I unfortunately couldn't get into this one. I felt like it was just dragging and not much was really happening. So unfortunately this is a DNF for me

Thank you so much to the besties @sagapress & @simonschusterca for the #Gifted advanced copy of this thrilling book!

One 1️⃣ word review: Schting!

Emoji Review: 🎺🥜🚚🦙🔪🩸🐕🎥

💭: 💭: I’m a huge fan of SGJ’s writing for many reasons. His voice is unique, fresh, and the writing is always chef’s kiss. 💋

I was ecstatic to receive a copy of this book and I devoured it pretty quickly.

One of my friend’s reviews states that this book was written like a memoir from the MC Tolly Driver, and I couldn’t agree more.

Tolly Driver and Amber ‘Big Plume’ Dennison are best friends and they have an unspeakable bond. Their friendship gave me a “found family” vibe, which I’m all about. Amber took care of Tolly even at his worst, knowing that he was a killer.

I can’t say a whole lot without giving away spoilers so I’ll just highlight a few things I enjoyed.

Things I liked:

⁃ Diversity representation
⁃ Coming of age teenage slasher autobiography
⁃ Perfect Summerween read
⁃ Tribute to Slasher films
⁃ The pacing was perfect 👍
⁃ Not a popcorn thriller
⁃ Serial killer trope

I would highly recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a horror book that also touches you on an emotional level. Tolly is a monster but still human, this is his story and I think you’d love it.

This is the story of how Tolly Driver becomes a slasher. Stephen Graham Jones flips the narrative and shows readers a coming of age tale blended with slasher horror. There is a constant tension while Tolly devolves into a villain with a single focus, while still maintaining some lighthearted humour.

The language in I Was a Teenage Slasher is a little more streamlined and colloquial than that of The Indian Lake Trilogy, though the story meanders while Tolly explains the full catalyst for his turning. The setting of Lamesa, Texas in 1989 stands on its own as a character as the story is propelled around the area. While dark and gory, like SGJ's typical offerings, IWATS also offers more focus on family, grief, friendship and transformation.

If you have a peanut allergy, maybe skip this one.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.



Great book for lovers of the Slasher movie genre. It has a lot of fun twists and turns that kept me engaged and entertained. I got a little slow at times, but overall really good.

I Was A Teenage Slasher is a love letter to and about identity. It's the sweetest, cutest, goriest and most blood-splattered love letter you'll ever read. You're going to love every word of it.

Tolly Driver has lived his youth as a regular, run-of-the-mill, awkward boy in Lamesa, Texas. He has a best friend, a girl, they should have ended up together but didn't. Tale as old as time. He has an allergy, as most awkward kids do. A sad and tragic event in his childhood that the whole town knows about, so the awkward kid is also considered fragile. All of which makes him the perfect guy to tease or bully. The idea that you have to be careful around him doesn't apply when you're going to bully him.

One night some popular kids go too far. It isn't the first time they've gone too far but you'll have to get your own copy for the details. I don't want to spoil any of this fantastic reading experience for you.

The story of Tolly becoming a slasher and what unfolds will remind you of what it was like growing up. A constant state of becoming, working towards being one thing or another. How definitions and expectations are either known or unknown but apply either way. Being a teenager is a messy time.

We might not be slashers but the narratives of our lives fit well with the formula of slashers, which is one of the reasons they work so well. I knew kids like Tolly growing up. I recognize some of his experiences. I remember bullying. I remember revenge. I remember messy relationships and all the different people who had different star-crossed lover scenarios playing out, sometimes more than once.

Stephen Graham Jones has released a familiar and relatable killer into the world. You'll be thankful that he did. I bet you're going to root for him, too. I know I do.

Stephen Graham Jones has done it again!! I am absolutely in love with this book! It has everything. This is only my second book from SGJ, but it definitely won't be my last.
Thank you, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
Five big slasher stars!

Personally, I have never read a book by Stephen Graham Jones until this one, though I have had him on my “authors to try” list for quite some time. I have always found his concepts so unique and intriguing, and I Was A Teenage Slasher is no different in that regard. Take the key points of reference from the titular mainstay subgenre of horror; grisly murders—usually of horny teenagers, an unstoppable killer, and tons of gore, but flip the script and make the protagonist the murderer. It’s a hook I am not too proud to admit reeled me right in, and rightfully so.
As an overall assessment, this book was different from what I was expecting, but I still liked it. I suppose I went into this thinking that the narrative would parallel that of a slasher movie a bit more. For example, slashers tend to be very fast paced and a little campy—I Was A Teenage Slasher was neither, and instead asks the reader to be a lot more self-reflective. However, I kind of liked the extremely slow pacing because it allowed for some really interesting character development and non-linear storytelling.
As a narrator I did enjoy Tolly. The book is fairly stream of consciousness, but thankfully it avoids the pitfalls of having its narrator go off on idle tangents. My one gripe is that the entire plot is told in flashback so Tolly’s observations can be a little too predictive at times. As such it kind of feels like watching a movie with a friend who has seen it before, and they keep grabbing your arm and saying “Oh this is the good part!” and not letting you just experience it on your own.
In my opinion, I would still recommend this. It’s definitely a different kind of horror story, and perfect for anyone looking to bulk out their Summerween reading list.

What a strange and wonderful little book! I really had no idea what to expect after reading "a teenage serial killer from the perspective of the killer" in the blurb but I really enjoyed this. It's not really possible to go into too much detail without giving anything away (no spoilers!) but by the time I got to the end I was emotional and satisfied and felt it all came together beautifully. Some of the writing felt a bit choppy, some bits felt like tangents that took me out of the flow of the story but maybe that's meant to be intentional with a first person narration and it will work for some folks. This was pleasantly not scary but a bit gory, maybe a 2/5 for gore if I had to give a numerical score. Great for those just getting into the horror genre or those who have seen one or a hundred slasher movies. Amber <3 love her forever.

Yet another phenomenal book from Stephen Graham Jones!

I Was a Teenage Slasher grew on me, like an infection to my psyche. At first, I was underwhelmed as Tolly and Amber's characters seemed like a rehash of Jade Daniels (Indian Lake trilogy) just split over two people. I was also drawing a lot of parallels between this book and the Indian Lake trilogy which had me worried, and convinced, that Jones was just using his own discarded material. However, this story does become its own, unique entity and by the end, I couldn't get enough.

My biggest complaint, and the reason it is only getting four stars, is the pacing and the way it flips between time periods. I found myself constantly confused as to which era of Tolly was speaking as there were not always page breaks or clear switches between decades. This is something that may have changed between the sending out of my eARC version and the release of the physical copy. As for the pacing, it is much faster overall than say, My Heart is a Chainsaw, but I still found some of the tangential dialogue confused and hindered the pacing of plot.

I loved the journey that Tolly went through, so much so that I actually got a little teary at the end. I love the friendship between Tolly and Amber. I loved that I felt like I was truly reading a slasher film on paper. I absolutely loved being inside the mind of the slasher throughout!

I think this is a book that will linger with me, like it has unfinished business; definitely recommend.

Gorey, gut wretching and mysterious!
I was super excited for this book and plan on buying a physical copy asap!
A mix between a serial killers memior and autobiography, Tully Driver goes back to his slasher roots and writes of his teen years.
The main storyline takes place in 1989 Lamesa, Texas but the narration flops back and forth between Tullys adult thoughts and forshadowing on his final girl.
I definitely recommend for any fans of Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho or 80s slasher films
The emotional rollercoaster of the killers psychi is alot, there were a couple moments i had to pause, always check tw/cw for horror if you're squeamish

I really wanted to like this one, the premise sounds interesting and I like that it was set in the 80s, I don't really read books set in that era very often. However, I could not vibe with this narrator. His thoughts were way too all over the place for my liking and every detail felt scattered. I prefer a more linear storyline that's easy to follow, with this I was getting too confused and it was frustrating. I also just didn't like that he was giving underlines for bold/ italics? Like I get that he explained the reason, but it felt random and unnecessary. Not a book for me, but the consensus so far seems to be that most people are enjoying this, so don't knock it until you try!

This book is such a unique and memorable take on the slasher genre. Slashers are near mythic creatures in this newest release from Stephen Graham Jones.

I Was a Teenage Slasher takes all of our favourite slasher tropes and archetypes and puts a fresh new spin on them. Chock full of dark humour and teenage angst, mixed with all the blood and guts we love to see. This book takes the self-satirizing slasher rules (think Randy's explanations from Scream) and brings them up to next level. This story is told with so much soul that it has you rooting for the killer - just a teenager put through an unfortunate series of events leading to his killing spree.

(And of course I give bonus points for Amber's Rabbit truck.)

Stephen Graham Jones is a classic horror author in the making. I wouldn't be surprised to see his books gain the popularity of King. They have heart, emotion, gripping plot, and compelling characters.

Stephen Graham Jones has written a new novel whose wit, playfulness and heartbreak reflect the rest of his work. Most similar to My Heart is a Chainsaw, I was a Teenage Slasher follows Tolly Driver, a young outcast in a small rural town. Jones makes his characters incredibly messy, chaotic, and loveable. While I do think the writing and tropes portrayed may be confusing for readers not seasoned in the horror genre, dedicated fans will love the trope-filled meta nature of the plot. After experiencing the trauma of his father’s death and witnessing a massacre of his peers, Tolly becomes infected with a “slasher” virus, and there’s nothing he can do to stop it. He slowly follows the cliche’s that come with classic horror villains like Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers until he’s left a body count of his classmates behind him. His best friend Amber, raising on the rules of slasher films, is the only one who can help him before he can never be his normal self again. Overall, Jones’ wit, humour, humanity, and love of gore make this the perfect novel for fans of the genre.

3.5 stars rounded up. I had high hopes going into this, but had a much more difficult time getting into the first third than I usually do with Stephen Graham Jones' books. The last two-thirds of the book was a fun horror/comedy book that was self-aware in a parody way that felt vaguely reminiscent of Scream and The Final Girls. It was fun watching the story play out from the killer's POV and seeing how all the horror and slasher movie tropes played out and impacted the characters' thoughts and decisions.

The formatting of it fell a bit short for me though. I understand that the jumping all around on tangents and being an unreliable narrator thing was intentional and I can appreciate it, but it made it move quite slow at parts. Also, I didn't feel like there were any real stakes for the book because the formatting made it so that we already knew the main two characters were still alive at the time the main character was writing.

I tried to get into this one but I just couldn't. It dragged and just did not appeal to me at all. I had to DNF I couldn't push through.

DNF at 31%,

My first SGJ book and I was really excited to read (and love) it. The last thing I wanted to do was give up on it but at 31%, I'm tired of Tolly Driver's rambling thoughts. He hasn't even killed anyone yet!

It's hard to keep track of what Tolly, that guy with a peanut allergy, is saying because he goes off on tangents. He talks about a party but then somehow in the next sentence is telling us about what is normal and not normal in Lamesa in 1989. Why? Cause it's his story and he's putting off telling the next part.

I couldn't take it anymore because I just wanted coherence and normal. You think this review is bad? Read the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the e-ARC!

The latest from horror writer Stephen Graham Jones is at once both a subversive love letter to slasher films and a frustrating read. Written from the point of view of a potentially unreliable narrator, it's the story of Tolly Driver, long after his body-snatching reign of terror as a 17-year-old Texas outcast with a peanut allergy.

What kept me from raving about this book as so many others have is that its voice, central to the pacing, is so convincingly that of a rambling teenager that it constantly took me out of the story. Especially when the lines blurred -- was this Jones nailing the voice of a teenager, an older adult nailing their teenaged voice, or a line that wavered a little too much between the three.

Its this wavering that fills the book with lots of wait, I forgots or let's get back to what I was talking abouts – a narrator, or author, lost in his own voice.

But still, the book feels like it should be special. And it almost is. It subverts the genre by playing into the tropes. It mythologizes those tropes. It tells you the story beats it plans to hit, then hits them effectively. And it works. Mostly.

I'm reviewing this after receiving an advanced reader copy. I didn't think I'd finish it at first, and by the end I'm sad it was over. A slasher that limps slowly at times, I Was a Teenage Slasher eventually sticks the landing.

As soon as I read that I Was a Teenage Slasher offered a fresh take on a slasher, I was immediately sold. But, unfortunately, it didn’t fully live up to my expectations. I was a big fan of the horror elements as well as the bond shared between best friends Tolly Driver and Amber Dennison. They had a true ride or die friendship and were fiercely loyal to one another.

However, while I understand that the story was meant to be autobiographical, it would’ve benefited from the introduction of another POV. I think that it would’ve made the book feel more well-rounded. Additionally, there were times that it felt as though there was too much detail in the wrong places and was longer than it needed to be.

Read if you like:

✨Slashers
✨True friendships
✨Small town settings

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for the opportunity to read this ARC!

SGJ writes in such a way that draws you into the story and you can't help but FEEL what's meant to be felt. I have only read 4 of his works so far and have found a reason to shed a tear each time. His words are so incredibly MOVING. This particular book was written differently than anything i'd really experienced before. Love the premise of the slasher telling you the story. This does get 5 stars from me even though it felt like 4 while reading, but I was not in the right headspace to appreciate it fully. Looking back at it now, had I had the time, i'd have crushed this in a few days, not a week, but ce la vie. Big thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada for letting me read this outstanding ARC.

I am sorry, I submitted the wrong review for this book, I will update this once I complete this book! Sorry!!