This is one of the most emotional and gripping books I've ever read.
I'm new to Stephen Graham Jones and won't be turning back after this one.

Family trauma, ghosts, haunting, and hell it's already hard enough growing up as is.

Following a mystery figure though a doors opens more doors than he expected, how does your house suddenly double or triple in size, doors you have never seen and questions you don't know how to ask..

This is a ghost story but one that resonates through time as you see what family trauma really does through the generations..

A deeply interior, thought-provoking ghost story about familial trauma and legacy.

Twelve-year-old Junior's family is just trying to get by. Their mother took him and his younger brother, Dino, off the reservation in order to give them a better life, but all they got was a little modular house, a scary neighbor, and bullies at school. When Junior glimpses the ghost of his father in their house, he begins a quest to connect with this man he barely knew, and understand why he's chosen to return. But things aren't as straightforward as they seem. As Junior delves further into his late father's past, his brother Dino begins having frequent seizures. As these two elements escalate, Junior must contend with the dark realities of his father's return, and what kind of legacy Junior himself is carrying forward.

I read this novella in one day in two sittings. The writing is lovely, the story stark but moving. I would certainly class this as a horror-adjacent novel--and an excellent ghost story, for sure--and while I know some true horror enthusiasts might find that element light, I enjoyed Jones' take on the tropes. There were certainly numerous haunting images and, perhaps more importantly to this story, even more haunting truths and thoughts. I suspect this is the kind of book I will have to read over and over again in order to pull back the layers. Like the house at the story's center, there is much more happening under the surface that I realize on first read.

While I don't think at this point I would class this book among my horror or supernatural favorites, I hope I will read it again someday and continue to unearth its layers. Certainly, if anything, it's made me excited to read more of Jones' books -- this was my first!

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was another great read from Stephen Graham Jones that revolves around family, community and culture. I think I tend to gravitate more towards SGJ's shorter works. They pack a punch and the storytelling is always well done and engaging. I would highly recommend this!

Stephen Graham Jones does it again! Big thanks to Tor Publishing Group for this advanced ecopy of the re-release of Mapping the Interior. While this is a novella, I was stilly wholly entranced by the story and finished it in only a few hours one evening. It's a great little twisty novella with some gore & shock sprinkled in, as is SGJ's prerogative. Truthfully I didn't see the ending coming, This short book manages to captive your feelings, hold them, and then absolutely crush them in only 112 pages. This tale also speaks to mother's intuition & fierce love, and the lacking that can come from a father not around. SGJ weaves family ties in so eloquently you feel them as your own and I think a big part of this novella was just that; family ties, and childish imagination and how that can spin fully out of control.

This one’s short but packs a punch. It mixes eerie, unsettling moments with some real emotional depth. The way it blends family, memory, and the supernatural keeps you hooked from start to finish. It’s the kind of story that stays with you even after you close the book.

“Mapping the interior” is a short novella / horror story with elements of family, grief, loss, hardships, a boys journey to growing into a man and taking on responsibilities within the home, and of course elements of the creepy eery paranormal.

Putting it simply if you like these elements you’ll enjoy the short read.

The plot is formatted in first person narration where the main character is telling you his story blending in his past memories with the present goings on. This was a little off putting to me at first as I felt like I was having a conversation with the character, but eventually I got into the flow and absorbed myself into the story.

Thank you to the author and Tor publishing group for the EARC.

Publish date: April 29th 2025

In such a short time the author really puts us into the psyche of an adolescent Indian boy and his struggle with the early death of his father. It’s incredibly moving and visceral in a way that has to be experienced and says so much in so little time.

This is the kind of story I love. The first person POV, just telling the story, filling in the details so perfectly you can hear the dogs beyond the fence next door. You can see the bullies, sense the bond between brothers, and the wistful memories of a lost childhood... you can feel a boy's wish that his father's dreams could have come true, but also the realization of who and what that father was.

This is a story about family, and ghosts. It's a story about love and loss, hope and action figures. It's a story with heart. I can't recommend this story enough.

“I'm all right," I told her. This is a lie, when you're twelve. And all the other years, too.”
― Stephen Graham Jones, Mapping the Interior

“You never tell your mom anything that might worry her. Moms have enough to worry about already.”
― Stephen Graham Jones, Mapping the Interior

Updated for a new edition coming from Tor.com
This book is the first book by Stephen Graham Jones that I read and it will forever stand as my favorite. It cemented Jones as a favorite author. If you're new to reading his work, this is quintessential reading and if I had it my way, this would be every reader's introduction. It perfectly captures the essence of who he is as a storyteller.

I'm going to attempt to write this review after *just* finishing this story but just know, it killed me. I'm dead.
This is what I like to lovingly call a "gut punch".
SGJ pulls you into this 12-year-old boy's head space effortlessly. Being an avid reader of the horror genre, my particular sweet spot is for stories narrated by young boys on the cusp of manhood. There's a layer of emotional investment for me.
Junior is being raised by his mother, a widow, who lives outside of the Indian reservation to "save her boys from drowning"<--- just read it to get that. Junior's brother, Dino, has special needs.
I mean, KILL ME NOW.
I was already in tears by the time the story got rolling 20ish pages into this short novella.
The world stopped at least twice while I was reading and I don't think I was breathing.
Now that it's over and I'm digesting everything I just read, I can still feel SGJ pulling on my heartstrings and it HURTS.
It hurts BAAAAD.
I loved these 50-some-odd pages as much as I love just about anything. It's full of everything that makes me tick as a reader. Symbolism, foreshadowing, suspense, tension, fear, concern, and an emotional tidal wave that sucks you out to sea and spits you out.
I'm thankful for my little journey today, even though I'm a little worse for wear. And I'm *really* thankful for the ending. That redemption was hoped for.

Engaging, entertaining, and nicely dark. A recommended purchases for collections where horror is popular.

I'm a Stephen Graham Jones fan, but had never read this earlier work. Mapping the Interior is a novella about a 12-year-old boy coming to terms with the loss of his father. I wasn't sure how a horror novel could touch on grief in such a moving way, but as I read, I was often reminded of Pet Sematary by Stephen King.

For such a short novel, the characters and emotions are all deeply felt. This is compelling, memorable piece that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for a digital ARC of this novella. All opinions are my own.

5 stars

I’m not sure that Jones can write a bad story. This feels slightly softer, but still packs a punch. Another incredible story, with a perfect mix of grief and horror.

Thank you for granting me access to this ARC, NetGalley!

This is a complex story that would be excellent for literature students to deconstruct. I can feel the grief and strife of a young boy heading into his teenage years and trying to find his adulthood. The protection he feels for his little brother is palpable, as is the ache he feels for his father. Junior’s search for control over his sleepwalking, his brother’s seizures, and his life as a boy growing up without his father is poignantly expressed here. SGJ masterfully dances on the line between the hard, cold world of reality and whatever’s on the other side.

This is an exceptional title for those who think SGJ is just slasher horror and haven’t yet come to understand the depth of his characters and scenarios. Fantastic read; I’m thrilled it’s being reprinted so more people can access his beautiful writing.

Tor is reprinting Mapping the Interior, which was the 2017 winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Long Fiction. Netgalley sent me an email about it today and of course I dropped everything to read it.

I'm seeing a lot of reviews saying that this is a softer side to Stephen Graham Jones, that there's less fear here than there is grief. I disagree. Sure, this story is about a 12 year old boy grieving his father, a family trying to succeed outside their reservation, and about the life cycles of fathers and sons, but don't let that distract you from the fact that there is some seriously dark stuff happening here. Children are getting bullied. People are getting murdered by children. Dogs - AGAIN, SGJ? - are getting torn to pieces. I can't even tell you what's going on with the poor brother without spoiling the whole thing.

I have the same problem with this story as I have with the Indian Lake Trilogy - it gets too metaphysical and I have to go back and read again and again to figure out what's happening. However, that's more forgivable in a short story so it doesn't affect my rating. Just know that this is sad and scary and everything you've come to expect from SGJ. Children, animals, nobody's safe.

Really lovely, lush stuff. A unique, arresting haunting story. Jones never disappoints. I would happily read more from/of this character.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This was beautifully written and told, and it had a great balance between horror and sadness.

Jones returns with another creepy tale about some of the spooky stuff going down on the reservation. A young boy witnesses someone walk through a doorway in his home, and he has the strange feeling that it’s his father that seeing. The only problem with that is that his father is dead. The boy begins a nightmare journey through his home, which suddenly seems much larger and contains rooms he never knew were there. This book is a nightmare come to life, read it with the lights on!