I Was A Teenage Slasher

by Stephen Graham Jones

From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Riley Sager and Grady Hendrix.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, the unfairness of being on the outside, through the slasher horror he lives but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.

• ISBN10: 1797175963
• ISBN13: 9781797175966
• Publish Date: 16 July 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Edition: Unabridged
• Format: Audiobook
• Duration: 11 hours and 1 minutes
• Language: English

Reviews

[Quirky Cat]

Book Summary:

The year is 1989 in a rural part of Texas. Tolly Driver is that kid everybody knows - because every year, the nurse marches out and warns his classmates of the severity of his peanut allergy. Okay, it’s not a great reason to be known by the town.

However, things change, and soon, Tolly will be known for something else. First, it’s the death of his dad; then, it’s his habit of over-drinking. What could be next? Perhaps surviving the horrific murders that occur at a party?

My Review:

Whew. I knew that I Was a Teenage Slasher would hit hard (Stephen Graham Jones books always do!), but this book blew me out of the water. I love how it played around with horror tropes and so much more.

I Was a Teenage Slasher is very much a satirical take on the whole slasher horror movie genre, and it’s a lot of fun. It plays around with assumptions and the tropes that slasher fics are rife with (final girls, having sex = death, etc.).

It’s intentionally campy right up until it isn’t. This book has a few twists waiting for readers, and they fit perfectly with the story being told here. Whether or not you love slashers or the horror genre in general, this book is worth reading. However, do be warned that it gets a bit graphic, as expected.

Highlights:
Horror/Thriller
Indigenous
Horror Tropes

Trigger Warnings:
Murder/Gore/Violence
Bullying/Allergy
Homophobia/Racism
Animal Death

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