Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

112 reviews

albernikolauras's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

• 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

3.5

There are some very deciding aspects as to whether you would like this book or not - you can tolerate stupid characters, tolerate slow pace, and you know a tiny amount about slashers. If not, then you might want to stay away. Jade is a character that is dramatic, in your face, makes highly questionable decisions, and has no true grasp on reality. She drove me nuts, but once I started listening to the audiobook and just let myself be like "Jade is also just a 17 year old who is obsessed with something and has nothing else to hold onto," it became almost an enjoyable experience. It helps that the second half of this book is full-bore tense, bloody, and keeps you guessing. I didn't see through the red herrings and was honestly surprised how everything pulled together (and really liked the ending).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Car accident, Murder, and Alcohol

surefinewhatever_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Boy howdy, did this book feel looooong and slooooow. I listened on audio (a 12 hour read) and didn’t feel like the story really picked up pace until I had 3 hours left. I didn’t feel like *all* of the slasher references and details needed to be included and could have benefitted from some editing. I did however feel invested enough to finish because I wanted to know who was behind it all! That being said, I felt the ultimate reveal to be lackluster (though deeply appreciated the subtext here!) 

All in all, this is my third Stephen Graham Jones and simply nothing has held up to The Only Good Indians for me! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Abortion

b_lownds127's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

house_of_hannah's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Well, this isn't what I was expecting based on the blurb. The first chapter starts off fantastic, and instantly had me hooked. However, we then spend the next 3/4 of the book hanging out in the mind of the main character, Jade, as she goes on tangents constantly, and tries to live out a slasher film fantasy. I honestly found her to be quite frustrating in the beginning, but she does get better as a character in the last 1/4.

Content Warning:

Jade tries to commit suicide in the first 30 pages of the book. It is obvious that she is struggling with a lot mentally and emotionally. The scene caught me a bit offguard.

I was a bit bored with the story until that last 1/4 where it sucked me back in. However, I then ended up disliking the ending. It just wasn't what I wanted, and left us with some unanswered questions such as

Why the hell was Letha's father killing people with a nailgun? It's not addressed after the climax, and left me quite confused.

Something else that bothered me a bit, is that the book makes it seem like you have to have some traumatic reason for watching/liking horror. It's personally my favorite genre, and has been for as long as I can remember. It's just a preference, and I don't believe you need to have some huge reason for enjoying it.

One thing that confused me about the book, is that for most of it the lake that everything takes place on seems rather small. However, during the climax this lake might as well have been an ocean ! I just couldn't wrap my head around how big this area was supposed to be in the end.

Overall I finished this book feeling a bit confused, and unsatisfied. It's definitely gory, but it takes so long to get into the meat of it (heh), that it's hard to care by the end. If you do not like slow-burns, and are not knowledgable at all about Slashers, then I would not pick this up. There are a ton of name drops, including movie titles, so you'll end up just skimming over a lot of the book if you don't get the references. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Gore, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Vomit and Stalking

Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape

spacecadelliot's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Pedophilia, Rape, Police brutality, and Alcohol

kennoncs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Pedophilia and Sexual assault

aliceonpaper's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Pedophilia, and Rape

banrions's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I do not know what my feelings are, but they are vast and visceral and something fierce. That last paragraph might live in my soul forever.

The narrator did a brilliant job of giving voice to this 17 year old (and the rest of the story, but Jade is the one that matters, and she knocked it out of the park, there).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Blood

folkmare's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I can really appreciate this book for what it is, but once again, Stephen Graham Jones's writing is a little too introspective and dreamlike for me. I gravitate to a more literal, concrete storytelling style and because of this I kept getting confused about movement and logistics, especially in the beginning. That said, I did like this a lot better than The Only Good Indians. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Cultural appropriation

lookingforlittlelibraries's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Alcohol