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grp101's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Racism
kate_303's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Certain sections felt dragged or left behind, while others felt predictable but overall a reliable horror thriller, just a bit too self aware for its own good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
thevillainschronicles's review
2.25
trigger warning: child rape/ pregnency
First and foremost, let me acknowledge my misstep in opting for the audiobook rendition of this novel. Unaware of the author's penchant for a disjointed and perplexing writing style, my choice significantly marred what could have been an optimal reading experience. My review is undeniably influenced by this regrettable decision, as the intricacies of the narrative were lost in translation, compounded by the unavailability of a Kindle or physical copy.
Moving on to the substance, I found the characters to be disappointingly one-dimensional. Despite the protagonist exuding individuality and strength notably because of her trauma, the lack of a substantial backstory left her feeling more like a sketch than a fully fleshed-out character. Peripheral figures seemed relegated to obscurity, their names fading into the background and making it an arduous task to keep track.
While the plot held a kernel of interest, my dissatisfaction with the character development leaves me contemplating future works from this author with a degree of skepticism. Though the story intrigues, the absence of depth in characters and the challenge of connecting with them leave me hesitant to venture further into this series.
First and foremost, let me acknowledge my misstep in opting for the audiobook rendition of this novel. Unaware of the author's penchant for a disjointed and perplexing writing style, my choice significantly marred what could have been an optimal reading experience. My review is undeniably influenced by this regrettable decision, as the intricacies of the narrative were lost in translation, compounded by the unavailability of a Kindle or physical copy.
Moving on to the substance, I found the characters to be disappointingly one-dimensional. Despite the protagonist exuding individuality and strength notably because of her trauma, the lack of a substantial backstory left her feeling more like a sketch than a fully fleshed-out character. Peripheral figures seemed relegated to obscurity, their names fading into the background and making it an arduous task to keep track.
While the plot held a kernel of interest, my dissatisfaction with the character development leaves me contemplating future works from this author with a degree of skepticism. Though the story intrigues, the absence of depth in characters and the challenge of connecting with them leave me hesitant to venture further into this series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Rape
henrygravesprince's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.75
This is a slasher that embodies just how effective the genre in horror literature can be. It’s exceptionally clever and easy to get sucked into. I’ve read a couple of Stephen Graham Jones’s books before, and I consistently rate his work highly. This one combines the things I enjoyed about the other two books of his I’ve read: the focus on cycles of trauma with underscores of political commentary in The Only Good Indians (5 stars), and the genre-savvy campy nature of The Last Final Girl (4 stars). While I think this is my favorite of Jones’s backlog so far, I think the execution on The Only Good Indians was just a bit more polished, and so I’m giving this a 4.75 and anticipating going higher with the next two installments.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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 gentrificationuhhlexiconic's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
3.75
Very knowledgeable about slashers but missing some of their spirit, My Heart is a Chainsaw makes sure we know our protagonist before showing us what she's really made of. Slow to start and with a narration style that may take some getting used to, but the third act bloodbath is worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Death, Racism, Animal death, Vomit, and Violence
Minor: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
danimacuk's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
auteaandtales's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was fun. It was not at all what I expected, though. This follows Jade, a teenager who is obsessed with horror movies (specifically slashers), and I love thriller/mystery stories that are carried by teenagers. I especially love that she was unreliable and all that extensive knowledge on slasher/horror movies. It felt like listening to someone infodump, at times, which I personally enjoyed. The audiobook narrator had the same engaging tone that I would have read Jade as, also, and that was fun to listen to. It had a lot of frequent references to popular slasher movies. Scream is one of my favourite of the franchises, and I loved all the parallels between this and Scream. Despite this, I do not feel this falls to stereotypes. In some ways, it even criticises them, and Jade remains a complex individual throughout.
This book was ultimately about trauma, both Jades’ personal trauma from her abusive family and others but also the trauma that came with being Native American. Jade uses horror as a way to cope with this, and it also makes her an unreliable narrator as we cannot tell what is real and what is Jades’ imagination. Unreliable narration, especially in mystery/thrillers, is one of my favourite things to read. It also has other themes of gentrification, which provided some extra commentary on the horrors persistent within the book.
I thought it all flowed together quite well, especially at the start and the end, I couldn’t wait to get back to the book and read more. The middle felt pretty slow and dragged, it felt like the pacing was off, but once it got back on track it was amazing again. However, the way it was written overall felt like a representation of the mental state of Jade as she struggles with what she has been through and copes with grief.
I recommend this a lot. It felt like a love letter to the horror genre and I’d especially recommend this to people who love the horror genre, and those who used the genre as a way to cope with their own real life monsters. I may give this a go via a different format, though. I listened to this via audio, so a lot went over my head and I didn’t feel like I could engage properly. Maybe both audio and written text, even. Either way, I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series at some point.
Some quotes I liked:
“Horror is not a symptom, it’s a love affair”
“It’s perfectly natural for you to want to defend him. It’s the…it’s like you consider yourself an accomplice just because you were involved, but your involvement wasn’t complicit. Wasn’t voluntary. It never is, it can’t be. You don’t even know you can say no to a parent. Parents are good. Parents are shining and bright, they are the Gods of our world, so whatever they do can never be wrong. It must be your feelings that are wrong. Their mask is that they’re parents. Some of them are more, though. Some of them are monsters”
This book was ultimately about trauma, both Jades’ personal trauma from her abusive family and others but also the trauma that came with being Native American. Jade uses horror as a way to cope with this, and it also makes her an unreliable narrator as we cannot tell what is real and what is Jades’ imagination. Unreliable narration, especially in mystery/thrillers, is one of my favourite things to read. It also has other themes of gentrification, which provided some extra commentary on the horrors persistent within the book.
I thought it all flowed together quite well, especially at the start and the end, I couldn’t wait to get back to the book and read more. The middle felt pretty slow and dragged, it felt like the pacing was off, but once it got back on track it was amazing again. However, the way it was written overall felt like a representation of the mental state of Jade as she struggles with what she has been through and copes with grief.
I recommend this a lot. It felt like a love letter to the horror genre and I’d especially recommend this to people who love the horror genre, and those who used the genre as a way to cope with their own real life monsters. I may give this a go via a different format, though. I listened to this via audio, so a lot went over my head and I didn’t feel like I could engage properly. Maybe both audio and written text, even. Either way, I’ll definitely be reading the rest of the series at some point.
Some quotes I liked:
“Horror is not a symptom, it’s a love affair”
“It’s perfectly natural for you to want to defend him. It’s the…it’s like you consider yourself an accomplice just because you were involved, but your involvement wasn’t complicit. Wasn’t voluntary. It never is, it can’t be. You don’t even know you can say no to a parent. Parents are good. Parents are shining and bright, they are the Gods of our world, so whatever they do can never be wrong. It must be your feelings that are wrong. Their mask is that they’re parents. Some of them are more, though. Some of them are monsters”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Child abuse, and Cultural appropriation
cottagecorecabbage's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
Content Warnings
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
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.5
I’m not sure if I extra enjoyed this book because I’ve read so many BAD books lately, or if it really IS that good, so take this with a grain of salt. But WOW. One of my only gripes is that it touches on some themes that I’m not 100% sure I love being talked abt from a teenage girl’s perspective written by a male author, but I think it was respectfully done.
Spoiler for my other complaint:I wish that the conclusion/reveal of the killer DIDN’T have a supernatural element. I think the author’s point of regarding real life not being like a horror/slasher movie, about things like gentrification & colonization being a type of horror and violence of their own, was backtracked a bit by letting jade’s theory of a supernatural element be true at the end.
Also: cannot recommend the audio book enough, cara gee was amazing
Spoiler for my other complaint:
Also: cannot recommend the audio book enough, cara gee was amazing
Content Warnings
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