By Stephen Graham Jones
My Heart is a Chainsaw (ARC Book Review)
“My Heart is Chainsaw” is, first and foremost, a dissection of the slasher horror genre told through the perspective of a troubled young teen named Jade, who is convinced a real-life serial killer has come to her small town and that her encyclopedic knowledge of slasher movies will soon come in handy.
While “My Heart is a Chainsaw” is best appreciated by those who have a thorough understanding of the genre, others can also appreciate the depth of Jade’s characterization, the small-town atmosphere, and addictive mystery.
Jade is like no other character I’ve ever read before, and certainly not a character from any slasher I’ve ever seen, subverting final girl stereotypes left and right. She’s a character you’ll either love or hate and was equally entertaining and frustrating to read from.
Although the book is heavy with exposition and overly wordy in a way that can often be confusing and time-consuming (purposefully), it gains traction in the second half as the story ramps up into a crescendo of gore and horror that even a non-slasher watcher such as myself could thoroughly enjoy.
I rated “My Heart is Chainsaw” 3.5 out of 5.
Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Racism, homophobia, abuse, blood, gore, violence, murder/death
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