I did a lot of studying in 2024, and was fairly fortunate to have (principally) loved all of the books and comics I picked up. That would have made it troublesome to decide on favorites when it got here time to mirror on the yr, however there was no query in my thoughts about which e book I liked most, as a result of one specifically absolutely knocked me on my ass, ripped my coronary heart out, made me chortle, made me cry, and so on., and so on., and so on.: Stephen Graham Jones’ I Was A Teenage Slasher.
Now, I Was A Teenage Slasher wouldn’t appear to be the sort story that’d go away you weeping about love and the ability of friendship should you’re, you realize, judging a e book by its cowl. The slasher style isn’t precisely recognized for emotional depth, so should you went into this considering you had been simply in for a traditional revenge-killing spree with some teenage antics blended in, I wouldn’t blame you. And also you wouldn’t be solely improper — this e book certainly has these issues. However the supernatural slasher factor, whereas being a significant a part of the plot, feels secondary to the rollercoaster coming of age story that’s actually at its coronary heart.
Tolly Driver doesn’t need to be a slasher, however he’s. It’s in his blood, because of a string of freak incidents that aligned in simply the correct solution to seal his destiny. Amber, his finest buddy and actually a ride-or-die, has plenty of information on the topic and basically turns into his journey information on this bewildering journey. I Was A Teenage Slasher offers with a number of troublesome topics, just like the grief of shedding a mum or dad younger, one thing I immediately associated to, the strain of making an attempt to do proper by the folks you like, and the terrifying actuality of rising up and rising into your self. However it’s additionally fairly often humorous, which helped offset all of the gore and tragedy.
That is the second yr in a row a Stephen Graham Jones e book has landed on the high of my record, which isn’t shocking as a result of I’m an enormous fan, however I Was A Teenage Slasher is de facto on one other stage. It isn’t simply one among my favourite books of the yr, it’s most likely one among my favourite books ever. I wished to begin it over the second I completed studying it, however I couldn’t as a result of I used to be crying too laborious. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor
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