Jones has a deep understanding of horror films which is evident through his main character's obsession with slashers. A fun, thrilling read with an unreliable narrator that leads the reader to discovering if they are reading a slasher or not.

It's been said in a bunch of reviews that this book is a love letter to slasher films. It might be a tad more accurate to say the heart of the book is slasher films. I consider myself a pretty big horror fan but throughout the book I had to stop and look up a slasher film that was referenced. Or look up a name that was mentioned because I knew it was in some horror movie but I didn't know which. My Netflix and Amazon Prime watchlists both had multiple films added to them as a result of MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW.

Jade Daniels is a half-Indian teenager in a small town; she lives with her abusive father and wants nothing more than to be rid of the town. Her one solace is slasher films. Her knowledge and love far surpasses Jamie Kennedy's character in "Scream". Then when blood spills and people start to die, Jade knows exactly how things will go. Or she thinks she does.

Jones does an amazing job with the novel. His love and understanding and passion for slash films comes through from start to end. Jade tells us the rules while the book follows them. And then deviates. Or does it? The meta-feeling of fitting the book into the formula runs throughout the length. Then all that changes and is no longer important because at the very end Jones gives a gut punch that I should have seen coming but was too distracted to see. Something so emotional that I was left stunned. He did the same thing to me when I read THE ONLY GOOD INDIANS. I'm not going to give anything away. You should simply read this book and enjoy! Stephen Graham Jones is an amazing author.

This was such an interesting book to review. It was, first and foremost, a love letter to slasher movies. Jade, the main character and local "horror chick", is convinced that she will experiences a slasher in her lifetime. She is just counting the days and reading the the signs of the impending blood bath. Letha is Jade's pick for the final girl. As the days roll on, Jade is more and more convinced of this so she hatches a plan to "train" Letha to become what Jade knows she is destined to be. In between mishaps, attempts to draw out the slasher, and half-hidden cries for help, there are Slasher 101 writing that Jade submitted in high school for history credit. There is a part of the book that I really thought that just reading these and then getting to the 80% mark of the book would be good enough to cover all of the depth of this story. My feeling was "just get to the good part, the bloody bits". But there is more to Jade, and Letha, and "The Founders" that needed to be covered to do it justice. I didn't get that until after I was finished with the book and thought about it. This was a good book and a sad book, because you want Jade and her fellow Proofrockers to be well and come to terms with each other. And then all hell breaks loose and you want specific ones to survive. And then you find out more information and a little part of you will probably think that this is just what needed to happen. As messed up as that sounds.

Well. I LOVED this book! This is a love letter to the horror/slasher genre and it is my jam!
It gave me the feel of an 80s horror movie, and I devoured every minute of this book.

There are so many references to my favorite movies and movies that I grew up loving.. Even for those who don’t know all of references, I guarantee you still enjoy it, and may even be compelled to go watch a few of the movies!

It has GORE, it is scary at times and had me on the edge of my seat. I loved Jade and I felt like every character was so perfect for this book!

Per usual, Stephen Graham Joneses writing is a thrilling and hard to describe experience.

(After all the Grady Hendrix books I have read this year, I feel I may be somewhat of a horror movie connoisseur!)


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

B&N-AllieReads
Amazon-Allie G

I was so excited when I read the description of this book. As a horror movie fan, it seemed practically written for me. But while I did make it through the entire book, it was a bit of a slog, I'm sad to say. There's something about Jones writing style that just never clicks for me (I tried The Only Good Indians, and couldn't get into it). It just feels haphazard, scattershot. And so while I enjoyed the story going on, the narrative style never settled into a groove for me. I also felt the story spun it's wheels a lot and could have gotten on with things more quickly and not repeated itself. So I can't give this book or this author an enthusiastic rating.

I tried to read this book several times but always ended up DNFing it because it was just too slow. I was really intrigued by the premise because I am a fan of slasher movies, but unfortunately the writing style and story could not hold my attention long enough to finish the book.

Decent read IF you stick it out. You have to pay attention and it is slow going, but the slasher movie references help. The first 60% of the book will have you questioning if you are going to stick it out but the last 40% will make it worth powering through. Perfect October read, full of gore and terror.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Stephen Graham Jones and Simon & Schuster for this edition and hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

I cannot tell you just how much I loved this novel! It has inspired me to work my way through all of Jones' back catalog as well. It's a brilliant rumination on the history and nature of both slasher films and the Final Girl archetype. These characters are fascinating, and the story kept me guessing until the very end. It's such a great horror read! I learned a whole lot about the slasher genre along the way, which was also super great. READ THIS ONE. You'll thank me, I promise.

Love the author and his work but had a hard time getting into this book. Will definitely read more Stephen Graham Jones but this just wasn't for me.

This book was too slow for me. I had a very hard time staying interested.


I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Don't miss Stephen Graham Jones's newest book that just came out on August 31st, My Heart is a Chainsaw. I was so excited to read this one after reading and absolutely loving Stephen Graham Jones's The Only Good Indians, and thanks to Netgalley, I was able to get an e-galley of this one in exchange for an honest review. This novel, which falls in the horror genre but is a pretty light read for its category, is a fascinating and self-reflective look at the iconic aspects of slashers from the golden age of slasher films.

The protagonist Jade is a bit of an expert when it comes to the details of slasher films, and she knows the ins and outs of the plot arcs as well as the archetypal characters in the slashers... and she realizes as she sees events unfolding around her in her small town of Proofrock that she might very well be living through a real life slasher. As bodies start showing up and as Jade identifies the "final girl" who will surely be the center of the events, Jade tries to convince others around her that they are experiencing a slasher and that she can guide them through it to try to minimize the loss of life.

Graham plays with fiction and reality in this one, and the incorporation of Jade's analytical papers to her history teacher exploring slashers (as she struggles to get the last credit she needs to graduate in the summer after her senior year) make this a particularly interesting read. The beginning really grabbed me, but then it took a while to get more momentum going, but ultimately I found this one to be an interesting and surprisingly fun with a focus on history, revenge, the carelessness that comes with extreme wealth, and the desire to right historical wrongs.

I was excited to read Stephan Graham Jones' latest book - My Heart is a Chainsaw, His earlier novel - The Ony Good Indians - was fascinating in many ways. It was a compelling horror story, and a fresh look at Native American culture. I had the opportunity to read his new book courtesy of NetGalley and Saga Press. I was not disappointed. To be honest, I was scared $&@&$!

Be warned. This novel is out-of-this-world unnerving, and not for the faint of heart.

Jade Daniels has never met a slasher movie she didn't like. To say she is obsessed with the genre, is putting it mildly. It consumes her. She views her life and that of the people around her as one long series of horror films. When we first meet her, she is afraid, as she senses something evil is coming. Recognizing all the signs that mark the beginning of a slasher film, she searches and finds the 'last girl' (the one left alive at the end of the film) - Letha Mondragon, the beautiful girl who just moved in across the lake where all the 'rich' people are building houses. Both excited and frightened, she feels ready, as she knows exactly who the actors are (mostly) and what she needs to do. Unfortunately, no one believes this geeky troubled outcast, including Letha. Then the slaughter starts.

Graham Jones uses a series of murder and urban legends in small town America as his framework to tell this haunting story of a young, angry half-Indian teen from abusive parents who meets life on her own terms. We come to care about Jade Daniels and are sympathetic to her struggles. The writing is faced-paced and filled with unrelenting tension. Yet, there manages to be a somewhat caustic sense of humor throughout the telling. Graham Jones populates his story with some wonderfully written characters (who could best be described as 'characters'), all-too-vivid murders, and an evocative sense of a community which time seems to have passed by. He has masterfully captured the essence of the slasher genre, with references to iconic killers such as Freddy, Jason, Jigsaw, Ghostface, Michael Myers, and even Pamela Vorhees.

Just a heads up, do not start reading the final third of the novel if you plan to sleep, go to work or school, or need to adult in the near future. You will not want to stop reading until the final page.

The author seamlessly navigates a delicate balancing act between horror and poignancy. I think the highest compliment a reader can pay to an author is to ask him/her for the next part of Jade Dainel's story. I don't want to wait too long, so please hurry!

This was a fast paced horror/thriller read that I thoroughly enjoyed. I enjoy slasher movies and books and recommend this read to anyone who enjoys that genre. Could not put this read down. Amazing!

It’s been a while since I’ve read a book in a day, but there is a rambling flow to Jones’ writing and Jade’s voice that makes My Heart is a Chainsaw a fast and thrilling read. I found myself so caught up at times that I’d need to go back to re-read sections to figure out exactly what happened and to who and why it matters, because it all matters in the end.

My Heart is a Chainsaw follows an Indigenous teen girl that loves horror- well slashers specifically- she suddenly seems to find herself in a real life slasher. She navigates the events that are upturning her small Idaho town by all the rules she's learned from studying any and every slasher film. The book starts a little slow but does pick up about mid-way and keeps you flipping pages to find out whats really going on, the last few chapters especially delivers all the flair you'd expect from a slasher. There were many clever details in the book, from each chapter referencing a slasher film and the essay's written by the main character as extra credit projects.

This was a DNF (did not finish) for me. I was beyond hooked in the beginning of the book. It was intriguing, scary, had me biting my nails in anticipation. However, once the protagonist began giving horror movie knowledge I was beyond bored. It no longer felt like a book, but a textbook for a horror classics 101 class. I read around 25% of it and couldn’t finish. I saw other reviews that it was amazing, but I just couldn’t keep my focus or attention on it. It’s rare for me to not finish a book, but this one didn’t do it for me. Give it a chance, hope you like it.

For most fans of slasher filrms, horor flicks and thrilling reads Stephen Graham Jones's laters meta novel, My Heart is a Chainsaw willl be well received. The premise surrounds a teenage final girl -type named Jade who is addicted to slasher films and characters. Her knowledge and familiarity is extensive and she lives her life waiting to be a victim in a real life slasher story. The community at large in her small town in Idaho is struggling to get by day to day until the land across the lake (near Camp Blood) is developed and she befriends Letha, whose father is heading the new development among other scions of industry. Letha is, to Jade, the true final girl. When mysterious deaths occur Jade is convinced her real life movie is about to begin and as more blood is shed readers are taken along a gory ride at breakneck speed until the startling conclusion.

The first part of the book, which opens with a prologue that will remind readers of 80s slasher films, is much slower than the back half. Through multiple perspectives, including Jade's extra credit papers for history, the reader will start to peel back the layers that surround Jade's obsession with horror. The town of Proofrock serves as an interesting backdrop to the murder and mayhem that are about to occur. While I love campy slasher movies and horror films at times the book was frustrating because it felt almost as if it tried too hard to be "meta" or different. The ending was extremely frustrating also (however, many movie endings are too) but perhaps fitting. However, it could set up for a sequel-as any good slasher film should.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

“Horror’s not a symptom, it’s a love affair.”

I don’t remember it but I saw my first slasher movie when I was 6. A friend and I begged our moms to take us to Child’s Play 3, and those lunatics took us. And so my education in age inappropriate viewing began.

My grandfather set a rule going forward. I wasn’t allowed to watch Psycho until I was 10, because he was worried I’d fear taking a shower like Janet Leigh.

Him and I spent many afternoons sit on the couch after school, eating peanut butter by the spoonful, and watch whatever VHS he’d just got.

When Scream came out on video, I watched it every single day for a year straight.

Growing up with horror pulsing through my veins means that Jade was my absolute soul sister.

Horror movies are really the only way to survive any small town whether a slasher is loose or you’re bidding your time.

So when all the trademarks of a slasher start happening, Jade is the only one prepared. An axe stored here, a machete there, and her handy Slasher 101 essays to help the OBVIOUS final girl in her quest to save the people of Proofrock. As the body count rises and the Fourth of July looms nearer, can Jade convince everyone what’s happening before it’s too late for them all?

I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to read the sequel. Yes! We get more Jade!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for an ARC of this title.

Described as a slasher horror/final girl book- I was all in for this one! Read in October, my spooky time for reading! We follow Jade, a 17 year old half-Indian girl in a quiet lakeside town in Idaho. She sees the world through the view of her favorite slasher films. A lot of the references went over my head, if this happens to you, don't worry because she always explains it along the way. Jade starts noticing a plot to a slasher film unfold around her in her town. There are clues to what she is seeing in local legends and ghost stories.

Here's the bad part: I was bored a lot. Even with the gore, lots of dead elk, the final slaughter all that, but at no point was I really scared. The good part, I did like the slasher film obsession being a defense mechanism against other things Jade has gone through. I will be looking out for more books by this author, since I liked it even without being scared.
Thanks again, Netgalley and Jones. 3.5 stars

I've always been a huge fan of Horror and Slasher movies. When I read the synopsis for this book, I knew it was a must read for me. I've previously had a hard time following Mr. Jones writing style, and unfortunately this book was no different. I loved the main character, Jade. She felt so real, like someone I had been friends with in high school. This author writes in a very physical sense, meaning that when its a feeling, a taste or a smell, its conveyed perfectly. Unfortunately, the action parts became hard to follow. We were seeing things through the eye of the protagonist, and in the chaos, they became very confusing. There was no true closure in the conclusion, only sadness and a want for more. All in all, I enjoyed several parts of this book, but my over all feeling is that if this is your first encounter with the author or the genre, you are going to walk away disappointed.