My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

 *Trigger Warnings* rape, abortion, molestation, sexual assault, themes of death, gore

My Heart Is a Chainsaw
by Stephen Graham Jones
⭐⭐⭐

In this story, we meet Jade - a slasher-obsessed 17 year old who is almost positive that a real-life slasher has come to her small hometown. She's an outcast though, the black sheep of the town, and everyone is pretty sure she's just delusional (or a little crazy). The moral of the story? Always listen to teenage girls. My Heart Is a Chainsaw is one of the most unique books I've read this year!

First and foremost, this book defies all genres. It's a mixture of horror, slasher, and thriller all while simultaneously being a revenge AND a "coming of age" story. I found my feelings about this book constantly changing! At multiple points in this story, I had to stop and reevaluate my opinions - originally, I thought Jade was a terrible main character. I thought she was immature and that there was no way I could read an entire book with her... but I did! And I'm glad I did! Jade's character development was so worth it!

Stephen Graham Jones commented on a lot of social issues in this book - racism, misogyny, sexual assault, capitalism, colonialism, small town America, gentrification - and he did so with such ease that it blew my mind! The gore aspect of this story is also really fun, although one of my criticisms is that the slicin' and dicin' takes a very long time to begin! 

I liked this book a lot more than I thought I was going to! I liked the character development, the gore, the political awareness, and the twist at the end! I wish the story was a bit more fun though, but I can totally see why so many people love this book! I'm very eager to see what the sequel will be like! I definitely recommend My Heart Is a Chainsaw if you enjoy thrillers/slashers!