The king of horror does not ever disappoint! The balance of horror storyline, gore, and action was absolutely perfect. I always love the dark humor he throws into his books and this was just such a fun ride. Tolly and the tropes were also *chef's kiss*. I honestly cannot stop thinking about this one! This is easily a 5/5 for me!

Thanks to S&S/Saga Press and NetGalley for an ARC copy of this novel.

I have been a Stephen Graham Jones fan since I read The Only Good Indians, so I was excited to have the opportunity to review his newest novel. I Was a Teenage Slasher follows Lamesa, TX, teenager Tolly Driver as he encounters and then becomes the ubiquitous villain of eighties slasher flicks. This was a super unique take on the slasher genre where the reader is along for the ride in Tolly's head, while Tolly is sort of along for the ride in a slasher's body. You get all the elements promised by a slasher novel--a little bit of the supernatural, some definite jump scares, and a whole lot of gore. But where this novel really earns its stars is through the commentary on the slasher genre which takes a bit of a meta look at horror as a whole. The book wasn't scary, and actually left me with a reminder of the meaning of friendship, but I had a great time reading it. I loved its unique take on slashers!

I was all in on this book from the moment I first heard about it. Stephen Graham Jones, '90s nostalgia, and slashers are some of my favorite things, and when I saw the cover I felt like it captured the whole vibe I was expecting perfectly. This book is screaming to be read by the pool this summer!

So on to the story....as I read the first ten pages or so, I found myself struggling to lose myself in the pages. I think it was the first-person perspective coming from a teenage boy that took some adjusting for me. I'm glad I persisted because it didn't take long before I got the hang of it and found myself lost in the story. I loved the horror movie tropes thrown in with a wink, the depth of the characters, and the small town setting -- I could feel the heat in the air in west Texas. I'm impressed how much this satisfied my slasher love while also making me care for the characters. It was smart and well-written, truly an original and I read it in a single day.

I'm grateful to Simon & Schuster/Saga Press and NetGalley for this digital ARC of 'I Was A Teenage Slasher' by Stephen Graham Jones.

I've only recently finished 'The Angel of Indian Lake' (and, with that, the Jade Daniels/Indian Lake trilogy) and wondered what would come next from this author and how could he ever hope to match the quality and emotional impact of Jade and her story. I certainly felt that there was little chance he could better that series. Well, turns out I was wrong. He takes a teenage slasher and a hot and deadly summer in Lamesa, west Texas, 1989 and blows us all away. Again.

This is the story of Tolly, a high school nobody who, for lack of a better description, gets infected with slasher-itis and we watch this transformation and how his best friend Amber educates him about the traits he's now displaying and, while all the time know there's no way to divert from the predetermined slasher path, tries to save him.

That setup doesn't sound like it could produce the emotional bombshell that's unleashed throughout this novel. How do we find ourselves believing in and wanting the absolute best for a young man who we know has brutally murdered several of his classmates. It's because of how Stephen Graham Jones writes him and everything else in this book (and every other thing he's ever written). There's so much humor in the telling, as well as pathos. You can tell that the author has lived the non-slasher parts of this story. Lamesa, Texas is a real place and that comes through strongly in the writing - the whole narrative (unreal as it is) feels completely grounded.

I grew up six thousand miles and an ocean away from West Texas but I don't think I've ever read such an accurate depiction of an awkward teen standing half drunk, alone, and inwardly miserable at a party while trying to look like they're fitting in and having the time of their lives. The description of being the outsider and otherness in small and major ways are just masterful. You're there - you've been there, at least most of us have at some point in our younger lives. Or now.

As well as some very graphic though non-gratuitous violence (it's a slasher novel!) there's so much love in this book. So much humanity packed into this young monster. There's the love of a child for a father and for a mother and a teenager for a best friend and it's the loss of those loves which is the real monster in this book. Tolly and Amber are so well written, we want so much for everything to work out for them.

One of the best things about reading 'I Was a Teenage Slasher' was when I got to 97/98% in the book and it was the last page and I knew then that there was going to be a Stephen Graham Jones afterword/acknowledgements section. If you haven't read one of this man's afterwords then you're missing some of the finest and most affecting writing I know. If the book that preceded it hadn't already wrung you out emotionally, the afterword picks you up and slams you about emotionally just a bit more. I love this man's writing, his truthfulness and generosity.

From 'The Only Good Indians' through the Indian Lake Trilogy and onto "I Was a Teenage Slasher' Stephen Graham Jones is on a run of form akin to peak Stephen King's 1970s run.

I will read whatever Stephen Graham Jones writes. I adore his writing - its smart, its unique, and his stories are absolutely terrifying. I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER is no exception; its laugh out loud funny, it has enough gore where it is genuinely scary and unsettling, but what stuck with me is how much heart and emotion this book has. I did not expect the gut punch, full on sob session that the ending of this book left me with on this Sunday. Fans of slashers will appreciate and devour I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER, but even non-slasher fans need to read this book because of its unique take on the trope and the attention to detail that SGJ has included in every part of word and every page. I felt like I was in Texas, I felt 17 again, and I felt every ounce of grief, sacrifice, love, fear, and every other emotion that the characters in this book felt and that is why Stephen Graham Jones is simply one of the best. I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER is a new personal favorite of mine and I'm just grateful we live at the same time as Stephen Graham Jones. Thank you to Saga Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for the free copy for review.

There’s more than one side to any story… What a trip! Stephen Graham Jones once again shows his love for small towns that are often forgotten or neglected, the outcasts living there just doing their best in a world that isn’t usually working for them, intimate stories wrapped in bloody, deadly headlines, and a commitment to making sure horror has heart. This was a really fun read, it kept me captivated the whole time. Amazingly, SGJ has released two novels in one year that are both love letters top slasher movies, and both have a teenage Indian girl that has all the necessary slasher lore and knowledge to craft a survival plan at the center or near the center of the story, and yet these novels are wildly different and both ingenious in their own way.

SGJ mentions, in his afterward, that he was inspired by Stephen King’s “Billy Summers,” and that shows. The story is told in a first person narrative style, as what we are reading is clearly being composed by the titular “former teenage slasher,” and we don’t know the context of where or how it is being composed Graham Jones feeds us little details as the story progresses, starting with the fact that there is no italics function on whatever machine is being used, hence the copious underlining in the text. The narrator moves back and forth between narrating the events and directly addressing the reader, sometimes directly addressing a specific reader, and it does a great job of building narrative tension while helping deepen our understanding of and empathy with the character. I am always leery of “found footage” style narrative devices, because they draw pretty strict lines about how the ending of the story can happen (if this is all being recorded by the main character then they have to be alive and in an appropriate environment to actually record this after the conclusion of the story) and often the amount of detail “remembered” by the narrator feels unrealistic enough to be distracting. When this narrative device is done well it can be surprising and exciting and really draw the reader into the life of the story, but it has a lot of opportunities to feel forced, the story being mediated by the form. I will say the ending here does fall into that category, but the way Graham Jones has built the story and characters it feels earned and a fitting ending, even if maybe a little more constrained than what we would have gotten without this narrative device.

The main characters, the narrator and his best friend, feel remarkably real. In a story that combines the outrageousness of movies with supernatural lore and its accompanying occasionally over-the-top violence these two still stand out as having depth and are eminently relatable. This is also helped by Graham Jones’s skill at really setting a scene, and really bringing us to that flat, dusty town in west Texas.

While the story does explore, a little, ideas of our relationships, how we grieve, what is expected of us (especially when we live in small communities), and what it means to feel like you cannot control your own destiny, this story works without any deep psychological analysis. It can be just a bloody, fun time. SGJ is thoughtful and deliberate with his characters’ journeys, this isn’t exploitative, empty schlock like so many of the movies it is fondly referencing, but this story is able to play on both sides of that divide, giving you characters and a plot you care about while also gleefully murdering high schoolers. The ending was pretty clearly telegraphed early in the book, or so it seemed, so it didn’t really surprise me, but I enjoyed every step of the journey.

This is a great book. It is smart, funny, well-paced, and definitely worth checking out if you have any interest in a heart-warming story about growing up faster than you want in a world that is hostile to your hopes and dreams.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Saga Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

So, I don't know what I was expecting. From the title alone I should have known this was going to be a horror fest with blood and gore. But wow!

I do not normally read this type of book, at all. But I was so engrossed in this book.

It sucks you in! Not for the faint of heart.

Recomnend.

For stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press for this thriller/horror book.

5/5

This book was incredible! The writing was fast paced and pulpy and felt like I was put directly into a 90s slasher film and I loved every second of it. It just oozes that whole cheap thriller vibe (in the best way possible), where you know what’s coming but it doesn’t even matter because the journey is just an amazing rollercoaster.

The framing of the story was also great, I loved the whole idea of the main character being the slasher and recounting his past acts. I couldn’t help but really feel bad for him and cheer him on despite the horrific things he had done. That’s how you know it was well written, when you cheer for the murderer. It also adds such a cool twist to the whole narrative.

Overall It was just such a fun novel that you can get sucked into instantly if you buy into the supernatural slasher horror trope vibes.

Came here for the 80's movie slasher vibe and was not disappointed. If there is one thing SGJ does well is gore, this novel did not was bloody and brutal once you got to the slasher parts.

I will say, I was not expecting any sort of paranormal vibe in this book, but it was there and worked decently. This aspect was pretty much the biggest portion of the novel I did not really enjoy, it was a bit confusing to read at points and made me unsure if this was actually happening how we were told it was happening versus if it was something our MC made up. It does get explained later in the novel, as well as explaining (as much as the character) knows of how the traditional slasher aspects work... which is to say we never really find out. But it works for how SGJ presented this novel, the first-person recounting of everything made up for the lack of answers. The way this story is written is as if the MC is still stuck in '89 and his rambling at times played really well.

Overall, it was a fun ride, and I would recommend if you're looking for a bloody fun novel.

Oh this book. Another masterpiece @stephengrahamjones After tragedy at a party Tolly becomes a serial killer after coming in contact with tainted blood. His best friend Amber a horror girl walks him through slasher 101. I don’t want to give much away, this book is tragic, funny, horrific and made me cry at the end and wanting more. Big thanks to @sagapress and @netgalley 6 slasher stars out of 5 it was that good

so man, I really wanted to like this one more than I did. It has a cool approach/premise to the slasher genre, and a few interesting turns, but overall it felt a bit more wordy (and repetitive in its wording, phrasing, and recapping) then I would have liked.
recommended, with reservations that this is definitely more for the die-hard slasher set than the casual fan....

* I received a free copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Probably one of the most original horror books I've ever read is I Was a Teenage Slasher. I kind of expected it to be a very simple "memoir" of an adolescent serial murderer, but in the end, it was a bildungsroman driven by the paranormal that had me cry a little at the end. In the best manner conceivable, it was exactly the opposite of what I had anticipated.

Stephen Graham Jones has his fingers firmly on the pulse of the Slasher genre. I Was A Teenage Slasher is a prime example of this.
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Get your pre-orders in for this one because it is an absolutely beauty. I Was A Teenage Slasher comes out July 16th and you will not want to miss it. Thank you so much @sagapressbooks for this advanced copy. I am forever grateful.
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I’ve got my spoiler-free review below and I surely will run into the comments because I have a lot to say. In short though, this one is incredible and an absolute heartfelt blast. An easy 5/5 from me.
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Over the years, @stephengrahamjones has put us in the mind (and heart and soul) of the Final Girl, most notably the recent Jade Daniels of the Indian Lake Trilogy. This time, however, he flips the script and puts us readers behind the driver seat of the Slasher-mobile — maybe not in complete control; but behind the mask, nonetheless… a very reluctant mask.
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I Was A Teenage Slasher was written in two months (insanity) to clear his mind and to get in the proper headspace to write The Angel of Indian Lake. The emotional, heartfelt, and violent nature of this one definitely acted as a passing of the baton (machete?) to say goodbye to Jade in Angel. Tolly, oh Tolly Driver, was the perfect bridge.
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Tolly Driver, our Teenage Slasher, is our main character in 1989 Lamesa, Texas. He is the driving force of this novel and man, SGJ gave us another beautiful story.
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Taking the POV of the killer is usually risky, but if anyone was going to pull it off and pull it off well, it’s SGJ. I Was A Teenage Slasher does things a little differently though. This novel is, thematically and contextually, a through and through Slasher. It’s also a love story and shares a lot of themes with the Werewolf and Super Hero sub-genres which just makes this novel absurdly COOL. I don’t know if I will ever get over how awesome this book is.
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This honestly might be one of the most FUN experiences I’ve had reading a novel. SGJ gives us so much wit and brains and heart throughout. It is impossible not to have fun with this one — impossible not to smile, laugh, shiver at some gore. And most of all: it is impossible not to cry.
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I Was A Teenage Slasher is just so incredibly well-crafted and an amazing time. The cyclical nature and symbols present throughout conjure up so much intrigue. The way SGJ has us in the passenger seat while Tolly "drives," makes us, in the absolute best way, really question a lot of things, namely certain aspects and motivations of the slashers we have grown up with - are we all just pawns in the great game of slasher chess? • I will definitely have more to say - and more specifics and TONS OF QUOTES - once l'm allowed; once I Was A Teenage Slasher hits shelves. But, like I said above, this is an easy 5/5 - please pre-order this. It's absolutely fantastic and so much fun.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for allowing me to read this ARC- It’s a unique and interesting read!

I Was a Teenage Slasher follows teenaged Tolly and his best friend Amber as they experience the horror of running from a slasher… And then having Tolly become one himself.

Premise: 5 stars. This is one of the most unique books I’ve read in a long time – Because Tolly is Infected with slasher blood, which causes him to become the stereotypical movie slasher (think Michael Myers), his transformation allows the author to create a meta-look at the genre. The scenes where Amber helps Tolly experiment to see whether he’s become a slasher (for example, by pulling knives out of a block to see if they make a “sccchhhhing” sound) were pretty darn brilliant. It’s rare to read a book with a promise that is so different from other books on the market.

Execution: 3. The author is clearly a gifted writer, but I did feel that his tangential style and use of upspeak, intended to really immersed us in the teenage perspective, slowed the pacing of the book (especially in the first half) and occasionally felt difficult to follow.

Overall: 4. Highly recommend anyone who enjoys a classic slasher theme!

This is the story of Tolly who becomes a slasher in high school. This is not at all what you're expecting, Tolly isn't violent, abused, tormented or anything else you might think creates a slasher. Tolly becomes a slasher in a very unique way. His best friend Amber, who grew up watching slasher movies, knows the journey that Tolly will embark on and how he won't stop until he gets the final girl. Yes there are gory scenes but also most of the book is about Tolly and Amber's friendship and how they will do anything for each other. I also liked the setting in 1989 in a small Texas town.

Yes, I Was a Teenage Slasher is a slasher novel—it’s right there in the title. Yes, there’s an impressive body count, and some truly creative methods of dispatch. And if that was all you were looking for in a slasher novel, this would completely satisfy you. But, and it’s a big but, because this is Stephen Graham Jones, I Was a Teenage Slasher is so much more than that. How much more? Let me count the ways…

1. VOICE—Tolly Driver, the teenage slasher of the title, narrates the novel, and Jones nails Tolly’s voice with what seems like effortless ease but I know is impossibly hard. There are few authors working today who can inhabit a character so deeply. Tolly is a killer, he tells us that right from the start. And yet, he is such a goofy, likable fuckup, he is so relatable—we have all known a Tolly, although hopefully they weren’t serial killers—that we care for him and hope for the best, despite what he becomes.

That voice, that expert characterization, extends to all the characters in the novel, particularly Amber, Tolly’s ride-or-die. Jones knows these people, and it shows.

2. PLACE—Jones makes it clear in the afterward—and if you’re not in the habit of reading afterwards, I suggest you always read his, because he puts so much of himself into them—that there’s a lot of himself in Tolly (serial killer not withstanding). Jones grew up in Lamesa, Texas, the setting of the novel, and the sense of place he imbues into I Was a Teenage Slasher feels so authentic, so filled with specificity, that it grounds the novel. There are so many telling details here, I’m pretty sure I could drive down to Lamesa and make my way around town without getting lost.

3. SLASHER GENRE EXPERTISE—As Jones as proven again and again, particular with the Indian Lake trilogy, he has a deep, abiding knowledge of, and affection for, the slasher genre. What that allows him to do in I Was a Teenage Slasher is play with those conventions, tweak them, subversively bend them to his will. In fact, he makes up a few new ones here, and seems to have a helluva good time doing it.

4. HEART—Yes, heart. This novel is filled with heart, and the heartbreak that often accompanies it. The relationship Tolly has with Amber is as pure an expression of friendship and love as I have read in a long time. And I have to admit, I did not expect to find tears in my eyes at the end of a slasher novel, but here we are.

I Was a Teenage Slasher has a propulsive plot, and a ton of humor to balance out the ultraviolence. If you’re a fan of Jones, you already have this headed towards your TBR pile. If he’s new to you, this is as good a place as any to start. It releases July 16th, 2024, and is available for pre-order now.

I never though I'd be rooting for the bad guy...

Late 80's poor, rural Texas and Tolly Driver is trying to grow up and move out of town. A series of events are retold to us by adult Tolly and it's a gory gory ride. If you love the 80's and slasher films and good bad heros, this is a novel for you. Stephen Graham Jones again creates unique characters and premises that are just so fun and so interesting you can't hope but to want your non-horror loving friends to read them.

I highly recommend this for any horror fan! He has raised the bar again!
#saga #Tolly #iwasateenageslasher #stephengrahamjones

Unfortunately I could not get into this book. I made it about 50% and decided it just was not for me. I have never read anything by this author so it may be the style and maybe if I knew that going in it would be different. I may try to come back to it at some point but not right now.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this work in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had the pleasure of reading this book, which kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The author's storytelling and ability to create tension had me hooked from the very first page. Overall, it’s a must-read for fans of the genre.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to review this book. This review is voluntary for I Was A Teenage Slasher

The story is told from the perspective of Tolly Driver, sometime in the future, recanting the events that eventually led him to transforming into a slasher, and the days afterward, marked by confusion of this new norm, and the bloodshed that it now required. To simplify, the story could be broken up into three parts: pre-curse, the event that led to the curse, and then the succeeding events due to the curse.

Written as an autobiography, we are taken deeper into Tolly’s mind as he examines key details in his past. It’s not just about the curse that’s explored through this rumination, but the person he was, and the life he had before the turn. Through stream-of-consciousness, the emotions presented through Tolly’s memories convey a specific heart-ache for this given situation, for a life he was denied, due to something he never asked for, or had control over to stop or change. No detail is left out of this retelling of Tolly’s life, as his thoughts continue to expand on this analysis he has undertaken. We are led through his time in high school, to hanging out with his only friend Amber, and the shenanigans that ensue when they’re together. The potential he had when he was completely human, now gone. Learning about the community he lives in, how flat it is in Lamesa, Texas, and what it means to be him, in this life, in this corner of the world.

A lot of us know what it feels like to be put into a situation we didn’t ask for, and a connection is established in the story with Tolly revolving around this idea, and it produces empathy because he’s forced into this situation, due to a curse, and there’s not much he can do to be rid of it now. We learn of how he hurts, and how he misses how things used to be. Heartbreak being the guiding element of the prose. We are taken through a personal journey of someone who wanted a life other than what was forced onto him. The synopsis was on point when it said we would be rooting for Tolly Driver, but not for the reasons you might expect. It’s worth every moment to find out why.