I Was A Teenage Slasher is an original take on a horror story. It has gives gore, it gives twists, it gives the character development and evokes emotion. I did not now what to expect but was excited to jump into the story. Jones's writing creates this tension and pulls you into the story. Stephen Graham Jones is the height of insightful horror.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you to Saga Press and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This frustrated me to DNF because I think this book is probably great. I love Graham Jones and his books are always TERRIFYING. But the stream of consciousness didn’t work for me and after several chapters I just felt confused. I might pick this back up someday when I’m in a better headspace for it, but for now, it isn’t working for me.

It was okay. I loved the concept but some parts were a bit slow, especially near the end. I really did like the MC and his inner dialogue tho

I didn't think I needed another meta slasher book from Jones after the fantastic Indian Lake Trilogy, but somehow, this is as good as those and may be the horror novel of the year (up there with Tingle's "Kill Your Gays"). I want to avoid spoilers, but this is what it says on the title, the story of a teenage slasher, and like Jones's other books, it's one driven by the meta and the rules around slasher movies. In this case, it also involves the slasher's ability to survive as well as his compulsion to murder, alongside his own (sometimes) desire to overcome that compulsion.

(That does mean we get some supernatural elements thrown in; if you like your spoilers without those, maybe go for Ivy Tholen or Adam Cesare, both of whom are also a lot of fun.)

Jones is simply the best person writing slashers today, and one of today's best horror writers. Read this (you'll do it in one sitting), avoid spoilers, and enjoy.

Stephen Graham Jones has simply never let me down. This book is everything to me!! All hot people have a nut allergy someone has in fact tried to kill them with!!!!

Everything about this book hooked me and kept me reading. I absolutely love the way Stephen writes, his prose and subtle comedy keep every book interesting and keeps me on my toes.

The friendship between Tolly and Amber was so pure it genuinely had me in tears. Is this the saddest horror I’ve ever read? Maybe! I genuinely was crying from the first chapter to the last page. I could reread this book 900 times in a row and not get tired of it

I'll be honest, I was confused by this book until the end when it all came together. I think this might be a book where reading the synopsis would have been a good thing. I enjoyed the book don't get me wrong. I think reading the synopsis as a refresher before reading this book would be beneficial.

The writing was great. He reminds me of Stephen King's writing, which I also like a lot. If you like SK's books, this is a good one to try. IMO, it's the YA version of SK's books.

I liked the ending but I didn't expect it.. Not that it was a shock, but I'm not sure what or how I expected the book to end.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"I was a teenage slasher, yeah, okay. I said it."

As someone that has always loved slasher movies especially the ones from the 80s and 90s, this was a very fun read. It had a lot of my favorite slasher tropes, such as the Final Girl, oblivious parents, cars not working when you are trying to escape.

I thought the way the author handled telling this story as a coming-of-age story about a slasher was unique and the author handled it so well. There were some cringey parts in the beginning but once I got back those, it was great.

This book is an autobiography of a teenage boy (Tolly Driver) who becomes a slasher. Seventeen years has past, and he is trying to explain from his POV why & how it happened.

I didn’t know what to expect but am always down to read anything by SGJ!

The killing spree follows the rules of Slasher101. (Jade Daniel’s would be proud 🥹 as am I😅).

This wasn’t my favorite from Jones. But it is about more than just revenge killing & gore. It is also about friendship, love, the want to fit in…your typical teenage inner turmoil. I don’t believe everything was in Tolly’s control but I still found it hard to completely root for him. (I’m assuming you’re not supposed to?)

Thank you Saga Press for this ARC!

Edit: Now that the book has been released, I’ve been able to listen to the audiobook. Made we up my rating from 3 to 4. The narrator was perfect, made me feel the pain of Tolley.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Stephen Graham Jones's work, including The Indian Lake Trilogy and his short stories. While the trilogy was a hard act to follow, it serves as a great companion novel with new characters and setting.

Ok ok ok. I keep trying, I swear. I absolutely love (LOVE) his ideas and Only Good Indians was FANTASTIC, buuuuuut... I have such a hard time reading his works. For some reason I can't grasp his writing style, there are a few authors I want to read but just can't do it, and it makes me so sad.

The idea of this book, the description, the other reviews.... So excited.. but nope still couldn't do it. I'm so sorry!

Please don't stop this review from reading the book, I'm sure it is absolutely amazing, but my brain just can't do it

I gave it 4 stars bc I know he s books are great, and I will try again I promise.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A heartfelt tribute to a genre noted more for its body count than its heart. It may be the only slasher story that will make you shed a tear.

If you like horror movies, you will definitely enjoy this book. Especially if you’re already a very big Stephen Graham Jones fan this book can do no wrong. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

A teenage slasher memoir written by the great SGJ - or really anything written by Stephen Graham Jones - is always an auto buy. And yes, even though I read this for NetGalley, I totally ordered because that's what I do. The entire premise of this book - Tolly writing his own story - is creative and new. I love a slasher trope and a final girl trope and really just anything like this. Don't wait for spooky season to read this. Run!!!

This was my first Stephen Graham Jones full length novel and i didn’t realize this book was more character focused. I think the plot was good but it wasn’t my favorite so I really struggled getting through to the middle of the book. I guess i just expected the book to take a different route but i do enjoy the writing

Classic slasher movie vibes while having a villain-POV. Another fun, clever, and unique horror story by one of the best current horror authors!

“I was a teenage slasher, yeah, okay. I said it.”

Imagine feeling just a twinge of sympathy for a teenage serial killer... and meet Tolly Driver. Written as a stream-of-conscious autobiography, Tolly tells the tale of how he became the title character and his subsequent murderous rampage in 1989 Lamesa, Texas.

Graham Jones pulls out no stops and uses the best of slasher culture with this one, easily making me a fan after growing up with teenage slasher heroines a la Jamie Lee Curtis and Neve Campbell. The author is unafraid to not only embrace slasher/horror Easter eggs but to mesh them with universal themes such as friendship, family and love. IWaTS is a love story to the slasher nostalgia of the 80s and 90s while also managing to be original and psychological.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

#IWasATeenageSlasher:⁣
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Thank you @simon.audio @librofm for my gifted copy!⁣
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“I’m not one to split hairs.⁣
Just heads.”⁣
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Stephen Graham Jones does it again. Here I am just cheering on a slasher with a peanut allergy. ⁣
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But seriously, I love SGJ’s writing and how he understands the formula for slashers and rewrites it a tinge to really set them apart. ⁣
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Tolly Driver was an absolute favorite. I wanted to cheer for him, his mom, and Amber the entire time. The ending?! Did I get a bit emotional? Yes, yes I did.⁣
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The audio is amazing. I really cannot describe how GREAT Michael Crouch is. Truly embodied this audio, and probably the best one done this year. I am amazed by how well the audio is and how I could not stop listening.⁣
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The gore, the riles, the teen angst, and the need to fit in all fit perfectly in Teenage Slasher. You can catch me waving my “I love SGJMC’s” flag (if it were a real flag)⁣
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Also, Texas references were top notch and brought me back to my childhood. I appreciated it.⁣
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Out tomorrow, July 16th.⁣
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QOTD: What did you read this weekend? ⁣
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#stephengrahamjones #MilesOfPages #simonaudio #SagaSaysCrew

Title: I Was A Teenage Slasher
Author: Stephen Graham Jones
Source: DRC via NetGalley (Saga Press, S&S/Saga Press) in exchange for an honest review
Publication Date: July 16, 2024
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

Other books by this author:
The Only Good Indians

The Indian Lake Trilogy
My Heart is a Chainsaw
Don’t Fear the Reaper
The Angel of Indian Lake

Why did I choose to read this book?

Saga Press keeps sending me new Stephen Graham Jones books via email that I can easily access via NetGalley and honestly I am here for it. Please keep sending them, because I will keep reading them! I love Jones’s books! I love finding a surprise email that is like “here’s some more books by this author you like for free, before they are published, please tell us what you think!” My answer is yes! I will!

What is this book about?

This book takes the slasher genre and asks the question: what if being the slasher wasn’t a choice? What if it was something that happened to you and you didn’t have a choice about being part of the formula? Maybe it’s like a virus or a ritual that requires certain things to happen to you, but either way you could find yourself out there cutting up jerks who wronged you without even knowing how you got there! And once you realize your new reality, can you fight it? Can you choose to stop being a slasher?

What is notable about this story?

I have said in the past that what’s really interesting about Jones’s writing is that his horror assumes that there are players in the story that know what’s going on and why. Jade Daniels is a horror/slasher NERD so when slashers start showing up (and keep showing up!) in her town she’s trying to teach everyone around her about how the formula works and how to combat the slasher so as many people survive as possible. Instead of the typical horror story buffeting the characters around and having them hide in the attic or the basement, Jones’s characters are aware that they might be buffeted around and actively try to avoid the tropes. I love everything about his approach, plus it makes the horror genre more accessible to those of us that may not be super nerds about it.

In this story a boy becomes a slasher on a night that another slasher comes back from the dead, and his best friend is the horror nerd (along with her brother) and they try to work together to figure out how he became a slasher and prevent him from killing the people his new condition seems to be forcing him to kill (spoiler: they don’t do a great job of this lol). This new approach to this kind of story is fascinating, it’s like seeing the tunnels under Disney world or walking through the factory that makes your favorite candy or something – a view into a phenomenon that previously we just haven’t explored and taken for granted. Humanizing the slasher? WILD but I’m here for it.

Was anything not so great?

Again, this is coming from a HUGE Stephen Graham Jones fan so it’s more of an observation than a critique – I’m starting to kind of feel like I’m in a college course on Horror Books and these novels are required reading. They are amazing so I don’t mind reading them, but I feel like they are heading in a direction where an industrious, off-the-beaten-path type “cool” professor could use them to teach people how to write/think about the horror genre. Which, honestly, genius BUT if they weren’t as entertaining as they were, it would feel like analysis homework and I think I would start to shy away from them.

TL:DR – I see you professor, just try to also keep us casuals in mind when you are writing so we can continue to enjoy your stuff please!

What’s the verdict?

5 stars all day every day. What an amazing new heartbreaking way to look at the elements of horror stories. If you love horror and if you trust me to send you in the direction of amazing books, you absolutely MUST pick this one up.

This is going to be a favorite. Cabin in the Woods meets The Fly. I could not believe how original the framing for this story was. Tolly was tragic and such a full character. If you were to tell me this story was about a boy who can't help but become a slasher villain AND that it would make me cry, I wouldn't have believed you.

I can't believe we somehow got two SGJ standout novels this year.

I thoroughly enjoyed SGJ's unique take on the slasher genre in "I Was a Teenage Slasher." The memoir style makes the story feel personal and engaging. I particularly loved the friendship between the slasher, Tolly, and his best friend, Amber. Their friendship adds depth to the story, making it more than just a typical slasher story. As a GenXer, I also appreciated all the late 80s references, which brought a sense of nostalgia and authenticity to the time period. This book is a must-read for anyone who loves slashers with a twist and a touch of nostalgia.