My Heart Is a Chainsaw

The second book I've read this year that riffs on classic slasher movies, after Grady Hendrix' Final Girl Support Group. Must be something in the air, I guess. This is a darker book than that one, with some real horror at its heart.
Our lead character Jade is a troubled teen, who is trying to navigate the difficulties of her life by constructing a persona based around slasher films.
The middle of the book is a slow burn, as other reviewers have pointed out, but it's not wasted space as we get further into Jade's head, and also get to piece together some of the things she's not telling us about herself (like her name, for a start). The ending delivers plenty of blood and excitement, but the real emotional punch comes in the last few sentences with their pointer to a life that could have and should have been.
It's funny that a book celebrating one of the most exploitative horror genres turns out to be a nuanced and sensitive character study, which I guess just goes to show that you can have your cake and stab it after all.