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squisheebee_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Addiction, Body horror, Blood, Classism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Suicide, and Self harm
Minor: Rape, Confinement, Sexual assault, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Panic attacks/disorders
bre_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Death, Gore, Suicide attempt, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death and Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, and Vomit
imaginary_space's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book hit me harder the second time around. Probably because, as often happens, the first time I was occupied with keeping up with the story. This time I could appreciate all the little nuances, the hints and the small moments of foreshadowing so much more. And for me, it's all those layers that make this book so good.
The first time I read My Heart is a Chainsaw, the revelation about Jade towards the middle of the book completely took me by surprise, I had not seen it coming at all. Which I found shocking, and it made me take a long, hard look at my privilege.
The second time, I suddenly realized why I had not seen it. Because in a lot of ways, I was Jade at that age, so her inner monologue and her behaviour seemed completely normal to me. Which is astounding, because my circumstances growing up were very different from Jade's, and our experiences weren't even the same, just similar enough that we reacted in very similar ways.
So yeah, that fucked me up. Thank you, SGJ. (I mean that unironically. I try to read diverse stories not just because I find it to be a more interesting experience, but also to actively learn about lived realities different to my own, and be a better educated citizen of Earth. Which is why I like my horror to be mixed with a good dose of real-world horror.)
The fact that Stephen Graham Jones wrote a character that I, a person from a very different background halfway across the globe, could identify with so much I didn't see the obvious, proves two things:
- He is a truly skilled writer.
- Adult men can write believable teenage girls if they just write them as persons and not try to write them as "teenage girls(TM)". Thank you for that, too. Yes, I, too, am sad the bar is that low.
My teenage emotions aside, there's more I like about this book:
- The story is multi-dimensional, there's a whole mythology around Proofrock and Indian Lake that feels very much alive - an abandoned camp, a creepy local legend, real past tragedies, things that happened in the past people don't want to talk about ... it feels like a real place and it gives so many layers to the story.
- Also, I just love a
creepy little girl , I'm biased like that. - I like an unreliable narrator, so to me it's refreshing and interesting to see the story through Jade's eyes and her eyes alone.
- SGJ is a fan of "show, don't tell", and I appreciate that a lot. In general, his writing style is right up my alley, which is extremely important in horror.
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
jully_bean's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Death, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault and Incest
strawbrifieldsforever's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, and Blood
Minor: Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Vomit, and Incest
henrygravesprince's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I 100% recommend this to people who like slashers for both the gore/horrorfest and the sociological and psychological undertones and people who love horror media because it gives them control over the circumstances of their fear. The strongest aspect of this book is the perfect meeting of social commentary to a brutal slasher. The weakest is that I think the last chapter could be paced up quicker than it is to hold the momentum the last quarter picked up on a little more. I’m glad I finally gave this book a go after years of wanting to but not finding the time. If you can stomach gory writing and you’ve considered reading this book but haven’t yet, now is the perfect time to jump in before the final book in the trilogy comes out.
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Self harm
Discussion of child sexual abuse; Portrayal of gentrificationdanimacuk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Incest, Child death, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, and Child abuse
Minor: Vomit, Racism, Rape, and Pedophilia
cottagecorecabbage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Addiction
Minor: Bullying and Cultural appropriation
emory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Gore, Child abuse, Death of parent, Rape, and Abandonment
Moderate: Racism and Vomit
tesshersh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Spoiler for my other complaint:
Also: cannot recommend the audio book enough, cara gee was amazing
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Abortion, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Death, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Suicide, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Child death, Incest, and Gore
HUGE trigger warnings - not just in the gore/violence you would associate with a thriller but for other content as well, please check content warnings before reading