Stephen Graham Jones follows up The Only Good Indians with this love letter to horror and horror fans. This is not an easy book, in that it requires so much of the reader, most of all patience, but the payoff is so rewarding and powerful.

When I say it requires patience, I mean it. The first 60% of this book is deliberately slow and meandering, a chainsaw idling before revving up and going on an absolute tear through the final third.

Gory, bloody, disturbing, and a hell of a ride, if you enjoyed The Only Good Indians, this book should be on your wavelength as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Saga Press for providing me with an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of My Heart is a Chainsaw.

First, I love horror. Horror movies, horror posters, horror anything! I love to be scared and I love Halloween. Naturally, I had to request this when I saw the premise.

Second, great title. It caught my eye, even if the premise didn't.

Third, I love the premise about a heroine who immerses herself in 80s slasher films to escape the travails of her traumatic childhood and provincial town.

I really wanted to like this. No, that's not true. I wanted to LOVE this. But, I didn't.

There's a scene in my favorite movie of all time, Amadeus, when the Emperor Joseph, tells Mozart his opera would have been 'perfect' except for one thing. 'Too many notes.'

My Heart is a Chainsaw has 'too many words.'

But, that's not the only issue.

Most of the narrative read as filler, the characters, the nicknames Jade gives them, her imagination, and all the pop culture references, though I enjoyed reading them, was too much.

Many scenes dragged on for far too long, like the scenes in Bridesmaids; endless dialogue, most of it not adding to the story.

The author can write, but a part of me felt like he was trying to prove that to himself and us, the readers.

This was 200 pages too long, (the author seems to forget that horror movies are generally quite short, 90 minutes, 100 minutes tops) and after a few chapters, I felt like I was reading a British melodrama directed in the 80s. No shame to anyone who enjoys these types of movies.

As a result, when slayings did occur, my senses were dulled by the endless exposition and text that came before it.

I wasn't scared, I wasn't horrified, and that is a travesty.

I didn't like that the chapters were broken up by Jade's paper to her teacher. It was distracting, though I know the point was to offer further insight into her mind and perspective and a break from what was occurring presently. In certain genres/narratives, this could work and work well. It doesn't here.

I get the narrative is supposed to be about a transformative coming of age for Jade, a troubled young woman who must reconcile her personal fears of abandonment and abuse and forge on with her life, like the 'final girl' at the end of a horror movie.

True life is sometimes (most times) more horrifying than any horror movie; that's a fact.

But, I read because I love to read and I love to be entertained.

My Heart is a Chainsaw did not entertain me, but that's because I had different expectations.

This just wasn't for me.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Gallery Books Saga Press for the ARC. I really hate giving low star reviews but unfortunately this one just didn’t do it for me. I was excited by the concept and description of the book and the prologue was good, but for me that’s where it ended.

This story was good, but what will stay with me for while was Jade. She was a unique heroine, unlike any I've read before. There were a few moments while reading when I started to drift, but she always pulled me back: I needed to know what happened to her. Sometimes a good character makes the story.
Thanks to Gallery Press/Saga Books and NetGalley for the advance digital copy to review. All opinions are my own.

Just loved this. Sorry it took so long to get to this one, but once I started it, I could not put it down.

This book had such a good premise, but it didn’t stick the landing. There were a few different sections that went on FOREVER. It also became a bit tedious for Jade to repeat the same details about horror movies over and over and over again. I love slashers, but she was definitely written to be very over the top.

All in all, I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t really get much of it either. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

A true horror story with a 17-year old main character obsessed with slasher films. Jade is waiting for her town, which in her opinion, is the perfect setting for a slasher film, to have its slasher moment. When it happens she is the only one prepared for what's to come. Full of great characters and gore.

I cannot contain my excitement for MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW. Stephen Graham Jones is a master of the thriller/horror, and his love for 80s horror is evident in genius, mind-blowing ways here. We get to see all the way into the MC, Jade: how she got where she is, how her mind works, the individual, family, and cultural consequences of trauma. MHIAC had me coming back eagerly until the last page, and it’s one that I was so sad had to end.

SGJ has absolutely done it again. My Heart Is a Chainsaw has plot, social messages, decolonizing themes, vivid and dynamic characters, and twists and turns that make your heart jump and mind race.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this advance e-arc!

'Final girls are the vessel we keep our hope in. Bad guys don't just die by themselves, I mean. Sometimes they need help in the form of a furie running at them, her mouth open in scream, her eyes white-hot, her heart forever pure.'
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If you've read any of Jones's books you'll know that he has a knack for a suspenseful build-up and satisfying payout.
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Welcome to Proofrock, an idyllic simple lakeside town nestled in a valley & forest with lots of local legends. Introducing Jade the rebellious teen who is a fanatic of a special horror genre - slashers. Jade has built her life around a fantasy that certain events will kickstart a slasher cycle complete with mysterious deaths, a big party, new rich settlers across the lake bringing along the all-important FINAL GIRL. Enter Letha Mondragon who is everything Jade wishes she was. Letha is perfect in every way be it academically, athletically, and above all morally. All Jade has to do is nudge the bits into place because the plot has already started. But reality is much scarier when dead bodies show up everywhere.
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Jones's writing takes a while to get into but eventually everything snowballs and just like 'The Only Good Indians' this book kept me guessing till the end and the reveal is really good! There are loads of little classic horror movie references which I absolutely enjoyed! My only gripe would be that Jones writes wayyy too much inner monologuing which can get tedious sometimes.
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There's this sense of Jade believing "she's-not-like-other-girls" but that quickly subverts when you read between the lines of her traumatic past. Jones was inspired by a real event and statistic among native American communities of sexual assault done by fathers to daughters. It breaks your heart reading Jade's story and justification for her coping mechanism. It's good to bring attention to topics of sexual assault, failed parenting, and mental health.
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This book is gory, unpredictable and has a host of interesting characters. It left me heartbroken even as the story climaxed naturally because life isn't a perfect movie and you don't get to pick your genre.

Thanks to Gallery/Saga Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This was a DNF for me. I love a good psychological thriller, but I just couldn’t lose myself in this book.

I will probably be the minority in my opinion, but that's okay. I could not even finish this book. I thought I would like it from the dust jacket description but I just couldn't get into it.

This book wasn't horrible but it really wasn't for me. I think if you're really into slashers like Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street, you'll probably like this book. But if reading about a 17 year old girl with an obsessive, encyclopedic knowledge of slashers isn't your jam, I would maybe skip this one.

I liked the premise of a girl who likes horror movies finds herself in the middle of the plot of one, but Jade was a very difficult main character to enjoy for me. She was very much of the attitude that she's "not like other girls" because she's into edgy stuff and would just go on and on and on about how much of an outcast she was. Between that and the school papers she wrote about slashers that break up each chapter, the pacing was just much slower than I expected.

I thought the third act was pretty good but by then I was so annoyed by everyone that I wasn't as invested or even as spooked as I would have like to have been.

Third person limited is perhaps my favorite point of view, which this book is. However, there were so many times that it felt disjointed and it was hard to keep track of what was going on. For me, personally, I think I would’ve had more clarity throughout the plot if it were told in first person, like the interspersed Slasher 101 essays written by Jade (which I adored).
I feel like this book deserves a reread for me, and would probably bump up a star, now that I’ve read through the whole thing once and understand where it was going. I adored Jade, and I relate so much to her awkward obsession with something so not mainstream. As a teen who talked her teachers into writing essays on serial killers and true crime, I feel like I understand her to her core, and the yearning to turn her less-than-stellar life into something as fascinating and worthy of being discussed as a slasher.
This book definitely had heart, and I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoys horror and isn’t put off by reading a million references to slasher movies. I’ll certainly give it a reread in the future, and I’m interested how my rating would change the second time around.

This was an ode to the old slasher movies of the 80s for sure. Stephen Graham Jones has a style of writing all his own and it shines in this particular book. He's definitely one of today's best writers and I only hope be garners the attention he deserves. Great book!!!

My Heart is a Chainsaw is the best kind of horror novel. The kind that breaks your heart, makes you laugh a little, and scares you a whole lot. This story, and the main character are going to live in my head and heart forever.

With the rich families moving into her small mountain town, Jade is convinced that something bad is going to happen. She's seen enough horror movies to spot the signs. Living in her own little horror movie world, she navigates high school, her job as a janitor, and her crappy father and absent mother with her wit, sense of humor, and lots of great horror movie quotes.

I dug into this book without knowing the story, and I'm grateful for that. The twists and turns were exciting (and scary!) and I really had no idea what to expect. I'd suggest you don't read too many reviews. Just know that if you love horror, appreciate a final girl, and are ready to get lost in small town, My Heart is a Chainsaw is your book.

The more I read from from Stephen Graham Jones, the more I love him. He has a special way of writing and telling a story. I especially love the humor he brings to his characters. Jade is one of the most unforgettable characters I've read about, and every time I dye my hair, put on too much eyeliner, or quote a horror movie, I'll be channeling Jade.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read and review this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story.. It felt exactly like watching a horror movie.. a slasher movie to be more specific. It was scary, and super creepy, and the tension built slowly just the way i like it

Jade is our main character and she is a horror movie fan.. specifically Slasher films.. She is narrorating our story and so badly wants a real life slasher to appear in her town.. She is watching for the signs that she knows preceeds a slasher in every movie, and has almost encyclopedic knowledge of these movies. In fact she reminds me of Randy from the Scream movies .He was a character obsessed with Horror movies like Jade and told everyone how the real life killings in Woodsborough would play out .Like Randy when Jade realizes that what she wants most is actually happening she does her best to warn/prepare the final girl (the girl who always survives at the end of a horror movie) for what is about to come.

I would have totally been Jades friend in high school. While I don't remember every detail of horror movies, they are one of my favorite genres

and we actually get mentions of my favorite movies like Scream, I Know What you Did Last Summer and Chucky. I think we would have gotten along real well.

Jade was an amazing character, and I loved her. She did her best to be herself and not let anybody change who she is. She knew what was coming and did her best to warn people even though it fell on deaf ears until the carnage started. She is brave and completly independant.

While I was following Jade along on her quest to find out who the Slasher is, and her trying to help the final girl I felt like Jade knew exactly what she was doing and thinking.. When she was confident in her decisions so was I, when she second guessed herself I did too.. and that ending was totally and completly unexpected and I loved it..

We were left with some unanswered questions at the end but I think that is the nature of a horror movie.. We never completly know the persons motive or what happens when the story ends.. However I would love if this book got a sequel at some point.. Even if it didn't specifically follow Jade again, or just made some vague mentions of what happened at Indian Lake and what happened to Jade afterwards.. you'll know what I mean when you finish the book..

While both of my siblings like to read, we really don't have the same reading tastes. We all do love horror movies and this is a book I could confidently recommend to both of them and know they would both enjoy it.

I would definitely read more books by this author in the future and look forward to reading his backlist titles.

The author pigeonholed this book in an unfortunate way. The plot is premised on a slasher-flick-obsessed teen girl who must save her town from an IRL slasher plot. I don’t like slasher films, but I’ll read books with the same plot points and this is a book, not a movie, so, whatever, I can totally get on board.

But, the book gets too obsessed with the minutiae of slasher films and drops the ball on being a slasher itself.

Part of that delay is that every other chapter is an essay written by the main character about slasher films. And, maybe this is just me because I taught writing to people about the same age for about a decade, but I wanted to gouge my eyes out. Kudos to the author for getting the voice and nonsense of high school writing VERY right, but why do I need to read it? The plot wasn’t furthered and the character wasn’t developed. The essays just made the book longer and took the reader out of the slasher atmosphere after every chapter until the onslaught of violence.

There’s some good stuff in here, but it’s buried under too much excess, which is a shame because another book of his, The Only Good Indians, is excellent and taut so the editing talent is there.

ARC from NetGalley. The book is due out in August 2021.

Just WOW! An amazing look into the dynamics around a female sociopath and how she is enabled by her family and acquaintances. I felt the older sister was more to blame since Ayoola couldn't control her actions, but her older sister could and covered for her, allowing her to skip along taking and killing. A really great read and excellent from the female perspective rather than the typical male.

Stephen Graham Jones is one intense writer and I love their writing. Jones has a penchant for scaring the hell out of me in the best way possible, while also adding some serious social commentary to the story. I can imagine that Jones isn't for everyone, but I recommend their works to patrons looking for a scare and this is no exception. We will absolutely be buying this for the collection.

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Storygraph!