Reviews

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

lisakzuhlke's review against another edition

I think I’m the wrong demographic for this. I just don’t care enough about any character at 30% in. And I feel like I missed something important, but my guess is that it’s something to be revealed later, and I don’t have the patience to wait for that when I don’t feel invested in any of the characters. 

kim_reads87's review

3.0

A book I thought I would have liked more. Who doesn’t love a good slasher movie. But it just felt too long. It took half the book before anything really happened. I liked the characters, but Jades single minded obsession did get a little grating. I loved the eerie small town setting and the ending was pretty good. I’ll probably read the next in the series to see what happens.

ian_bookshelf's review

emotional mysterious fast-paced

3.5

d34nn3_29's review

dark mysterious 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

4.5

ventibooks's review

I need to come back to this. After finishing Swear on this Life I felt burnt out on the “mom left and dad’s an abusive drunk” to a teenage daughter trope. The opening scene was riveting but something about the writing style made my brain hurt a little so I just need something a little lighter. But I am looking forward to coming back to this. 

libras's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.75

stephenvhenn's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

What a fun read! Stephen Graham Jones is a great author and builds worlds that help immerse the reader. The fun of this book is in the horror/slasher details - for avid fans, the prose is peppered with references and allusions to various slasher films. Ultimately, you begin to feel for Jade as she navigates a complicated relationship with her town, peers, family, and mentors.

Underlying this, though, is a real tale of how the West is often taken by wealthy folks at the expense of the natural environment. That story compared with the slasher story is just as chilling.

meredith_summers's review

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

katieross83's review

5.0

I spent way too long trying to find the right words for this one. Teen 80s slasher not set in the 80s and so damn smart and so damn introspective with a main character who honestly felt like my own inner voice with its sarcasm and darkness and inevitable kindness-in-spite-of-itself woven throughout. I could recommend this book for its narrative voice and writing alone, but it’s so much more than even that. Scary, full of heart, fun horror/slasher (with some impressive deep cut) references on nearly every page, I could have stayed in Proofrock with Jade Daniels forever. My journey into horror fiction continues, and Stephen Graham Jones will definitely be joining me as a favorite moving forward. Now on to the sequel…

cyriax's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.25

This is a fun story but I never really connected with the characters so the events in the book lacked impact for me.