Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

32 reviews

beccam22's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Mental illness

Moderate: Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Body horror, Mass/school shootings, and Gore

magellen's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

It's wonderful to read a book that feels like an author hitting all their marks-the pacing, the gore, the dread 👍👍

There are echoes of similar themes, similar pacing and plot markers, similar gore to The Only Good Indians BUT IN THE BEST WAY. Especially with this book being about the Slasher formula. For me its enjoyable to see signature traits of an author's style popping up again. Especially when they come in a beautifully written gore extravaganza.

Great great book and I can't wait for the sequel.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault

tfunk's review

dark sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, and Murder

Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Self harm, Rape, Pedophilia, and Incest

lou_o_donnell's review

challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Rape, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Gore, Domestic abuse, Death, Child abuse, Body horror, Blood, and Animal death

kadearang's review

dark mysterious sad tense 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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault

bastieboi's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Child abuse

albernikolauras's review

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).

---

Content Warnings

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

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

erine's review

dark inspiring tense medium-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

The title says it all. This reading experience was exactly like a chainsaw: revving, sputtering, buzzing into short-lived life, then choking and starting the cycle all over again until the final sustained roar. It also felt extraordinarily cinematic: cutting from scene to scene in such a way as to feel like I was watching the action. But unlike a movie in which each new scene offers visual cues to what is happening, this story just jumped right in and I found myself constantly disoriented. My lack of knowledge of slasher movies and my current struggles with focus were no help either. Unfortunately, this book demands a lot of attention from its readers, or if not that, an extensive knowledge of the history of slasher horror might help one make it through.

Despite my setbacks, I was hooked by Jade and interested in the writing style. Much like I remember in The Only Good Indians, the reader is unsure for some time whether the horror is physical or psychological; realistic or supernatural. I could see my younger, Stephen King-loving self really getting into this. The best part for me was Jade herself -- hero or villain, victim or gritty soldier, I never entirely decided. She was simultaneously awkward and realistic and completely badass. The complete reveal of her sexual assault was tentative and clunky: at first it felt like a red herring (refer to extra credit paper dealing with that topic at 55%, please), and then it felt like a dead weight. Her trauma affects her credibility, at least with her fellow characters, if not the reader. Jade herself has extremely low expectations of her abilities, consistently selling herself short, but that does not stop her. She simply steadily moves forward, clawing her way through one everyday tragedy after another, trying to save those around her over and over again, as the banal sadness of everyday life gives way to horrifying slaughter. 

The final, extended slasher scene is extremely gory. As mentioned before, there is child rape and while not graphically described it does play a pivotal if awkward role in the plot.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Death

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, and Gore

bookswithmari's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Murder, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, and Self harm

Moderate: Animal death

katiej's review

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Urgh! I loved this book to begin with. It was setting up to be an excellent slasher/thriller but then it just kept building and then fell completely flat and took a turn that really annoyed me. Frustrated with how it ended. I wanted so much from this.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual violence