I Was A Teenage Slasher

I Was a Teenage Slasher is probably one of the most unique horror novels I've ever read. I went into it expecting a pretty straightforward “memoir” of a teenage serial killer, but instead I somehow ended up with a supernaturally-fueled bildungsroman that got me kind of teary-eyed at the end? It was so very not what I was expecting, but it in the best possible way.

Don't get me wrong, though. This book is gory in places and it's not for the faint of heart. Things are definitely not all sunshine and rainbows in Lamesa, Texas. I mean, people get their heads split in half, okay? If you've read previous Stephen Graham Jones novels, you probably have a pretty good idea of what to expect. But, at the same time, it's also a tale of friendship and love and family and sacrifice, and it's certainly not just your run of the mill slasher story.

The plot does lean heavily on slasher film tropes, however. The baddie in this novel has all of the usual slasher traits (including near-invincibility and an all-consuming need for revenge), and he also does a whole lot of, well … slashing. The Final Girl is perhaps the most important piece to this story, however, and the bits at the end involving her are just simply fantastic. Seriously. I should have seen it coming but was completely blindsided, but – once again – in the best possible way.

This book isn't just all slashing and killing and people running for their lives, though. There's lots of talking and thinking and meandering around town in between the action-y bits. And it admittedly took me a bit to fully get into it. When things first went off the rails (you'll know the scene when you get to it), I was completely lost and kept thinking that someone was obviously hallucinating. And then it kept getting weirder and weirder and wasn't entirely enjoyable, but then everything just kind of clicked for me and I couldn't put it down.

So, yeah.

If you've enjoyed Stephen Graham Jones's previous novels and/or appreciate a good slasher film, I definitely recommend giving this one a read.

My overall rating: 4.25 stars for enjoyability and another 0.5 stars for originality, for a grand total of 4.75 stars, rounded up.

Many thanks to NetGalley and S&S/Saga Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is July 16, 2024.