My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

In her quickly gentrifying rural lake town Jade sees recent events only her encyclopedic knowledge of horror films could have prepared her for

Jade Daniels is an angry, half-Indian outcast with an abusive father, an absent mother, and an entire town that wants nothing to do with her. She lives in her own world, a world in which protection comes from an unusual source: horror movies…especially the ones where a masked killer seeks revenge on a world that wronged them. And Jade narrates the quirky history of Proofrock as if it is one of those movies. But when blood actually starts to spill into the waters of Indian Lake, she pulls us into her dizzying, encyclopedic mind of blood and masked murderers, and predicts exactly how the plot will unfold.

Yet, even as Jade drags us into her dark fever dream, a surprising and intimate portrait emerges… a portrait of the scared and traumatized little girl beneath the Jason Voorhees mask: angry, yes, but also a girl who easily cries, fiercely loves, and desperately wants a home. A girl whose feelings are too big for her body.

My Heart Is a Chainsaw is her story, her homage to horror and revenge and triumph.

Goodreads Synopsis

Overall Rating

5/5

Spooky Rating

3/5

Quick Take

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones is an intensely original horror novel that is in a class of its own. It is impossible to judge this novel compared to other horror novels, because they simply do not compare. It is a clear five star read.

Tell Me More

I admit that I am a bit late reading The Indian Lake Trilogy, and I am kicking myself for not jumping on the boat sooner. I have been a fan of Stephen Graham Jones for a while, and I even had the pleasure of meeting him at an intimate author talk at my local library since we both live in the same state. But I think that I was nervous to read My Heart is a Chainsaw because people have either loved or hated it, and it was impossible for me to go in completely blind as this trilogy has been all over bookstagram. However, I am happy to say that I completely ate it up and it broke my heart and put it back together in all of the best ways.

My Heart is a Chainsaw follows Jade Daniels, a teen girl who is obsessed with slashers. With a history of trauma and mental health concerns, she finds solace in slashers, and is convinced that one is about to take place in her town. She believes that another girl is destined to be the final girl in this upcoming slasher and goes out of her way to try to educate this girl on how to be the final girl. But what ensues is a completely grotesque and heart wrenching blood bath that she never saw coming.

Stephen Graham Jones’ writing is a lot like Stephen King’s in that you either love it, or hate it, and there is no in between. For this novel in particular, the writing is designed to put you in Jade Daniel’s shoes and can often feel disjointed. It takes a lot of mental effort to follow along with Jade’s thought process, and while the novel is a slow burn, it worms its way under your skin. I am a fan of slow burn horror, so I loved the slow build. But readers looking for the gore will be highly rewarded should they make it to the end. Just be forewarned that this novel is character driven in that you spend the entire novel in the head of Jade Daniels, whether you like it or not.

One concern that I’ve heard from others is that they don’t think that they will fully grasp this novel due to all of the slasher references if they aren’t into slashers themselves. However, I found that the references educated as well as entertained and were designed to share Jade’s love of slashers with the reader. While I did grasp all of the references due to my personal obsession with slashers, I also learned more about them and how they are defined and categorized, as well as which horror movies that one might think are slashers, actually are not. If you aren’t a fan of slashers now, after spending time in Jade Daniel’s head, you absolutely will be.

All I can say is, read this novel. If you don’t read anything else this year – READ THIS NOVEL. The finale for the trilogy just came out, and I am impatiently awaiting my preorder. My Heart is a Chainsaw will slice its way into your mind and hold you hostage. You will never be the same again.