A review by wardenred
I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

dark funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

In 1989, a thing happened in Lamesa, Texas. No, a thing happened to Lamesa, Texas.

This was quite a popcorn read for me: I just kept turning pages wanting to know what’s next, and even though the story isn’t particularly fast-paced, it felt like it took up a lot fewer pages than it actually did. I think something about the author’s writing style just clicked with my brain, making even the parts I was meh/uncertain about easy to follow and process. So I’m definitely going to check out more of his books, especially since some of them have been getting recced to me for ages!

As much as it was easy to read, though, I’m sad to say I don’t expect this particular book to be super memorable to me in the long run. I did appreciate the twist on the slasher trope/subgenre, but I think I expected a deeper dive into the titular teenage slasher’s feelings, reasons, and motivations. What I got was pretty surface-level, I feel, and really a lot was just taken care of by the supernatural element (that was in many ways confusing and under-explained). That might be another reason I read this so quickly—there was nothing really urging me to pause and dwell. On one hand, this kind of effect actually matches the source material well. We don’t really watch slasher movies for the deep, elaborate character arcs, do we? On the other hand, idk, I just wanted more character-driven moments, I guess, and I got so few (though Tolly and Amber’s relationship was pretty touching).

What I really, really enjoyed about the book was the strong sense of setting. Lamesa, Texas was vivid on the page through and through, lifelike and claustrophobic. I think I read somewhere that the author was inspired by his own experience with growing up in a similar place, and it sure shows—in a good way!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings