I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones

Hello beautiful people! Welcome to a new review! For this review, we’re diving into something a little bloody, a little chaotic, and a whole lot of fun, I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones. This is the second of his books I’ve read, and while it didn’t hit quite as hard for me as the others, it was still an entertaining and surprisingly emotional read. Honestly, slasher stories are always a little silly, and this one leans into that in the best way possible.

Main Characters:

Tolly Driver: Our main character and reluctant slasher, after a prank at a party goes horribly wrong, Tolly starts to transform into something terrifying and out of his control, his only hope? Reaching his final girl before it’s too late, and he is stopped in his tracks

Amber Big Plume Dennison: Tolly’s best friend and the emotional core of the book, she’s loyal, supportive, and absolutely torn between caring for her friend and dealing with the horror he’s become, her internal struggle adds a lot of heart to all the blood

Stace Goodkin: The girl Tolly’s crushing on and who leads him to the party, she’s tangled up in how Tolly becomes what he is, and her part in his transformation adds a twisted layer to the classic slasher dynamic

Deek Masterson: One of the jocks responsible for the death that kicks off the chaos, he’s got that typical top of the food chain energy, until he’s forced to face what he’s done

Justin Joss: The student whose death sets everything in motion, when he returns to take revenge, Tolly ends up absorbing both Justin’s blood and his rage, creating the monster we spend the rest of the book with

Mel Boanerges: A partygoer whose prank nearly kills Tolly, her actions leave him vulnerable and set off the chain reaction that turns him into a slasher; her eventual downfall feels like karma chasing her down in true horror fashion

My Review

I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones was such a ride. It’s a mix of campy slasher chaos and surprisingly emotional introspection, like Friday the 13th meets a smashing room therapy session. I gave I Was a Teenage Slasher a 7/10. It’s weird, gory, and surprisingly heartfelt, a true love letter to the slasher genre. While it didn’t grab me quite like his other works, it was still a fun and unsettling ride.

I Was a Teenage Slasher follows Tolly Driver, a teen who survives a deadly prank only to find himself becoming the very thing that once terrified him. With the help (and heartbreak) of his best friend Amber, Tolly tries to fight the pull of his new slasher instincts, but some horrors can’t be escaped. Equal parts campy and tragic, this story blends teenage angst with classic horror movie chaos in true Stephen Graham Jones fashion. A bloody, chaotic, and oddly heartfelt dive into what happens when the monster isn’t born, he’s made. To feed his slasher desires, Tolly must find and kill his final girl, all without getting caught along the way. Leaving many bodies in his wake, we, the reader, follow Tolly and Amber as they scramble to try and bring the real him back.

Tolly is such an interesting narrator. He’s self-aware, damaged, and angry in ways that feel both justified and tragic. His peanut allergy (shoutout to my fellow allergy sufferers) adds an oddly specific touch of realism to a story that’s otherwise drenched in gore and chaos. I actually found that made him more relatable, even as he’s losing control. Being someone who is often on the outskirts of the crowd made him a perfect pick for a main character turned murderer.

The relationship between Tolly and Amber was my favourite part. You can feel how much she loves him, but also how she’s starting to realize that love might not be enough. Her inner battle between loyalty and self-preservation is written so well. Watching her slowly accept that Tolly’s transformation might not be something she can fix gave the story a depth that most slashers don’t even try for.

The pacing was a little uneven; there were definitely moments where I had to reread to catch what was happening, but even when it got confusing, it was easy to fall right back into the story. It’s messy and weird and unapologetically a cheesy horror movie, and that’s kind of what makes it work.

I also loved how each character fit neatly into those classic horror tropes, the jock, the final girl, the best friend, but still managed to feel human underneath it all. It’s very self-aware in that meta way that Stephen Graham Jones does so well.

If you’re into horror that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still manages to punch you in the gut emotionally, this one’s worth checking out.

*** Don’t read any further if you don’t want to read any spoilers ***

After the prank at the party nearly kills Tolly, he starts transforming after coming into contact with Justin’s blood, the student who was originally killed by a differing but just as cruel prank. The slasher illness begins to take over. Amber tries everything to save him but realizes that those they assumed would be his final girl is not. It’s Amber. To save herself she attempts to kill him with the thing that started it all, peanuts.

Amber gets him but also saves him by stabbing him with an EPIPen and he escapes, leaving her and the others behind. Amber risks him coming back for her, but he doesn’t. He knows she saved him, but also killed him. She was, in all reality, the successful final girl who was able to save herself from the crushing spirit of the slasher.

Years later, Tolly writes down his story, confessing everything he did, before finally ending his own life, in the same way it all started, with peanuts. Amber and her son find Tolly’s writings.

It’s brutal, tragic, and haunting in that Stephen Graham Jones way that sticks with you long after you’re done.

I hope you enjoyed this review! Thank you for checking it out! Subscribe to the page to the be one of the first to know when I release a new review.