I Was a Teenage Slasher

By: Stephen Graham Jones

Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Stephen Graham Jones

A USA TODAY Bestseller

An Alex Award Winner

From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Adam Cesare 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, and shared sense of unfairness of being on the outside through the slasher horror Jones loves, 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.

©2024 Stephen Graham Jones (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Horror that broke me...

This one broke me, I still cry when I think about the ending. One of the best books I've ever read and I've read tons!! This has everything a horror fan wants, the Slasher genre rules, the gore and guts...all of it. This isn't just about the horror though. SGJ pulled every single heartstring to the point of almost snapping before letting go so you can feel it reverberate inside while you're wiping the tears from your cheeks. Love and friendship aren't something slashers really think about and yet our main character does, a lot and it makes this book an absolute must read.

Or must listen, the narrator brings this story to life so perfectly it gave me goosebumps. Seriously, you will do yourself a disservice if you don't give it a listen!

All the great Slashers…

his southern accent was the perfect touch to the story.

This was a fun listen, like letting me into the head of all the great teen slashers i grew up loving.

i got a bit lost i the story and had to rewind it a handful of times, but overall i enjoyed it.

Rambling tangents with occasional violence

After reading/listening to and enjoying the Indian Lake Trilogy and loving All the Good Indians, I was excited for this one. But despite the unique POV, SGJ’s rambling style was fatiguing in this one. It doesn’t dig deep enough into the characters to make a memorable statement about life in small town Texas, And it didn’t go hard enough with the slasher elements to provide any unique shock or horror. At this point the meta-slasher, where characters acknowledge the “rules” of slasher film tropes while battling their own slasher is becoming a trope itself, and SGJ is too good a writer to keep mining that same territory. The narration wad pretty good in this though.

very different in a good way

it reminded me if watching Scream for the first time. loved the way it flowed so smoothly but still kept you anxious for what was next.

Another Amazing Story from Stephen Graham Jones

I love the way Stephen Graham Jones tells stories! His characters are well developed, he doesn’t always write a “happy ending” (he writes the right ending), and I love how his life experience helps create unique narratives. He instantly became my favorite author and I’m looking forward to many more books.

Slow

This was slow and at times laborious, but was worth the read in the end.

Slasher says I x100

If I hear the word "slasher" any time in the next few days, it will be far too soon. I had a hard time connecting with this story and characters. It's NOT the book I thought it would be, though the audio performance is really good. It was hard to follow like I've seen in some reviews as I had no clue the equipment he kept describing and referring to, so it was hard to conjure in my mind. Knowing what the book IS though, maybe in a few months down the road I'll give it another listen and see if my opinon changes, or hopefully my wife will get more from this if she decides to listen.

Here is the deal.

The story was fine. It didn’t really hold my interest. But here is the weird thing. I loved the acknowledgements. I want book of just that. I typically enjoy this writer’s work but not this.

Sorrowful Horror Tale

I knew the author had done his job when I cried for the slasher. The hope that he would somehow rise above it all held firm. The love was there in the midst of the horror. Michael Crouch’s narration of Tolly was dead-on perfect…all West Texas accent and awkward teenage angst.

Very cool theme

He was yapping most of the time good to go to sleep or he made me drooling