🔪 Book Review (Spoilers!): My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones
⭐️ 4 out of 5 stars | Genre: Slasher Horror / Thriller
Spoilers galore! If you want to read the book fresh, hit that back button now!
📍 Welcome to Proofrock, Idaho — Population: Doomed
Alright, let me set the scene: This book is a love letter to slasher movies.
And also a punch in the face.
My Heart Is a Chainsaw gives us:
✔️ A small town with dark secrets
✔️ A self-proclaimed slasher expert for a narrator
✔️ A slow-burn, blood-soaked descent into chaos
🧵 The Full Plot — All the Gory Details
Meet Jade Daniels
Jade is 17, lives in the middle of nowhere (Proofrock, Idaho), and is obsessed — like truly, deeply, encyclopedically obsessed — with slasher movies.
She’s got a rough life: an abusive father, a mom who bailed on her, and zero friends. Her comfort? All the brutal final-girl stories she can get her hands on.
When weird things start happening in Proofrock (murders, missing people, a creepy rich development going up on Indian Lake), Jade’s slasher-senses start tingling.
She knows the town is about to be the setting of its very own horror movie, and she’s determined to figure out:
➡ Who’s the killer?
➡ Who’s the final girl?
She’s sure it’s not her — she’s too damaged (in her own mind). Instead, she latches onto Letha Mondragon, the beautiful, rich, kind, athletic new girl who just has to be the final girl, right?
The Kill Count Rises
Proofrock starts bleeding:
🔪 A teacher’s murdered on the first page.
🔪 Kids start dying or disappearing (one gets his head cut off by a boat propeller).
🔪 People start whispering about urban legends: the Lake Witch, dark history on Indian Lake, old massacres.
Meanwhile, Jade writes essays (half school assignment, half warning to the world) about slasher tropes and final girl rules.
Jade’s “Slasher Movie” Comes to Life
Bodies pile up.
The rich folks at Terra Nova (that new development) are targeted.
Jade keeps trying to protect Letha — convinced Letha needs to survive the coming bloodbath.
But here’s the thing:
👉 Letha isn’t the final girl. Jade is.
Turns out Jade’s been the final girl all along, but she’s so wrapped up in her own trauma and self-loathing, she can’t see it.
The Killer
So who’s the masked killer?
➡ It’s Sheriff Hardy.
Hardy’s been hiding in plain sight, helping cover up his own crimes and protect the corrupt Terra Nova folks who are complicit.
Jade faces him in a brutal, bloody showdown at the end.
And yes — she survives.
She becomes the final girl she never thought she could be.
🧠 What Makes This Book Wild
Okay, here’s the thing:
Stephen Graham Jones is not just writing a slasher story — he’s deconstructing the whole genre while also delivering one.
He gives us:
✔️ Meta commentary (Jade’s essays could be their own book)
✔️ A deeply broken, deeply human protagonist
✔️ A small town full of secrets and rot
And yes — it’s slow at times. There’s a ton of buildup before the chaos hits. But when it hits? It HITS.
😬 My Take
I tore through this book because I had to know who was behind the mask and who would make it out alive.
✔️ The writing? Next level.
✔️ The slasher love? Absolutely bonkers in the best way.
✔️ The pacing? Honestly, slow. But worth it.
And here’s where I’m with you:
➡ I’m not sure I’m a slasher fan. I don’t love the over-the-top gore, the insane setups. But Jones writes it so smart, so layered, I couldn’t look away.
✨ Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a slasher that’s also a smart, emotional gut-punch, this is it.
It’s messy, it’s violent, it’s brilliant.
📚 If You Liked This, You Might Also Enjoy:
🔪 The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix — similar slasher meta-vibes
👻 The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones — more horror, same author
🏞 The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones — even more slashery goodness
🛒 Get Your Copy of My Heart Is a Chainsaw
👉 Buy on Amazon (affiliate link)
💬 Let’s Chat!
Did you see Jade as the final girl from the start? Did you feel like you were in a slasher film yourself while reading? Drop your thoughts below!
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