I have JUST started dabbling in SJG’s work and this was a perfect novella to binge in one sitting. I read this on a plane and landed filled with a sense of unreality.

Calling this book a fever dream doesn’t do it justice, as it has raw and real edges to it. I loved the character development and backstory in this one and can definitely see why people love this author so much.

While Mapping The Interior was originally published in 2017, I’m glad that this refresh put it on my radar. I’m looking forward to checking out The Only Good Indians next!

Check this one out if you love haunted houses, horror, and complicated family dynamics!

**Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the eARC of this haunting title!**

A great read. This was my introduction to Stephen Graham Jones and ignited a love affair with his work. The imagery and the emotion created a gripping read. A definite addition to the home library.

Thank you for the opportunity.

I have read this previously, but loved it at the time, and am so excited for the new cover and for it to hopefully reach new audiences! I am a sucker for a father/child story, and this one is creepy on top of that. SGJ really can't be beat.

Jones is a masterful story teller mixing Indigenous culture with horror.

This is a short novella about a boy and his dead father that he keeps seeing, it’s a poignant metaphor for generational trauma and healing from grief.

Jones really can convey a lot in so few words. Love seeing this get a reprint.

Stephen Graham Jones has such a unique writing style that I wasn’t surprised that I loved this book. It was so atmospheric and haunting.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: April 29, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

I love a good hauntingly eerie and emotion read by SGJ. This book gave me paranormal/supernatural vibes and I loved all of it, a horror novella if you will. We follow our main character who is a very young boy, not a child but also not a teenager just yet and sees his father for the first time since….he died. We follow him as he tries to learn why he’s there and what for, he begins to question the truth about why and how his father died. There are so many surprises, turns and twists in this book, we weave through this book like a maze to the very end. This book gave me all the feelings. Nothing is ever as it seems. This needs to be on everybody’s TBR. 5/5 easy stars for me here. I will devour everything Stephen Graham Jones writes.

Huge thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as Tor Publishing Group | Tor Nightfire

Excellent, terrible, what the hell

This is actually my first foray into a Stephen Graham Jones book and I can tell why people love his writing.

Some visuals and spatial things were a little tough for me, but I think that’s a personal taste thing. I loved the relationship between Junior and Dino, and I loved how real the characters and place felt. Everything had a texture I could reach out and touch.

Kinda just made me more excited to read his other books, to see what he can do with more space and time.

What a ghost story…

_Mapping the Interior_ by Stephen Graham Jones is a character-driven, fast-paced, and immersive horror novella. When twelve-year-old Junior sees his dad, who drowned years ago, late at night in their home, he thinks he has come back to be the father Junior and his brother need. But the more Junior sees him, the more he learns about his dead father and his motives. This enthralling novella will appeal to fans of supernatural horror.

Mapping the Interior is an ownvoices novella about a 12 year old boy who thinks he sees the ghost of his father walking around the house. This is a coming-of-age story about grief, family, and Native American culture and trauma. It has some great horror imagery. It really packs a punch in under 200 pages. I would highly recommend this to fans of Jones’ other works, but also to horror fans who are looking for a quick, hard-hitting read.

I have to admit, for such a short story, this one seemed to drag. The first quarter was very interesting. I loved following the story as the MC started to see his father. However, as the story progressed, it got very convoluted and unclear. I can’t say I loved the end, and I am certain the majority of readers won’t follow the story. I understand SGJ is becoming more popular, but this story wasn’t his best.

Another amazing Stephen Graham Jones book. This one is a roller coaster of emotion, with an ending that hits unbelievably hard.

When he's not stunning me into silent shock with his visceral and graphic imagery, he's making me cry at the true sincerity of his characters and their stories. Stephen Graham Jones, you've got me again.

A boy awakes in the night to find his dad going through a doorway but, there’s a problem… his father is dead and has been. This book was a gut punch. It was fear, sadness, and heart stopping. And when you mix in the Native American horror, it just gets creepy. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a horror book that has it all.

Troubled teen boy has to take care of younger brother after his dad dies. One night he sees his dad walking through the living room. He goes on a hunt to find out why his dad is haunting them.

I really enjoyed the horror in Mapping The Interior. I just wish there was more of it. The description of the tract home and hiding underneath it. The MC is running from a pack of wild dogs and the only way to escape is under the house. Under the house is dark, moldy and his had disappears into some sort of chrysalis.

The story was a little disjointed to me and I had some trouble following, but the ending was interesting.

4/5

This book was a stark look into the life of a child who had moved off the reservation with his young disabled brother and overworked mother. It was a chilling book filled with hurt and anger filtered through the view of a 12 year old as he begins to see the ghost of his father.

There is just such a haunting vibe to the writing that pulled me in, it felt so real and murky at the same time. You just really hope for a good ending after a series of tragedies. It was just overall excellent and certainly one that stays with you.

In this haunting novella we follow a 12-year-old boy who is convinced that he is sees his dead father at night. His father died of mysteriously strange circumstances
Emotionally and masterfully written. Strong characters. Not as horror as I thought it would be. The storytelling was outstanding. I really enjoyed the Native American aspects of the book.

I've never read anything from Stephen Graham Jones before but this one will not be the last.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC.

Mapping the Interior is a haunting and deeply layered novella that blends ghostly encounters with raw emotional depth. Stephen Graham Jones masterfully weaves Native American heritage and afterlife beliefs into a story that feels both personal and universal.

What stood out to me was the duality in how this story can be interpreted — on one hand, as a ghost story rooted in the supernatural, and on the other, as a psychological exploration of grief and family struggles. The boy’s journey felt like a poignant mix of both, as he grapples with the loss of his father, his brother’s challenges, and the day-to-day weight of his family’s struggles.

While SGJ’s unique writing style took a moment to click for me, it quickly grew on me, and I found myself immersed in his storytelling. This was my first read by him, but it won’t be my last. I’m eager to dive deeper into his works. A beautifully haunting and thought-provoking read!

Mapping the Interior follows a young boy, Junior, after he and his family have moved off a Native American reservation following the death of his father. When Junior sees his father walking through their home one night, he becomes obsessed with seeing his father and making him a part of their family again.

At its center, this novella is a story about family dynamics and grief. Junior's younger brother Dino is struggling, potentially with some learning difficulties as well as seizures, though any specific diagnosis is not mentioned. He is also being bullied at school, and Junior feels ultimately responsible for protecting him. Their mother is also working hard to make ends meet and provide for her two sons on her own.

While the backdrop of the story is grim and the atmosphere claustrophobic, ultimately the horror in this horror story fell short for me. I enjoyed Junior's inner dialogue as he took stock of his situation, but I would've liked more clarity around the situation at the center of the horror storyline.

Overall, this was definitely worth a read if you're looking for short horror fiction with complicated family dynamics and an intriguing plotline.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Well, that was a nice creepy story! And I was there for it! A little coming of age, a lot of creepy. About an indigenous boy who loses his dad at a young age and his dad “coming” to visit the house where the youngster lives with his mom and younger brother. With wonderful mix of Native American culture, and lore mixed in with some paranormal happenings makes this a quick, fun read for anyone. Check your triggers and enjoy the ride! Thank you NetGalley! And of course, my thoughts are mine!

This story is an interesting take on a haunting. The entire story is full of eerie, nostalgic, uncertain vibes.
We follow a boy trying to navigate life after loosing his father, and his struggles to let go and move on.
Decent read but I would have loved leaning more into the scary ghost vibe.
Sometimes life sucks… and then you die
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the copy!