Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

127 reviews

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

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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

heckyeaheather's review

dark emotional mysterious 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

This was a great listen if you're someone who enjoys the horror genre and that your MC also is an expert in the slasher/horror genre. 
It can be a bit slow going sometimes, spending some time in our main characters thoughts and getting a bit wordy. Great first book of 2024!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual violence

Minor: Rape

lancemama's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, Bullying, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Rape, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Animal death

sshelbyreadss's review against another edition

dark 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

5.0

This was so good and I believe the beginning of an obsession with SGJ. I adored Jade. 

I didn’t expect a supernatural element, and have mixed feelings about it. But I guess some of the slashers Jade focused on should have clued me in. 

Excited for the next one! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Body horror, and Gore

Moderate: Sexual violence

atomicbritt's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Incest, and Sexual assault

squrrlgrrl's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Self harm, Animal death, Body horror, Alcoholism, Blood, Gore, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, and Addiction

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

thewellbitch's review against another edition

dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.5

I went in knowing nothing about the story and was pleasantly surprised. Perfect for spooky season if you like slasher movies.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Murder, Suicide attempt, Classism, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Alcoholism

Minor: Child abuse

outerscout's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative sad tense 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

4.75

so good. one day i will formulate words 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Gore, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Grief, Pedophilia, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, and Vomit

hanlov's review against another edition

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

2.5

I’ll start by saying I’m definitely not the target audience for this as I’ve seen like one slasher movie in my whole life and don’t enjoy the genre. This definitely relies on pop culture/slasher movie references for the plot so I kinda figured it wouldn’t be my cup of tea. Jade really frustrated me as a narrator, the pacing was painful, and the r*pe bit made my stomach churn. It’s not for me but I suppose I can sorta see why people liked this. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Abandonment

goblinghost_39's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.5

 

I think I benefited from listening to the audiobook for this one. Jade is a rambling mess, and it was much easier to just listen to her while I was working instead of taking the time to sit down and read. The actual plot that happens outside of her head was a bit of a letdown. I didn't really understand Letha at all.

HOWEVER. Jade herself was fascinating to get to know and, in a way, I could relate to her hyperfocus on something dark as a way to cope. I say "in a way" because I'm white and can't relate to her being Indian in what seems like a predominantly white town.

I did, though, have a parent who was both emotionally abusive and neglectful at the same time. So still not as traumatic as what Jade went through. But I was (and still kind of am deep down) an angry and emotionally distressed kid. Didn't really have any friends. Any adult ever saw me and basically shrugged. So I was left to my own devices without any of the tools to actually deal with...everything? Anything? So teenage me coped, with what was still probably the worst time of my life, by way of escapism. And that included horror. And also self-harm, but that feels like a whole different story that we don't need to get into right now. But let me tell you, regardless of what it is you get into that helps you cope, at that age that kind of internal isolation does some wonky shit to your brain. Jade comes off as kind of a loon. But it's not the slasher films. It's the fact that she's more-or-less been left alone for years while her brain is still developing.

So I 100% see you, Jade. I am also a bit of a loon due to some not-so-nice events and people. And it is that sole reason that this book gets 4 stars instead of the 3 I was considering.

Will definitely read more from this author. And since this is a trilogy, I'll be sure to check out the next one. I just hope we get to know Jade on an even deeper level that isn't just how many times she can reference Friday the 13th.

 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Gore, Murder, Body horror, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Incest, Classism, Gaslighting, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death, and Emotional abuse