"Horror is not a symptom. It's a love affair."

As Texas finally begins to trade the insufferable summer heat for the cooler weather of fall, I'm finding myself craving a good scare. I've always had a soft spot for the horror genre. There's just something about the thrill of being genuinely terrified by the words on a page that I find exhilarating. The chilled air and the promise of spooky thrills from a master horror author like Stephen Graham Jones were too much of a good thing for me to pass up when his publisher offered me a copy of his latest novel My Heart Is a Chainsaw. I was first introduced to the writing of Jones through his last novel The Only Good Indians. While I had a pretty mixed reaction to the characters in that work, I couldn't deny the ritualistic brutality of the horror. That story unsettled me in a way that still gives me chills when I think about it. Naturally, I was anticipating that this new novel would do the same.

Being a teenager is tough. For Jade Daniels, a senior in high school, her young adulthood has been downright unbearable. Her mom left her dad many years ago, and Jade only sees her when she visits the local dollar store where her mother works. Jade lives with her father, an abusive alcoholic who spends most nights in a drunken haze reliving the glory days with his best friend. At school, things aren't much better. She's an outcast, more comfortable on her own than with any friends. It isn't like there are people lining up to befriend her anyway. Her teachers are equally uninterested. Jade is on the path to dropping out of her final year in school. It's safe to say that things are pretty terrible.

Jade finds refuge in an unlikely source. She's obsessed with horror movies. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the genre knows no bounds, but she has taken a special fascination in those classic slashers that see a masked villain exact revenge on the place and people who did them wrong. So thorough is her knowledge that Jade has decided to submit an essay on the lurid history of her own town as a last-ditch effort to successfully graduate from high school. She narrates her own story, corroborated by a cast of eccentric locals, in the same style as the horror films she reveres. But Jade isn't prepared for what is about to come next. She's about to find herself and her town in the center of a very real horror story.

My Heart Is a Chainsaw is a love story of sorts. Not in the traditional sense, of course, but as an ode to the kinds of slasher movies of the '70s and '80s that clearly influenced Stephen Graham Jones's affinity for the genre. I imagine that the character Jade's own reverence for those horror classics mirrors that of the author who brought her to life. Like the films that are referenced, this work balances gore and humor while driving home a deeper message around family, community, and revenge. I found Jade to really be an acquired taste. At first, she was kind of annoying, seemingly bringing much of her problems on herself. But as I got to know the character more, I was really moved by her journey through both her personal problems and the horror story that unfolded around her. At times, My Heart Is a Chainsaw slows to a crawl, especially as Jones devotes much of the middle section to character development. Fortunately, the slower parts pay off as the final act plays out in gruesome glory. Stephen Graham Jones has written a really fun novel that works as both a thrilling horror story and an homage to the films that inspired it. It was the perfect read to kick off the fall season.

Lyrical, timely. Told in parallel style. It’s not your classic soldiers against the Indians. There is integrity, such quiet dignity from the Native Americans , seeking only to be left alone. Yet a force compels each side to an end neither wants nor evades.

What's not to love in this book ? It's a page turner that kept me turning pages maniacally and keeping on the edge.
Stephen Graham Jones can surely write and his stories are always brilliant.
This is no exception. Some graphic details could be a bit too much for somebody.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

17-year-old Jade is a descendent of the Blackfeet Tribe, a horror junkie and social outcast with a complicated relationship with both of her parents. Her encyclopedic knowledge of all things blood and gore has her uniquely positioned to recognize when a series of murders in her small Idaho town start to mirror the opening scenes of one of her beloved slasher movies. Jade embarks on an action-packed quest to convince the local powers that be of the imminent danger and save the town that ostracizes her. Do not read this book if you are sensitive to gore.

I recently gave a less enthusiastic review to another slasher-inspired horror novel, largely due to my general disinterest in the genre. This book is totally different; Jones maintains some much-needed tongue-in-cheek humor throughout the story arc, but along the way examines horror tropes under a microscope, picking them apart and reassembling them into something totally fresh and unique. I love the way Jones uses speculative fiction to call attention to the real-life horrors of colonialism, gentrification and Indigenous displacement.

This book is not for everyone. Jones' writing is dense requires your full attention. Thematically, there is copious violence and Jade's unpacks some pretty heavy trauma in the final chapters of the book. I don't suppose every reader will be as hyped about this book as I am, but I think it is a powerful, thought-provoking work of speculative fiction that's worth any socially conscious horror fan's time.

Oh my goodness! 😱
This was not a good fit for me.
I don’t do horror, but it received such great reviews I thought I could do it…. Nope!🙈

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Stephen Graham Jones can scare me like no one else and this book was no exception. His evident adoration of the horror movie genre informs the structure of this book and his talent for terror makes it compulsively readable even for those who aren't as familiar with the movies.

I will not be finishing this book due to the mentions of hunting in the story. I had to stop reading it due to the graphic details but I did put up a feature on my page I am linking below. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.

We know what happens in slasher movies. There's a closely followed routine that gets wrapped up in a bow at the end. First there's gore and jumpscares but the final girl always prevails.

What happens here isn't a slasher movie. Jade, the half-Indian suicide survivor, is prepared for a Slasher. We have rich folks messing up the wilderness with big houses, we have disappearing Dutch visitors, police who don't listen, bad dads, old Murders no one has forgotten, and a lakeside community that's skeptical of change, or of people who are different than the norm.

Jade tries to warn the rich daughter of then men building retreats, but like Cassandra, no one believes her until it's too late.

Stunning. Grotesque. Gorgeous. Wild.

4.4/5 stars
Recommended for those who like
Peter Heller
Robert McCammon
Being in the wilderness
Indigenous writers
Girls with encyclopedic knowledge

Marked DNF at 20%
I had high hopes for this book. Everyone said how good "The Only Good Indians" was and as I'm a fan of anything horror I went in with high expectations. I haven't read TOGI yet so I'm not sure if this writing style is the author's usual or something he did for this book. I found the narration hard to follow and there seems to be too many things happening at once. Jade frequently switches from talking about slasher films to trying to end her life. I'm not sure if the plot even resolves itself as I couldn't make it very far.

Oh my gosh I loved this book! This is a love letter to the horror/slasher genre and it is amazing. I felt like I was watching an 80s horror movie the entire time. That opening scene was right out of a movie and I couldn’t put it down after that.

There are so many references to my favorite movies that I was having such a fun time reading it. Even if you don’t know all of the movie references (which I didn’t) I still liked hearing them and it made me add a few movies to my watch list!

It was gorey, 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 the setting of Proofrock.

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

There are certain rules that one must abide by in order to successfully survive a horror movie! ~ Randy, Scream

Jade knows all the rules. Horror movies, slashers in particular, are her religion. When the bodies start dropping, she needs to find a “final girl” to save the town. When you first start to get to know Jade, you don’t expect to end up caring for her much. She’s a little abrasive and dramatic. But as I learned more about her and how she ticks, I came to love her before the credits rolled.

If I described how I got into horror and asked someone to write a book using all my favorite things about most of my favorite slashers, what I’d end up with is MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW. This novel is a slashery tour de force. Not only do you get a compelling story of a young woman doing her darnedest to apply all of her horror movie knowledge to fulfill the role she believes she was born to play, you also get a master class on the slasher subgenre and horror movies in general. Never have I seen more references to movies in a book, for better or for worse. Interspersed between chapters, we get essays written by the protagonist to her history teacher attempting to get him to understand horror movies more. These also serve to let the reader know what to look out for, what’s a red herring, etc…it’s a very cool way to convey information.

There are three factors that I think will heavily influence how much you enjoy this novel.

One, Stephen Graham Jones’ voice. His writing is very conversational in that he writes how he speaks. I, for one, really enjoy it, but I’ve also never read anyone else like him. It takes a little getting used to.

Two, this book spends a significant amount if time setting up the dominoes before stuff hits the fan. It’s fun to see if the book is following the “rules” or not, or if it’s going to subvert them. That was enough to keep me going, but I could easily see how some folks might think it’s too slow. It’s worth it.

Three, the more you know about slashers going in, the more you’ll enjoy the references. There are a TON of references to horror movies in this book. Sometimes it tells you where the reference is from, and sometimes it doesn’t. These moments can feel like easter eggs for fans or confusing moments for those that are unfamiliar. Most of these worked for me because slashers are my thing, but I could see some of them might go over some heads.

With all that said, I loved it.

Overall, this book is a love letter to slashers and a character study of a young woman that no one understands. Despite it being a slow burn, I found myself wanting to read it again as soon as I was done. Not because I felt I’d missed anything (though I’m sure I did), but more because I just didn’t want to leave the world that SGJ had built. If that’s not a sign of a great book, I’m not sure what is.

*Thanks to Saga and NetGalley for the ARC for review

I really felt this Authors writing was so different from what I normally read and I loved it! It gave me all the creepy vibes I was hoping for! This totally made me feel like I was watching a slasher film! Loved every aspect of this story line!

LOVED this book! Perfect for thriller fans! Had the final girl feel through the entire book. If your a horror/scary movie fan like me you will definitely enjoy this book.

Actual rating: 2.5/5 stars

In this novel, we follow Jade, a lonely half-Native American outcast obsessed with slasher movies. She lives with her abusive, alcoholic father in the small town of Proofrock, Idaho. Jade has attempted suicide before, and she tries again on the verge of finishing high school. After a few weeks at a treatment center, she comes back to school, but something feels different: Jade is convinced Proofrock has its own slasher, and when she meets Letha Mondragon, the gorgeous, smart, and kindhearted daughter of a mogul who moved into the new fancy development still being built across the lake, she thinks she has found the ultimate final girl.

I honestly just hoped that this book paid off more than it did. It had me with the prologue but was so slow to develop. The end didn't pay off enough for me and I wish it paid respect to horror slashers by being one itself but it wasn't. The slasher references also got old quickly. I love horror and slasher movies but they just referenced so much they felt overdone. I was just disappointed and bored most of the time.

I also didn't understand a significant amount of the book. I honestly think it was me and not the novel. Plenty of people will love this book but I was not one of them.

Thank you to Gallery Books, Stephan Graham Jones, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As with every Stephen Graham Jones book, the end leaves me speechless. He has a way of building tension, bottling it up so that everything explodes in those last few moments. I felt so much grief and hope for Jade at the end. It made the hours of reading feel worth it. At times this book felt too long or I wasn't getting enough from the main character. It took me a long time to fall into the story though I think that's due to my little knowledge of the horror genre. Aficionados will likely lap up all the references. At times this was a primer on horror history which I appreciated but could have had less of. Until the end, I was sitting on a solid 3-star rating but the ending bumped it up to a 4 star. I always love a good cry.

I was looking for a good atmosphere, spooky read to kick off the fall season, and My Heart is a Chainsaw came through! Loved how this pulled apart the classic slasher trope, using the self-aware, meta narrator to comment on the genre. Being inside Jades head throughout the book constantly left me guessing of what was real, what was true, and where the story was heading.

This was my first Stephen Graham Jones, but will absolutely 100% not be my last. Loved this so much!

This book is a tribute to slasher and horror movies. The main character Jade, is an outcast in a small town. She knows all there is to know about the genre and is completely obsessed. She even centers an assignment in school around slasher movies. Pretty soon Jade discovers that she is living in an actual "Slasher" movie and identifies the final girl as a fellow student. No one takes her seriously and the few that do care about her know she is guarding some secrets that have led her to be a little strange.
The story is pretty slow building and it took me awhile to get into the story. Jade's horror references were overwhelming at times and difficult to follow. However once the story starts to pick up it is very exciting, gory, brutal and sad. I really liked the story but I wish it had held my interest a little better in the beginning. Lots of good horror references that make me anticipate Halloween season and the films that we love to be frightened by.
3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not the biggest horror fan, but I could still appreciate this total homage to the horror movies. This novel is filled with references to so many horror movies and the classic elements of the genre that it's almost encyclopedic. Yet at the same it turns the genre on its head and brings a new story with new elements and unique themes. I was ready for a very different ending from what I got and the book was much better for it. If you love horror movies you will love this book and even if you don't it's still a great novel.

Having grown up with the traditional slasher movies, Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc. this novel was so much fun (at the same time being quite scary) and it also addressed a number of important issues with respect to indigenous communities.
The story follows Jade, the ultimate slasher film fan as she attempts to unravel the mystery in her small town around a number of deaths that take place over a short period of time, while also trying to figure out who is “the final girl”.
I loved the slasher 101 chapters, where Jade is attempting to complete her senior year history class by sharing with her teacher and with us the history of slasher movies, the ingredients of a slasher movie and what it means to be a final girl.
There were three characters, in addition to Jade, that I really loved… although I think sharing them here might be too much of a spoiler!
This was a roller coaster ride and the entire story was building up to the last 20%, which you may not want to read at night. Stephen Graham Jones writing style is poetic at times bridging the gap between literary and horror. And I was 100% here for it.
I have read two others by the Jones, The Night of the Mannequins and The Least of My Scars, with The Final Girls up for next month. This has been my favorite so far and he is definitely an auto buy author for me.
Thank you Netgalley for a review copy and my hardback is on its way!

Jade knows who the final girl is and she is going to help her survive! This book is for anyone who loves slasher films from the '70s and '80s. I felt connected to the characters and creeped out at times. This was a great horror book that I will definitely recommend.