I felt this book to be just okay. I will have to see what the sequel brings, but this one didn't thrill me like other works by this author have.

I might be biased on this one because I love slasher movies so much, as well as dark mysteries. So this novel had it all and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Fast-paced and widly entertaining! I also love the diversity of the characters and the fearless way the author explores the depravities that exist in humanity under the surface.

MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW deals in slashers: their history, their tropes, their ways of healing, their lore. But none of that would be interesting, useful, or so inextricably crucial to STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES’ story without Jade, our resident expert in the genre.

P

I have a solid sleep deficit because of this book. I could not put it down until my body started to pull hard shut-downs. But what is one to do with phrases like:

“So she won’t have to see Shooting Glasses standing there looking for her, she fetals down on her side in the bottom of the canoe, the gunwales to either side hiding her and her orange hair, her blue lips, her red left leg, her pitch-black heart.
And she hates it more than anything, but she’s sobbing now.
No, she can never be a final girl.
Final girls are good, they’re uncomplicated, they have these reserves of courage coiled up inside them, not layer after layer of shame, or guilt, or whatever this festering poison is.”

"But Jefferson Stoakes. None of us knew what to make of . . . what can you even think, when a kid you know turns up dead with a wasp nest not just crammed into his mouth, but kind of in PLACE of his mouth? And one detail Alison Chambers might still know from her dad was that Jefferson he was floating on his BACK. In the WATER. And yellow jackets, they'll avoid water. It gums their wings up or something. Or maybe it's like those baggies of water Dorothy puts up in the patio? You know Dorothy? Dot's? You too young for coffee yet? Give it a year. But we were all just stupid [bleeping] kids back then too -- no insult.”

“But now it's -- Amy Brockmeir, she was EATING, I piss you not. And then she looked up to me over the Trigo girl. What was left of her, I mean. Amy's hair was matted up, her nightgown all in rags. The lower part of her face was all black with -- well, with what she'd [serious bleep] been doing to the dam keeper's daughter.”

“The corner in the wall over by the copy machine is actually a giant fold in-process, and Jade, inside that white envelope, has checkboxes for eyes. The stool she’s stuck on has a sticky surface some greater tongue has already licked. Meg is a greasy black hair that’s fallen into the works to mess everything up, one Jade can’t quite pinch up or flick away.“

And perfectly nailed bits of humor, like:
“ “If anybody calls—” Hardy starts, “Route them through Dispatch,” Meg finishes. “And then tell you who they are, of course.”
“My Girl Friday,” Hardy says, sweeping past.
Jade has no idea what kind of pornographic pet name that might be, and doesn’t think she wants to know.”

You have no choice. You keep reading.

There is one last I want to share so badly, but it would ruin an enormous side plot and rob you of the emotional impact I was able to both enjoy and mourn. You’ll find it for yourself. You’ll know.

If you’re still on the fence, know MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW has inspired me to write an essay about what counts as a slasher in today’s society, what most people think it is and what I feel strongly able to argue it ACTUALLY is — thanks, Stephen, for educating me.

The mainstays of slashers are:
1. A person is transformed by significant, mainly childhood trauma that sets them up to take on a murderous future.
2. A trauma trigger (usually on a commemorative day or when seeing a person related to the original trauma) calls out to the traumatized person until they sink into a villain’s mindset, on a mission to take revenge.
3. The killings begin, often through the lens of the villain stalking and killing individuals. Each murder involves gore, and/or an unusual method of murder / weapon. As the slasher ramps up, there is less and less time between kills.
4. The survivors generally find these bodies themselves and the police are useless in assisting the survivors.
5. At the climax, there is a murderous rampage stopped by divine intervention, a hero’s battle/sacrifice, a final girl who has trauma of her own but regains personal power through vanquishing the killer, etc..
6. The reader experiences displacement, a psychiatric defense mechanism that transfers the reader’s feelings or reactions to the text, where it is easier to bear; recreation, a word first used to describe a concept of recovery, restoration, and growth; and catharsis, a purge of the negative and a cleansing / purifying process. In other words, by reading a slasher, readers take time to align their emotional baggage onto the text, taking time and space enough to allow for a recovery and growth process to take place, one that centralizes letting go of the harmful thoughts and feelings displaced onto the book and feeling purified as a result.

This being true, there is a controversial path where today’s slashers rest, waiting to become tomorrow’s classics. But wait on that for now. I’m still shopping it around.

Instead, I’ll tell you where the great slashers aren’t. They’re beyond the remakes, torture/gore p*orn, slasher comedy, and call-backs to the Golden Age, like Fear Street, It Follows, The Invisible Man, etc.

They wait in a Greek amphitheater for an audience ready to put its suffering down and be purified with the help of a Final Girl who’ll “turn around, scream into his face that she's so sick of this, that this is ENOUGH, that this is over. And then, in a move not matched in all the years since, not even by Sidney Prescott, not even by slow motion Alice when Pamela Voorhees won't stop coming at her, not even by Jamie Lee Curtis in that long dark night of Haddonfield, Constance climbs up her slasher's frontside and because she has no weapon, because she IS the weapon, she forces her hand into her slasher's mouth, down his throat, and then she reaches in deeper, and comes out with his life pulsing in her fist.

To put it in conclusion, sir, final girls are the vessel we keep all our hope in. Bad guys don't just die by themselves, I mean. Sometimes they need help in the form of a furie running at them, her mouth open in scream, her eyes white hot, her heart forever pure.”

As a child of the 70's and a teen in the 80's, I loved all the references to the slasher flicks I grew up with. I have seen most of the movies the main character Jade mentioned but I did pick up a few new titles to watch. Jade was a troubled teen, very much a loner, who was just trying to survive. Her history papers written for extra credit were placed between each chapter and were fun to read. The story line was just so unique, bloody, suspenseful, and fun. I only learned after finishing that this was the first of a planned trilogy. I'm just sad that the second will not be published until 2023! I highly recommend this book to horror fans looking for an interesting take on slasher movies.

I... actually hated this lmao the best part was that Jade's voice is very defined but is that really a good thing when the voice becomes grating? went from one of my most anticipated of 2021 to probably the worst of 2022 my life is a joke!

if you are not liking your time with the book: DNF it, i wish I did. You'll know by 25% whether or not you like it. The ending is not worth the struggle, trust me.

tw/cw: incest, pedophilia

the worst parts were just how often Jade meandered on and ON. Like the descriptions of the "final girl" when we meet her? I swear to god it went on for over 10 minutes straight. The scene where Jade sees the rich people testing the movie screen? Oh god it was literally half a chapter just describing the videos and what they were saying and NONE of it mattered.

That's another problem for me: the chapters are LONG AS HELL. Like I think this book might have one of the longest chapters I've ever seen at almost 2 hours long... how the fuck... I as a whole hate long chapters and it just made sections already dragged out by Jade as a narrator drag out even more.

And the ending just... ruined basically any goodwill I had saved up. The reveal that its a paranormal/supernatural slasher feels almost entirely out of left field given nothing that supernatural has happened prior to this. Along with the fact apparently there was ANOTHER slasher going along side it. And the fact all of the deaths feel way too dreamy so I have no idea if they actually happened, or if Jade imagined them. Because people die and then they come back later towards the end, so I'm just confused. And then a few people survive death when... they really shouldn't? And the actual ending lines? I have no idea how people are surprised this is getting a series when we have actually 0 closure on anything and I'm terrified to see how long the sequel drags out explaining what happened.

And the biggest issue: for a mystery/thriller/horror/whatever genre this could be called, it is WAY too slow. Like it takes until like halfway before we even really get started. And even then not until the last 25% does the pace actually SLIGHTLY go faster, but because of the way its written even the scenes that should feel fast paced feel so slow. I have no idea how you make a slow paced thriller/horror novel but after this, at least I know I am not a fan now.

A horror movie fanatic finds herself in a real life horror story. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is a unique read and is very much a slow burn. I found myself losing focus during certain parts and not fully invested in the story. I appreciate the way Stephen Graham Jones write with so much passion, I just don't think this one worked for me. I will however check out more by Stephen Graham Jones and look forward to what he writes next.

Did not enjoy. Too literary and elliptical. Wanted more scary stuff. But you might like it. Well written. Just not my cup of tea.

This book is a thrilling ode to slasher films and I loved every part of it. I liked The Only Good Indians a bit better, but I also think Stephen Graham Jones can do no wrong and will continue to read every novel they write.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was definitely not intended for me. I think the audience for this book is very niche, but I think for those who end up liking this book, they will REALLY love it. But I think this book is a little polarizing. All the references to horror movies and books were completely lost on me, and I don't deny that it's partly my fault for not having all the knowledge I needed going into this book, It is exciting to think though that there will be people who really love this one,

Thank you Netgalley and author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a review! This book has become quite popular among my book groups, and for good reason! It grabs your attention right from the cover and doesn't let go!

A wild ride, much like The Only Good Indians, only also nothing like it either. This is a spooky, haunting tale with Jones's singular eye for horror and gore.

My go to recommendation for anyone looking for a book that with good scares, ample laughs, and a whole lot of heart.

Fun and horrifying with a salute to the classic slasher movies. You won't be disappointed with this one.

This book was my book of the year award winner. I’ve become a fervent fan of Jones and he has become one of a handful of have to read upon release authors.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4300737341

I read Stephen Graham Jones' 'The Only Good Indians' last year, so I thought I was prepared for what might happen in this book. I also read the reviews that it got pretty gory. Okay, it's fine. I read horror all the time. It would be totally fine.

Jade is obsessed with horror movies. She even writes a series of history assignments about her favorite horror movies and tropes instead. It's her biggest wish to wake up in a real life horror story. She doesn't have much else - her mother has abandoned her, and her father is both neglectful and abusive. Her prospects once she graduates from high school is very dim.

A new, rich girl moves to town that Jade designates as a "final girl." Her name is Letha, and she's everything Jade thinks she is not.

And then people start dying.

What starts out as a slow character study of Jade and the small town evolves into so much blood and gore.

This is to say I wasn't prepared at all!

I was okay with the slow start and very frenetic ending. Some of the scenes were a little confusing, action-wise, but I was okay with that too. I'm looking forward to the second book in the series!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

In my mind, Stephen Graham Jones is the master of horror novels. His love for the horror genre drips out of every page, and I absolutely loved this. As a neurodivergent person, I really related to Jade's inner monologue and the way she saw the world. While I felt the big slasher scene was a little hard to follow, I thought this was overall really well done. I can't wait to see where he takes this series. A must read for horror lovers!

This is one of my favorites authors of horror books, so I was beyond excited to get the chance to read this one. On top of that the "slasher movie" genre is my absolute favorite! This book was basically a dream come true, putting my two favorite things together books and slasher movies.
I thought this book read like an awesome slasher movie. I really wish this will be made into one. All the slasher movie references made my reading experience even more enjoyable.
The main character was awesome and a complete know it all. I loved how she tries to explain what's going on through old movies, it's so nostalgic. The whole final girl synopsis was done awesomely in my opinion.
This is definitely going to be one of my favorite reads of the year. This author has a way with words and made this so easy to follow, while having great twists and turns. I can't wait to read more of this soon to be trilogy.

What a cool, unique book! Stephen Graham Jones is a gift of a writer, weaving subtlety and rich characterizations together with his skilled voice. Jade is a complicated protagonist, and I went through a rollercoaster of emotions when reading this book. I started out hating her but then eventually wound up liking her, rooting for her, and wanting to fight everyone who was cruel to her. The beginning is definitely a slowburn, so be prepared for that when reading and wondering where the creepy parts come in. I highly recommend this book, especially to fellow horror lovers like myself! Bonus recommendations to horror lovers who are particularly in love with slashers, just like Jade.

Wow so apparently this review is super overdue. My bad Netgalley.

My Heart is a Chainsaw is a love letter to all the horror films (slashers in particular). Which is you know, my thing...

It is so much my thing, I preordered this NINE MONTHS in advance. This is something I rarely do. Like ever. I almost never preorder anything, even when I know it will be a day one buy. I preordered this, because SGJ seems like a pretty cool guy. And I like the attention his books are getting lately, and I think he deserves more of it. So I figured preordering was the best way to do that.

That being said, I was a little disappointed with this in the end. It isn't a bad book- I guess it just didn't have all the creepy tension that I have come to expect from the other books of his I've read like: [book:Mapping the Interior|31189134], [book:The Only Good Indians|52180399], and [book:Night of the Mannequins|49246963]. It's like the difference between a horror film that goes for the jump scare versus one that you can't peel your eyes away from because you literally have no idea what's going to happen next. Except jump scares don't work quite as well on the page.

Jade was a sympathetic character to follow. She has a complicated backstory and I did care what happened to her, I cared that no one believed her, but there were times when I just wanted her to get out of her own way, if that makes any sense.

That being said. I will preorder and read the next book: [book:Don't Fear the Reaper|59364174] (because how could I not). And I will work on my backlog of SGJ in the meantime.

I would recommend this to any fan of teen-slasher films.

“Final girls are the vessel we keep all our hope in.”

Before I get started, I need to thank @netgalley, @sagasff and @gallerybooks for my ARC. This was my very first SGJ book, and as a lifelong slasher fan, I couldn’t have picked a better place to start!

The story of a young Indigenous girl and slasher devotee who, after waiting 17 years for her chance to be part of a “Slasher Cycle”, may finally be getting her wish when the members of a wealthy new subdivision in town start to die in gruesome and possibly suspicious ways.

There are moments, I’ll admit, where this one does drag a little bit, the prelude to the actual slashing a little longer than I was hoping for. But once things do finally start to kick off, it’s a non-stop rollercoaster sprint to the end!

This one is a must for horror devotees, the frequent references to movies both obscure and mainstream are a total joy. But what really kept me going was Jade.

She’s the dream Final Girl who felt alternately like me, and the horror loving friend I always wanted. She is the beating chainsaw heart and soul of this story, and despite just finishing the book, I already miss her.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (1/2)/5