main issue she deals with throughout the majority of the book is her on and off relationship with her long-time best friend, Lay Li. 

I really enjoyed the connection between the sports that Sky played throughout the book and her emotions throughout the story. The two sports that were highlighted were swim (as you can draw from the title) and basketball. What I perceived was that her swim was constantly connected to stress or fear, Sky often related her situations with the feeling of drowning or sinking, and basketball was associated with insecurity. 



Her scenes showing her relating to water often exhibit her dealing with a lot of stress. A clearer example of this is when she first meets her boyfriend, Clifton. At this point in their new relationship, she still can’t read his intentions, and describes his stare as “intense / it’s like I’m in the pool again / Underwater / Holding my breath / My arms are floating / Away from my body” (Browne, 43). Based on her description, you can assume from her “holding her breath” the feeling of stress and a feeling of intensity; along with the saying of her “arms floating away from her body” with a state of disassociation. 


Similarly, but representing something completely different, the chapters of her playing basketball correlate to her dealing with anger or insecurity. Whenever Sky seems to go through something leading her to anger or causing her to get insecure, she always seems to cope with basketball. She explains this is because “When I’m on the basketball court / I ain’t laughed at / I ain’t pointed at / I ain’t forgotten / I ain’t really myself at all” (Browne, 77). It’s clear with her saying that she isn’t “really herself” and admitting that she is only acknowledged when on the court that she feels a lot less insecure when playing. 




Overall, I love the way this novel told the story and all the different dynamics. It’s a great book that has amazing representation if you’re looking for a good poet to read!

Comments

  1. Ana OlsonFebruary 7, 2022 at 5:21 PM

    This sounds like a good book! The poetry style chapters are cool and I loved what you said about the sports representing more personal aspects of Sky's life. Great post!
    -Ana

    ReplyDelete
  2. mengtongFebruary 8, 2022 at 4:13 PM

    This book sounds really interesting! I like how the sports Sky is familiar with and plays is also what she uses to describes her emotions. The style of the book and how it's written also seems pretty unique. I would definitely be interested in reading it.
    -mengtong

    ReplyDelete
  3. MeherMarch 7, 2022 at 3:41 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. MeherMarch 7, 2022 at 3:41 PM

    This seems like a super enjoyable book. I've never been one for poem-style writing, but the plot sounds interesting, and I'm sure the writing style compliments it well. I also would love to hear about how her sports affect her life and how they relate to her experiences. Great post!
    - Meher

    ReplyDelete

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