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This isn't the first time I've rooted for the serial killer, but it may be the first time I felt sorry for one. And for his best friend Amber, who is trying to help him through her knowledge of slasher movies. I especially loved how Jones described how Tolly saw and felt things when in slasher mode. So much better than the mask eyes in Halloween.

I have now become a huge fan of Jones and will be reading more of his books.

Got to be honest, this wasn't what I expected and I don't know how I feel about that

Unpopular opinion. I wanted to like this book. I was so excited to read it when I received it in my #Staycation package but definitely it didn‘t work for me😬So repetitive, how many times he said was a slasher? That he shouldn‘t go to that party? and if you forget, it happened in 1989, this was mentioned over and over. So many unnecessary details🙄 rambling story🤦🏽‍♀️I almost DNF. I should sympathize with the character? I was bored 2⭐️

This one started out rough. I was a little confused on what was actually happening, but once it clicked for me and the slasher pattern came through I really started to enjoy it. I love slasher stories and it was really interesting to see it from the “monsters” POV. The writing is quite florid and can be hard to follow but overall the story was unique and entertaining! #hauntedshelf #skeletoncrew

I only made it to page 39. The writing was horrible ... possibly on purpose due to the character's POV but I couldn't continue reading it.

For the rest of my review, visit my Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/lodPY9Lj83Q

Enjoy!

It was choppy and uneven jumping around from Tolly remembering things to telling the reader the story. It was gory, but also heartfelt and sad. Normally don‘t feel bad for the slasher, but it was hard not feel bad for Tolly as he found himself transforming into a slasher. Amber tried to save him and in the end, when he realized there‘d be a sequel, Tolly made sure that didn‘t happen. His allergy was an interesting twist.

#horror #slashernovel

Low pick for me, because honestly, I'm not a huge fan of horror -- especially when it comes to gore, and this book has plenty of that! That said, I did enjoy the premise and the quasi-epistolary format.

#HauntedShelf #HexesandCrows @PuddleJumper @CatsandBooks #PumpkabooHunt #Witchathon @TEArificbooks

Book Scavenger Hunt: Figure
This is also my current read for spooky month.
#HauntedShelf #DeadSerious

Book 73📚 3.5⭐️

The story of Tolly slowly turning into a teenage slasher, guided by his Horror Genre Sensei Amber. She knows the tropes, and she‘s hell bent on trying to stop the transformation.

Since it‘s written as if Tolly is telling the story directly to you, it can get a bit choppy 😂 jumping from story to memory lol

This feels like a companion novel to the authors other slasher series - The Indian Lake Trilogy. The big difference is our main character and narrator is the slasher of the title and how he becomes slasher of the story. This is definitely for fans of the slasher genre and follows all the rules. The first 2/3 of the book was such fun, but the pacing became uneven in the final act when it should have been fast paced. ⬇️

Maybe if I hadn't recently finished the Indian Lake Trilogy by this author, I would have liked this one more. 🫤

Parts of this book felt way too similar to his other books, but the characters in this one weren't as developed.

If you've never read his other books, though, this could be a good start. It has a good mix of social commentary and issues with a spooky underlying premise.

#HauntedShelf @PuddleJumper #HexesandCrows @Catsandbooks

Every time I look at the cover for this book I think ???"I was a teenage dirtbag baby." ????

#BookScavengerHunt We've got a mysterious hooded #figure here.

#skeletoncrew @Emilymdxn
#hauntedshelf @PuddleJumper

I Was A Teenage Slasher was my favorite book from September 🖤
#TopRead2024 #ReadingBracket2024

I'm wrapping up September a little early so I can get my insane tbr ready for #HauntedShelf 🐈‍⬛
I read eight books. My favorites were: Bury Your Gays, You Like it Darker, and I Was A Teenage Slasher.
For #ReadOrDonate I read The Martian and am keeping that one but dnfed The Shining Girls and I will be donating that one. @julieclair

This was so much fun. Set in the 80s, Tolly is a typical teenager in Texas until he gets a drop of slasher blood in him (literally) and then he becomes one.
I would love to see this as a movie 🖤
#Aardvark
#WickedWords #Wicked @AsYouWish
#TBRTarot @CBee

Agreed. 🟰➗➖➕😖

One of the things I love most about SGJ is his ability to play with genre. And while his experiments aren‘t always successful they are usually worth a read. IWATS often feels like a discarded draft of Chainsaw. But here, SGJ is exploring the genre from the killer‘s POV, and it makes for some pretty hilarious and WTF moments.

It is overlong though. It could‘ve lost about 100 pages and been stronger.

I've read The Final Girl Support Group, I would be equally happy to read a slasher support group book. 🔪🤔

Sadly, this book reads like a failed attempt to explore the same themes as the far superior Indian Lake trilogy that was shelved and trotted back out without adjustment when those books did well. Every book can‘t be a hit even for a great author, and for me this is SGJ‘s stinker.

You know when someone is telling you a story and keeps going into other smaller stories and long tangents that has nothing to do with the story, and by the time you get back to the story, you've forgotten what was going on? That is this entire book. The writing style and pacing were definitely a choice... This was way too long with way too many details that I didn't care about and had nothing to do with the actual story. I wanted to love this. 2/5

This was such a fun book! I love horror, especially the slasher genre, and Stephen Graham Jones takes it and makes it his own. It's a supernatural mystery horror book all rolled into one. I loved the characters, the play on all the slasher tropes, and the unique way it was told from the killer's POV. I especially loved the final girl aspect of it that wrapped the story up perfectly.

DNF - downloaded a e book sample to give this one a go as it sounded interesting but I still don‘t like his writing style sadly.

Would have been read for the Literally Dead Book Club

This is the first book I have paid retail for in a long time! Sticker shock! I sit in a Starbucks in Barnes and Noble on Tuesdays to work which is the same day they put out all the new books...I usually manage to not buy a book every time but this one caught my eye!

Current read! So far all the aardvark books I‘ve read have been amazing. Which is more than I can say for my botm picks which were always hit or miss. Definitely glad I made the switch. Plus aardvark is killing it with the horror picks which we all know botm lacks.

I‘m getting a bit tired of horror books that try to subvert the genre, but this was still a good entry. The ending twist was great, too!

Tolly wasn‘t born to kill. He gets tied to a chair and nearly dies of anaphylaxis. At this same wild party, a killer comes back from the grave, enacts his revenge, and infects Tolly with the same desire for revenge. So he becomes a slasher…watch out teens of Texas! #aardvark

As always, Jones starts fast the first chapter dropping you into the mind of a killer, a prospective that much more scary/horrifying because of the narrator‘s nonchalance, their acceptance & ownership of their actions even as they admit the reasons for them are unclear. All of which to say, Jones has written another compelling interrogation of slasher movies & the horror that lurks around the corner. A little long, but still a great read.

I don‘t think I‘ve ever read an author who so consistently writes opening chapters that hook you right from the first paragraph, who ratchets up the tension so perfectly, who leaves you breathlessly turning the pages even as you‘re holding your breath knowing that you are only a page or two away from something BIG happening. No one writes better opening chapters than Jones. He is simply the best…and I‘m really enjoying this one a chapter in…

Great mail day—Jones‘ latest book and another Gris Grimly illustrated picture book which happens to be signed by Grimly—a super lucky find!

My #TravelingStars package from @Gissy came in today. Thank you so much. I love the crystals & candle 🧡
Also #Aardvark arrived with two new horror novels.

Both #BOTM & #Aardvark had some nice picks this month. These were the four I picked. What did y'all choose 😺

Mixed feelings here. I love this author‘s penchant for writing in a “real” voice - it makes you love these central characters harder, even if they are technically villains. But at its heart this is a corrupted love story, a coming of age kind of story. To label this horror feels almost off to me. Simply put, this could have been a novella and arguably would have the same punch & impact. Climatically, it took too long to get where it was going.

😩😩 they‘rekilling me with these selections this month!!

I put *four* more in the waitlist (aka tbr) in BOTM too… (the ones on the left) (I know, I can order 4 add-ons now, but I just can‘t justify 8 new hardcovers this month… 😁)

Way to go #aardvark #aardvarkbookclub and #botm #bookofthemonth for July!! ♥️♥️♥️

Fave reads so far this year! 💖🫶🏻✨
#AuthorAMonth #AuldLangSpine

I liked: the concept and the narrator‘s voice. I didn‘t like: the pacing, the lack of fright, how vaguely drawn the secondary characters were, the climax

So, as much as I enjoy summer, I have to be honest... I'm already looking forward to autumn! 🤭🍁🍂 So I decided to celebrate 'summerween' this year and watch some spooky movies and read some spooky books this month! These are the books I have lined up to read first! 💀💕

Finished while waiting for my niece to get out of gymnastics class! I really want to love Stephen Graham Jones but I think I am not enough of a cult horror fan. The book is good but I was forcing myself through the second half. I was very confused at the first part - if it was a dream, a fantasy, or real.
I did like the main characters, and the setting was perfect for the story. The writing is solid but the story was just not for me.
3⭐

I took the afternoon off for a haircut, getting some cafe reading time in with Stephen Graham Jones newest!

Hallelujah I found it!! I have been tearing my house, car, office apart for 2 weeks now trying to find my ereader. I finally found it wedged between the nightstand and mattress on my partners side of the bed. Why was it even near there? I have zero clue. But this does reaffirm my belief that owning many physical books is better.
I am glad to have it back, it is easier on the eyes at night before bed, and I get to read the fun tagged book now.