This author has a very distinctive style, but it mostly worked for me here. I love slashers and this delivered. Recommended.

I was a teenage slasher is like reading a book from behind Michael Meyer's mask, looking out. But Michael Meyers is a teenage boy named Tolly living in a small town in Texas, telling his story in a memoir-like fashion. And where SGJ has pretty much nailed the final girl script, you can't have a final girl without a slasher, them's the rules.

Unreliable narrator at its best, outlandish plot twists and rationales that measure up to the best horror movies, and gore gore gore. What separates this from other horror stories I've read though is how SGJ makes you feel about Tolly. Without sacrificing any violence, and keeping the character pretty unlikeable, he is on a killing spree, you end up rooting for him. I was so attached to Tolly by the end that I was in tears. Give SGJ the crown for breaking your heart and splattering you with gore.

Adored this book!

I was a little hesitant when I learned that this was a slasher told from the POV of the slasher himself, but was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.

The main characters here, Tolly and Amber, are fantastically written.
Secretly hoping for a future novel with Amber as the narrator-I absolutely loved her!

The setting (a very small rural Texas town in the heat of summer, 1989) lends itself to some seriously disturbing imagery. No spoilers here, but be prepared for some gross-out kills!

Jones is able to balance terror and tender moments beautifully here, some of my favorite moments were seemingly small interactions between Tolly and Amber, or with his mother.

Horrific, humorous and heartfelt- Jones has outdone himself with this one...It's a damn near perfect summer slasher.

STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES HAS DONE IT AGAIN. I vow to consume everything this man creates.

I am so thankful to Saga Press Books, SGJ, Negalley, Simon Audio, and Libro.fm for granting me advanced physical, digital, and audio access to this retro, confessional horror before it hits shelves on July 16, 2024.

Tolly Driver was a teenage slasher and he's speaking his truths throughout the duration of this book. Taking place in west Texas, our MC voices his convictions and motivations for taking out nearly half of the marching band back in 1989, especially the ones who nearly took his own life weeks earlier.

Tolly is a fatherless kid with a peanut allergy, and several of the marching band kids used that against him at a party, where they fed him peanuts in a Coca-Cola bottle and watched as he writhed in suffocating pain for no one to get help or his Epi-Pen. He was saved in the nick of time by two of his close friends, but from then on out, he vowed to get revenge by offing those bullying members one by one.

Told in a confessional-like manner, Tolly rehashes the gruesome killings to whoever is willing to listen, explaining his crimes and asking forgiveness per se.

I couldn't put this one down and cannot wait until publication day!

I am a HUGE fan of Stephen Graham Jones, but this one was not for me. Tolly's narration was all over the place. I understand that he's meant to be a traumatized teen, but his stream of consciousness is so incoherent that it makes the reading experience unpleasant. There are so many jumps and skips and shifts that it was impossible to follow the actual story. Jones breaks the third wall to acknowledge that his narrator is doing this, but that doesn't make the reading experience any better.

Did you watch ‘Scream’ and think “this actually isn’t meta enough”? Did you ever think to yourself “what would ‘Behind the Mask’ be like if Leslie Vernon didn’t know what was going on?” Meet Tolly Driver.

It’s honestly less gruesome and more just… fun? I think this is what a beach read is for horror readers. Amazing characters, self-aware storyline, and that Stephen Graham Jones specialty of a hyper-local setting makes this story shine.

I didn't care for this title. The concept was cool but just didn't get into the story or find the characters very likeable.

A fun, gory and self-aware take on classic slasher tropes, with a surprisingly touching ending. A must-read for horror fans.

I took my sweet time reading this book- it never takes me almost a week to read one novel. In retrospect, I’m super glad that I was able to savor it.

This is my first SGJ book, and it’s not likely to be my last! It took me a while to get into the groove with his writing style. This book is told in the first person POV by the main character, Tolly Driver. He is looking back on his life from several decades ago, telling the story of how he became a high school slasher. Tolly is sort of an unreliable narrator, and his story-telling wanders back and forth in time in a stream of consciousness kind of way that can be pretty disorienting.

I was almost halfway through when I finally decided I was hooked, at three quarters I knew I liked it, and by the end, I was hanging on every word and eating it up. I will never get over this novel, and I am very likely to read it again. I am sure there’s a lot of nuances that I missed on this first read that will make me love it more in review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for the ARC review copy of I Was A Teenage Slasher. It’s been too long since I read a nearly perfect book, and I needed it!

I will be posting my review to Instagram closer to the pub date. =)

I recently finished the author's "Indian Lake" trilogy, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. That's why it pains me to say that this book was more effective in less than 400 pages than "Indian Lake" was in three volumes. The plot was streamlined and precise, there were no extraneous or underwritten characters, and the central device was easier to follow (I am admittedly a bit slow). It did lean a bit towards the YA market, but I don't see that as a bad thing.

Just a thoroughly enjoyable little book. I will be recommending it.

"I Was a Teenage Slasher" by Stephen Graham Jones delves into the heart of small-town Texas life in 1989. Through the eyes of Tolly Driver, a young man cursed with the compulsion to kill for revenge, readers are taken on a chilling journey through the complexities of adolescence and the darkness that lurks within.

Set in the oil and cotton-driven town of Lamesa, Jones expertly captures the atmosphere of a community where everyone's secrets are known, and no one is safe. Through Tolly's unique perspective, the author explores themes of isolation, injustice, and the blurred lines between victim and perpetrator.

With his signature blend of horror and empathy, Jones crafts a narrative that will keep readers hooked from start to finish. "I Was a Teenage Slasher" offers a fresh take on the classic slasher genre, inviting readers to root for a killer while grappling with the tragic consequences of his actions.

Fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix will find much to love in this gripping summer teen movie of a novel gone full-blooded tragic. Jones' masterful storytelling and vivid prose make "I Was a Teenage Slasher" a must-read for horror enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys a dark, twisty tale.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for my e-arc. I'm a big fan of SGJ and his voice. This book is no exception. I found it to be really unique take on the slasher genre. It's genuinely messed - the graphic gory kills are not messing around. Despite that, it's also a very heartfelt read I really liked Tolly and Amber by the end. If you like SGJ, this is another hit. If you haven't read SGJ, I'm not sure what you'll think. He has a unique way of writing horror that you either love and can't get enough of or don't understand at all. I'm on the side of love, for sure, and feel honored I got to read this one in advance!

Oooookay SGJ! When it comes to horror, I've never been much of a slasher gal, I'll be honest. I've just really never thought I would be interested, never spent much time exploring the genre. But now I'm converted, I'm ready to deep dive into anything and everything that I can get my hands on, whether it's movies or books.

I Was A Teenager Slasher was SO. MUCH. FUN. I couldn't get through the pages fast enough. For a non-slasher fan like me, it was both 'educational' and just such a creative, entertaining way to learn some of the lore.

I adored Tolly and Amber and really enjoyed the humanizing of the killer, what a trip. Their story shows the beauty of real, true friendship and just how far you will go for your best friend. From a now converted slasher girlie to everyone who might be like me and to everyone who already loves it all, this is a definite must read and surely will be one of my top books of the year. I'll now be running to consume everything else that Stephen Graham-Jones has ever written.

Go read this one, trust me.

Stephen Graham Jones might be my favorite horror writer. If you liked the Indian Lake trilogy or Cabin in the Woods, you'll like this book. This book doesn't just fill you with dread as you follow Tolly as he reluctantly carves through Lamesa, but also anger.

Tolly is cursed to be a slasher, but he's also motivated by a serious wrong done to him by his classmates. I know, I know, it's framed as an accident like most slashers are (think Jason's origin story in Friday the 13th). You see Tolly is deathly allergic to peanuts and at a high school party a drunk Tolly makes a fool of himself. In the process of being a fool, he jumps in the pool and splashes popular girl Mel as she's flirting with an older college guy. An enraged Mel rallies her marching band friends and ties Tolly down to a patio lounger while also force-feeding Tolly a drink that has peanuts in it. And thus Tolly's origin story is created and from here he's destined to get his revenge.

This story is told through an autobiography lens, Tolly is in his 30s looking back on the events that took place 17 years ago in Lamesa. He never tries to excuse his actions, but instead tries to explain what happened and what drove him to massacre 6 people in small town Texas. Let's be clear, this book lives in the grey, none of the characters (except Amber, Amber is a gem oh, and Tolly's mom and probably Justin) are blameless. Not that they deserve to die, but they aren't clean either. They're guilty of their own sins and now are being punished.

I love how this book outlines a good slasher and the rules that have to be followed. Tolly is incredibly ordinary as a teenager, but as a slasher, he's deadly for no reason other than revenge. Hit him with a car and he'll get back up. There were two things I didn't love and kept it from being a 5-star review. The first is the chapter style; I wish some of the flashbacks had been broken out more instead of the large chapter format. The second is Tolly's mask, I get the reason for the belts and the symbolism is nice, but I just kept picturing Jim Carrey with tape around his face. And the nickname Strappy? Awful. Just nope.

If you like a good slasher flick and a quick horror read, this book is for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and Saga Press for the ARC; all opinions are my own.

This one was a ton of fun to read. Played with horror movie tropes and what if you knew you were a slasher, final girl, parent of a slasher, sheriff…etc

Getting to see through the eyes of a teen who is supernaturally changed into a slasher was different. At first I wasn’t sure about the supernatural aspect but after reading for awhile I really enjoyed it.

Of course my favorite character was Amber. Strong, spunky best friend to unwilling teenage slasher Tolly. She gave the whole book heart.

Fun summer read. Definitely recommend!

While the story is entertaining, it does rely on some familiar tropes of the slasher genre. Additionally, the ending may not be for everyone. Still, I Was a Teenage Slasher is a well-written and thought-provoking novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.

Overall, I would recommend this book to fans of horror fiction who are looking for something a little different.

I feel like a broken record when it comes to reviewing SGJ he churns out masterpiece after masterpiece and I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER is no different, I've read a lot of SGJ and each time he manages to surpass all my expectations, turning the slasher genre on its head, this was a bittersweet coming of age story that's wrote in a confessional style, making it feel raw and intimate, being inside the head of a 17 year old makes for a ton of nostalgia, something in the delivery felt personal, the humanity infused in his stories always makes the experience feel authentic and somewhat special, Tollys relationship with Amber was sweet and solidifies a theme that unites all of Jones work, the importance and power of friendship, the juxtaposition of killer but also, a pretty great guy are done extremely well and the characters are what propel this story into the realms of legendary, sure there's the gruesome horror we all love but the emotion, the heartbreak? Unexpected, this is not your standard slasher story, mum, I've fell in love with a slasher, thankyou to the amazing @sagapressbooks @stephengrahamjones for the proof copy

_I Was a Teenage Slasher_ by Stephen Graham Jones is a fun horror read that transports the reader to 1989 small-town west Texas where a slasher is about to emerge. The story follows Tolly Driver and his best friend Amber, considered outsiders by their peers, when Tolly becomes infected and is forced to seek revenge. The characters are well-developed and the conversational style of writing aids the reader in identifying with the characters.

Stephen Graham Jones you simply can't do wrong!! Jones' love for the slasher genre is so palpable that it always makes me forget that I, myself, am not a fan of it. Nevertheless it's so easy to get caught up with it when you're reading his books. It was interesting seeing how he would flip the narrative lens from his Indian Lake trilogy to take on the perspective of the slasher, but wow does he pull it off. Gory and brilliant, I highly recommend.

I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical of this premise — I’m always gonna be on the Final Girl’s side and I wasn’t sure how this would play out, but I already know I’m gonna be thinking about this book for years. This played around with the slasher genre in such interesting ways, asking questions and embracing the genre in delightfully tongue-in-cheek ways, while also managing to be a rip-roaring bloody good time. Also, funny? This book is so much funnier than it has any right to be. 5/5, I had a blast.