This was my first book by SGJ as I've been really interested in his books. I really enjoyed the original perspective and how you get to see things from a serial killer's point of view. But I found it very slow overall. The audiobook was engaging and I liked the narrator, but I struggled to keep focus because of the pace.

I unfortunately ended up putting the book down at the 60% mark. This is the third story by Stephen Graham Jones I have tried now, and I think I prefer his shorter stories. I love that his passion for the slasher genre is so evident on the page, however his storytelling when given a longer page count just isn't for me.

Hunter Johns did an incredible job narrating, and truly breathed life (ironically) into our main character Tolly, allowing the reader to truly live in his mind. On this occasion though, his mind was rather... dull. I suppose with this book title I was anticipating a lot more action, and instead got quite the introspective, quiet tale that just so happened to have a couple of murders thrown in the mix.

A shame, but at least now I know that SGJ full length novels aren't my cup of tea.

I loved every word of this and it has just cemented Stephen Graham Jones as one of my all time favourite authors. Tolly was such a compelling protagonist and I loved the friendship between him and Amber. I also thought the tone of the narrative was pitch perfect from start to finish and honestly, it felt like reading a slasher movie, with more nuance and character development. Loved it!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I Was A Teenage Slasher is the latest from Stephen Graham Jones, a Blackfeet Native American author who primarily writes horror fiction. I’ve read a couple of his other books and always find his writing style interesting, so I was delighted to give this a go.

We’re taken on a walk down memory lane by Tolly Driver, a good kid from Lamesa Texas, who lacks ambition but is also devoid of homicidal tendencies. He’s now older, and looking back on the summer, aged 17, that he reluctantly became a teenage slasher.

Unlike your typical slashers, Tolly is cursed and transforms into an invincible, mask-wearing, stalkerish killer of fellow teens, completely unbidden by himself. His best friend Amber sets out to help him find a cure before the local townsfolk solve a recent spate of gruesome murders, and realise Tolly’s the culprit.

This is not your average horror. It’s fairly meta, referring to movie villains and connecting the dots with his own transformation. The idea that this type of horror creation could be passed on like a virus, through blood, is certainly very inventive and is a fresh take on an overused horror trope. I enjoyed that, being a slasher fan.

I loved the relationship between the two best friends, and as always the author does an excellent job of creating a tense and at times, surreal atmosphere, cleverly combined with the mundane small town Texas vibes of the 80’s.
There is a lot of gore, I found myself saying “oooh, nooooo!” out loud more than once.
On that note; the audio is great, the narrator added a lot of heart to the character of Tolly in particular. It felt a bit like a dark-comedy-horror version of Demon Copperhead at times.

This is one strictly for horror fans, and especially for those looking to mix things up a bit.
I find sometimes with this author that he can jump around pretty dramatically in a scene, which can be a bit discombobulating, but otherwise, I enjoyed this.
A creative and original horror to enjoy this spooky season.

With many thanks to @netgalley and @wfhowes for my early copy. All opinions are my own, as always. #IWasATeenageSlasher is available to buy now.

I was so confused for the half of this, there's a fair few tangents and it takes a little while for the actual story to click together, but once it did, I was hooked. This is a fun meta-slasher with a lot of heart and I really enjoyed it! I listened to the audiobook, which I think helped bring the story to life. I loved the friendship between Tolly & Amber and it felt like Mesa Texas was it's own character. I am usually wary of peanut allergies in books, but this was done pretty well.

The narration was good. I quite liked the theme, but I found it a bit too long and didn't get that drawn in.

I’ve read a few Riley Sahara and I’d say it’s quite a similar read/listen. At first I thought it was a YA and still may be of interest to this demographic, but also for older audiences. The narrator was a good match for the story and the plot was thriller-esque in nature. A good twisty quick listen. Have recommended to the horror girlies in my book club

If you love 80s slasher movies, this is for you. It takes all those known and loved clichés and throws them into 1 book.

The story is from Tulley Drivers' perspective, which makes a nice change from the who dunnit?

Finished the book feeling sorry for the killer - not sure what that's about?!

The audibook version from Netgalley is in 15 parts, which made the chapters really long, but the released version could be in more manageable chunks.

So this book was not what I was expecting when I first started it and I'm not mad at that! I really enjoyed it, probably more than I was expecting. A great twist on the classic slasher genre. If you're a fan of Scream, then you're definitely going to love this. Now I know what it sounds like when someone says that but I don't think you'll really get what I mean until you read/listen to it. Unlike Scream however, this book kind of hit me in the feels a little bit. Not used to horrors doing that.