I Was a Teenage Slasher was a thrilling read. I liked the character exploration and the writing was propulsive. I would read more from this author.

This just wasn’t for me. I like the idea of it and the plot and characters are good but something for me is the is missing.

I DNF’d around 57% it was highly confusing and unclear what direction the author was going. I felt like being halfway through the book I should know why or how Tilly became a slasher. While the book wasn’t a fav I absolutely love the book cover.

I have heard great things about this book, however as my first time reading one of Stephen Graham Jones' books, I had a really hard time getting into the style of writing. With that being said, I ended up not finishing this unfortunately.

I Was a Teenage Slasher was definitely not what I had expected it to be. Now that may be my own fault for going into a book mostly blind, but it unfortunately did have an impact on my overall enjoyment of this book.

We follow a young man who is being plagued by these uncontrollable thoughts and urges to kill. He is basically possessed the mindset of a slasher and becomes an invincible killing machine. Him and his best friend try to see when these urges start and how to control them before it’s too late.

While this was a very unusual and unique book I was a little disappointed. I really wanted a book from the mindset of a ruthless teenager slasher (what does that say about me? I’m not too sure but will not be diving deeper with that). But this was more about two caring best friends who were trying everything to stop this, essentially, supernatural force from cause these killings. I do recommend this book to people who like “campy” horror but just be prepared for what type of book you are getting into to fully enjoy it!

The throwbacks and mentions of horror movies and heavy metal from the 80s is what drew me in initially. It was original and interesting. I did feel that some parts dragged on and was slow. That ending though was well done and tied the whole story together.

JFC, every time i pick up one of Jones' books it completely throws me off. I'll poke around it and think I get it and then...bam. This..is is Cabin in the Woods for people who read way too much literary fiction and it's INCREDIBLE. THANK YOU!

Not for me. Writing is juvenile and YA like which is fine if you like that. The pace was clunky and the characters not believable enough to make them seem relatable or likeable.

As always, I love every book by Stephen Graham Jones! Scary and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

Set in 1989, I Was a Teenage Slasher is the first-person confessional of Tolly Driver, a disaffected youth living in the rural town of Lamesa, Texas. While fundamentally a decent person, Tolly has struggled with a sense of rootlessness since the untimely death of his father. Lamesa feels stifling and small, but college and prospects of a life outside of his hometown feel distant and unattainable. His plight goes from bad to worse after crashing a pool party, where his drunken awkwardness is punished with near-fatal hazing at the hands of his classmates. A sudden brush with the supernatural saves Tolly’s life but leaves him fundamentally changed. Tolly undergoes a strange transformation when night falls. A passenger in his own body, he witnesses himself commit horrible murders that he is powerless to stop. Tolly’s only friend Amber begins to suspect that he’s becoming a slasher: not merely a conventional serial killer, but a supernaturally enhanced murderer of the Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees variety. As the death toll rises, Tolly and Amber work together to test his newfound abilities and attempt to prevent future bloodshed.

I Was a Teenage Slasher combines a surprisingly poignant coming of age story with an exploration of the slasher horror subgenre. It avoids becoming too heavy-handed and on-the-nose, but the unwelcome transformation Tolly experiences feels like an allegory for puberty or some manner of gender awakening. The treatment of slasher tropes is likewise fascinating. Tolly does not simply don a mask and embark upon a quest for revenge, instead the slasher quality is transmitted, like vampirism or lycanthropy. In addition to preternatural resilience, in true slasher movie tradition Tolly gains the ability to cover more ground when hidden from his prey’s sight. Even reality starts to bend around him, as if the world is facilitating his inexorable urge to kill. Broken chainsaws roar to life with a single pull of the start cord. Teenagers who know they are being actively stalked irrationally elect to go skinny-dipping by moonlight. I Was a Teenage Slasher leaves the reader with unanswered questions about the supernatural phenomena at the heart of the narrative, but die-hard horror movie fans will find themselves nodding and grinning at how events develop over the course of the book.

Following so close on the heels of The Angel of Indian Lake, readers can’t be blamed for feeling a sense of déjà vu. Many familiar Stephen Graham Jones elements are present and accounted for. Apart from the slasher-centric plot, there’s a painfully realistic presentation of suffocating small-town life. Jones returns to poke at the “Final Girl” trope once again, and there’s even a horror movie-obsessed Native American girl as a supporting character. Lamesa feels like a distinct setting from the Indian Lake Trilogy’s Proofrock, however, and hapless Tolly has a very different voice than the wounded, combative Jade Daniels. While there are touches of the unreliable narrator here and there, I Was a Teenage Slasher is also written in a more plainspoken style, with less of the challenging impressionistic touch of Jones’ earlier works.

While it feels lighter and less intentionally literary than The Only Good Indians and the Indian Lake Trilogy, I Was a Teenage Slasher is a fun summer horror flick in novel form. Existing Jones fans are sure to enjoy the ride, and it also serves as an approachable introduction for newcomers curious about one of the genre’s hottest talents.

I couldn’t do it. I tried my best but this authors writing style just isn’t for me. I know a lot of people love him, and I really want to jump on his bandwagon, but this is the second book from him that I just couldn’t finish.

3.5

I Was a Teenage Slasher, is an interesting concept. It's told through the perspective of Tolly, the slasher who for most of the story wasn't really aware that he was one. Seeing him come to grips with what he has become, and what it means not only for himself, but those he around him was fascinating. His guide through the entire process is his best friend Amber, and it is clear that without her he would be completely lost.

This book was a bit of a slow read. Tolly gets distracted, and meanders through his retelling at times. It rings true to how someone might tell their story, but it also made me not as engaged as a reader. There were times I had to force myself to pick the book back up. The last third however, will draw you in more. As things become clearer to Tolly, the story picks up, and in my opinion comes to a great conclusion.

I am a total Stephen Graham Jones fangirl! His ability to write slashers is better than anyone else I have ever read. This one is aimed at a younger audience (teenager or a braver middle schooler), than "The Indian Lake Trilogy." This story wasn't as in depth as some of his others but that did make it a quicker read. I love the way he portrayed the internal mind of the main character. I could feel the confusion and growing unreliableness of memory. I had to stop reading this before bed because the unsettledness of this book would creep into my dreams, turning them nightmarish.

I kind of want to write this review with only emojis. It was a very unique read, and deserves a very unique review. But since using emojis might not translate very well, I guess you’re stuck with a normal review. (Know that it would contain lots of knives, shocked and queasy faces, blood, devilish smiles, and peanuts- to name a few.)

Before I went into this book, I had seen a few people say they DNF’d it because of the chaotic writing. I also knew it had extremely long “chapters.” So I prepared myself a bit and my expectations on what this book would be like, but still knowing I really wanted to read it. (Normally I HATE long chapters, but for this I just tricked myself into thinking each section was a chapter, and that worked for me!)

I will say, yes it’s a little chaotic. But it’s coming from the view of the “teenage slasher” and really anyone’s journal (or similar item) is probably that way, too. For me, I enjoyed it because I felt like the writer was speaking directly to me- don’t we all get lost in tangents sometimes?

I loved how this called upon all the classic elements of your old slasher movies. If you are a fan of those movies, you should really enjoy this book. I originally was thinking of only recommending this to certain audiences, as some people might not like the writing style or the gore. But then, after doing a buddy read of this one, realized this can still be a great book for many people. So why not try it, and if it’s losing you right away, then hey, at least you tried something out of your comfort zone.

Welcome to Lamesa, Texas and Tolley Driver’s autobiography. It’s 1989, and you’re elbow deep in the mind of a teenage slasher!

I wanted to love this so much but I couldn’t. I’m a huge classic horror movie fan and the premise of the story drew me in immediately. I don’t know if it was the long chapters, the repetition from Tolley or my high expectations but I could not get into it and forced myself to finish.

I’ve heard good things from those who listened to the audiobook so maybe start there. I still think you’ll enjoy this book if you are a horror lover, you’re a fan of SGJ’s writing style already, and are interested in the novel concept because it’s definitely a hit or miss book in my opinion but I definitely welcome you to yours and will always say find out for yourself! I have not given up hope on other books and look forward to reading My Heart is a Chainsaw.

Thank you to the author, Stephen Graham Jones, NetGalley and @SagaPressbooks and #SagaSaysCrew, for the opportunity to read this book. I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Stephen Graham Jones has quickly become one of my favorite horror authors. This book was nothing short of a love letter to those 80s slasher movies I grew up on. The blood and scares were there, but this book also has a heart and I was surprisingly emotional by the end.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read!

New favorite Stephen Graham Jones alert!! This is not a drill!! This man has been so entrenched in the slasher genre for so many of his recent books (The Indian Lake Trilogy I’m looking at you) that I can’t believe he found a new way to explore the genre AGAIN. This follows Tolly Driver, who is writing his own autobiography depicting the circumstances of one bloody summer where he was indeed a teenage slasher. But really it’s an unreliable narrator character study about love and friendship and being an outcast. The two main characters are best friends Amanda and Tolly, as they try to out-logic the illogical transformation of dorky but harmless Tolly into this belt-wielding psychopath. Amanda, armed with her encyclopedic slasher movie knowledge, tries to figure out how to stop the violence without losing her best friend. This book has so much heart, so much humor, and yeah a ton of violence. I love the strength and intelligence with which Jones’ writes female characters. Amanda is kind of the star of the show here, and she is so fully realized that you have to love her. And Tolly too, despite you know, all the killing. You just want them to figure it out, because not killer Tolly is so lovable. This has to be an auto-buy for any slasher fan. Hell, any horror fan. Just incredible stuff.

This review will post on my instagram @boozehoundbookclub

I'm glad I sat on this review for a bit before posting. I struggled with this book. I felt like I was listening to my teenager tell me a story. The more I thought about it, essentially that's what I was doing. He is a teenage slasher. I went into this blind and it didn't captivate me but the more I think about it the idea it is actually really creative. If you want the POV of a teenage slasher, then this book would be great for you. I didn't think it was too gruesome. I think I love the idea of it more than reading the whole thing. I wish it would have ended differently but again, now thinking back I kinda like the untraditional ending. I will say I think Amber is the MVP in this story, she stole the show! I would give this story a 3 but for creativity I had to bump it to a four.

~Fave Quotes~

He was calling me a wimp. He wasn't wrong. Just, I was a wimp with a bodycount. And I was just getting started.

"Dogs do hate tour kind," Amber said. "And hate's just-" "Fear turned inside out," I finished for her mockingly.

I was super excited to receive this from @sagapressbooks !! The plot sounded so intriguing and obviously right up my alley.. however it kind of fell flat for me.
I found the story to be confusing and hard to keep up with what was going on. There were parts that were good and parts that just weren't. I was really pushing myself overall to finish. It wasn't a terrible book, but wasn't the best either.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the copy.
Tolly Driver is a regular teenager living life in a small Texas town, but then he is cursed to kill for revenge.
Stephen Graham paints a very detailed picture of Tolly Drivers life in the first part of the book, almost too well. I had a hard time getting into the book and it was rather slow to me.
Thriller aspects are inter woven into a teenage memoir. Very interesting and unique take on the horror book.