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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I think I like SGJ best when he's at his most playful. This is a loving -- and at times hilarious-- deconstruction of the classic slasher, couched in the narration of the world's Most Normal Teenage Boy turned Jason Voorhees. I haven't liked an SGJ book this much since "Mongrels".
I wanted to love this, but reading through it was a slog. Any of the meaningful moments were bogged down by the odd mechanics of the slashing, the run on tangential stories, and the difficult to cipher writing.
In general I really enjoyed this book. I do think in some respects I just read it at the wrong time. Before I picked this book up I was thinking about how a lot of books nowadays seem like wannabe film scripts instead of books, and unfortunately this book was like that. Yet, this book was like that for a specific reason. It being film script-esque was part of the narrative, part of the whole point. Yet, I couldn't stop thinking about how this book should've just been a movie.
I also kind of thought the inciting incident for Tolly to become a slasher was stupid. I feel like usually in slasher films it's not that ridiculous. It's a lifetime of bullying that winds up creating a "slasher" but in this it was just one isolated incident.
Otherwise I really enjoyed the perspective and the idea of being inhabited in some respects by a trope. That Tolly couldn't control it because he was now playing a role destined to him. Yet, I also like that the narrative explains that that isn't a means of wiping him of all culpability.
I also kind of thought the inciting incident for Tolly to become a slasher was stupid. I feel like usually in slasher films it's not that ridiculous. It's a lifetime of bullying that winds up creating a "slasher" but in this it was just one isolated incident.
Otherwise I really enjoyed the perspective and the idea of being inhabited in some respects by a trope. That Tolly couldn't control it because he was now playing a role destined to him. Yet, I also like that the narrative explains that that isn't a means of wiping him of all culpability.
medium-paced
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A fun, entertaining romp for fans of slasher movies.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
This is why I would classify SGJ as literary: the premise of the story - Tolly becoming a teenage slasher - is never really explained or justified. Because that isn't really the important part. This is really about small town life, and above all about Tolly and Amber's relationship, as that relationship is explored by their discovering that Tolly is a slasher and they live out the tropes. It's so weird, but -- wow, the relationship is depicted so beautifully and powerfully. However, I continue to struggle with SGJ's almost stream-of-consciousness writing style. I feel like it slows things down and makes it difficult for me to follow.