Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

8 reviews

plantybooklover's review

challenging dark emotional

• 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

4.25

 Ahhhh 5 stars for really great writing. bumped down to 4.25 because the conclusion... was not entirely satisfying to me.
My Heart is a Chainsaw is indeed, as most have mentioned, a celebration of the Slasher/Horror film genre, as told by Jade, a 17 yr old who is singularly focused on them, after experiencing a traumatic life event.
The author toggles between Slasher 101 chapters and the current events of Jade's life in a small town of Proofrock, Idaho (and YES- I hope ProofRock is a nod to T. S Eliot's Prufrock....it sure seems to be) - In the Slasher 101's we are treated to all sorts of Slasher lore, key elements (like mask, weapons, back stories, revenge plots and final girls. In Jade's life chapters- we are reminded how hard it is to be the odd one in a small community, and we are see the actual... slasher is it? evolve and gradually devolve gloriously on the 4th of July with some confessions from Jade and just abject horror, we have dead animals, dead people, macabre misuse of construction tools, (and chainsaws as well)... It was so hard for me to decide if the murders were actually occurring or if Jade was just kind of having a psychotic episode, as both seemed equally possible by the end of the book. There was probably quite a bit of symbolism that just flew over my head, especially as I was using an audio book, and thus was not always 100% focused only on the narrative.
Because I don't like Slashers at all, I didn't really find this book funny- like many did. It seemed more to me a tragedy, but, for the right audience, I think it's both hilarious and tragic. And even though it's a slow build up, the writing is always on point.
Will I read book 2? yeah... I am entirely hooked. I'm rooting for Jade. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, and Bullying

Minor: Child abuse, Car accident, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Mental illness

squisheebee_'s review

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• 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

I absolutely loved the narration of this book. Jade stole my heart & maybe it biased my rating.🤷🏽‍♀️ 

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Content Warnings

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

lasafica_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Gore, Body horror, Death, Self harm, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Racism

Minor: Car accident and Cultural appropriation

giannawarner's review

dark tense slow-paced

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

2.75

Honestly kind of overhyped in my opinion. I wish we had more slasher and less whatever 90% of this book was. I don’t recommend for people who get bored easily and like quick reads. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Rape

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia

Minor: Car accident and Fire/Fire injury

demon_catheter's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Really fun read, a bit confusing at times but not in a bad way. Keeps you asking questions right along with Jade and really sucks you in. Also loved how fleshed out the setting was, I’ve never been to a town at a high elevation in Idaho but My Heart is a Chainsaw makes me feel like I have.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Incest, and Vomit

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Car accident, Colonisation, Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy

saintyeehaw's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

I loved the premise of this book going in but found the writing style difficult to enjoy--just not my cup of tea. It was also hard to feel any positive feelings while reading because everything just seems to go so unfairly wrong for Jade. This kept me from getting overly invested because it was just too painful to read about her continued misfortune at the hands of willful misunderstandings.

I also really did not appreciate Mr. Holmes being framed so endearingly--this is a man who withheld graduation from a student for missing homework due to her SUICIDE ATTEMPT.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Minor: Medical content, Bullying, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Hate crime, Pregnancy, and Vomit

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).

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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

sarah984's review against another edition

dark funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was so good, but also very hard to describe. It's probably 60% character study and 40% balls-to-the-wall gorefest slasher, but every element just builds on what came before in a way that wraps up so perfectly. The main character has a great voice, and her essays about slasher films sprinkled through the book were a highlight. I will be thinking about that ending for the rest of my life. Amazing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, and Vomit

Minor: Cannibalism, Car accident, Colonisation, and Racial slurs