Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

180 reviews

wlreed312's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I struggled a bit with the narrative voice for the first half, and the essays between the chapters were hit or miss for me. But once the final act started, I thought it was fantastic. I like Jade very much as a character, but the way she structured her thoughts was a little chaotic to me. The style fits the character well, but sometimes made it hard for me to follow. I liked it overall, and am definitely interested in seeing what happens next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Rape and Sexual harassment

gracecrandall's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

nataliesfx's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, and Colonisation

janetpants's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

uhhjeepers's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book isn’t exactly what I expected it would be based on what I’d heard, but upon finishing it, I think that’s okay.

Stephen Graham Jones puts his whole heart into this project, which you would easily know just by reading the first chapter. His knowledge on slashers informs the book perfectly, and being a slasher connoisseur myself, it was really fun being like “I get that reference!” 

His characters are alive and, when necessary, fleshed out in a refreshing way. Sometimes people are there for body fodder, as is the slasher way, but he really birthed some compelling and lovable characters that I was happy to know and, in some cases, sad to lose. His characterization is arguably the best part of the book, as when I felt uninterested, my commitment to Jade and Letha kept me chugging through.

That being said, I do wish that more of the book had the pacing and development that the final three chapters had. But, I’m also aware enough to understand exactly why they weren’t. You win some, you lose some, but overall SGJ has a win with this book.

I’m actually much more eager to read the sequels than I thought I’d be, and I believe that most of the struggles I had with this book won’t really present themselves in the next one. Keep an eye out for that log, I guess!

My qualifications: I LOVE slashers, and I’m pretty fond of this book. Take all of this as you will.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Sexual assault

Minor: Rape

emilyalsop's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, and Suicide attempt

msapocalypse's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

mulletapologist's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit

cebadgley's review

dark informative tense medium-paced

4.0

 I had the most difficult time following the frenetic writing. While reading I almost DNF bc of style and my inability to “hear” the characters voice while in 3rd POV. The twist at the end and the final couple of paragraphs has me heated and rolling my eyes. This is going to stay with me for a bit, and bc of that, I’ll rate it a 4.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Vomit

artemis7's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt

Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Sexual assault, and Murder

Minor: Animal death and Racism