I Was a Teenage Slasher Audiobook By Stephen Graham Jones cover art

I Was a Teenage Slasher

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I Was a Teenage Slasher

By: Stephen Graham Jones
Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Stephen Graham Jones
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A USA TODAY Bestseller

An Alex Award Winner

From New York Times bestselling horror writer Stephen Graham Jones comes a classic slasher story with a twist—perfect for fans of Adam Cesare and Grady Hendrix.

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A small west Texas town driven by oil and cotton—and a place where everyone knows everyone else’s business. So it goes for Tolly Driver, a good kid with more potential than application, seventeen, and about to be cursed to kill for revenge. Here Stephen Graham Jones explores the Texas he grew up in, and shared sense of unfairness of being on the outside through the slasher horror Jones loves, but from the perspective of the killer, Tolly, writing his own autobiography. Find yourself rooting for a killer in this summer teen movie of a novel gone full blood-curdling tragic.

©2024 Stephen Graham Jones (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio Best of 2024 Editors Select Horror Indigenous Creators Suspense Thriller & Suspense World Literature Scary

Editorial Review

The sweetest little slasher in Texas
Our patience has been rewarded, because they’re finally here: summer, and I Was a Teenage Slasher! The bloodlust is real for Stephen Graham Jones’s new novel, an extra-personal work based on the horror legend’s West Texas upbringing and a love letter to outcasts and slasher films. Our antihero is 17-year-old Tolly Driver, who lives with a plot-pertinent peanut allergy in the podunk town of Lamesa, Texas, and is about to go on a murder spree that will see six of his classmates dead in the summer of 1989. (That’s no spoiler: Driver, typing out his memoir years in the future, says so at the outset.) The trick is how Graham Jones unspools the story, drawing you into Tolly’s voice and his world of hair metal, Dr. Pepper, bullies, unrequited love, tragedy, and a surprisingly sweet friendship you’ll root for. Texan native Michael Crouch is the PERFECT narrator for the story, which goes down like a gory yet heartbreaking coming-of-age—and don’t miss the blood-red cherry on top when the author reads his acknowledgments at the end. — Kat J., Audible Editor

Creative Slasher Lore • Emotional Depth • Outstanding Narration • Unexpected Twists • Vivid Horror Imagery
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This one broke me, I still cry when I think about the ending. One of the best books I've ever read and I've read tons!! This has everything a horror fan wants, the Slasher genre rules, the gore and guts...all of it. This isn't just about the horror though. SGJ pulled every single heartstring to the point of almost snapping before letting go so you can feel it reverberate inside while you're wiping the tears from your cheeks. Love and friendship aren't something slashers really think about and yet our main character does, a lot and it makes this book an absolute must read.

Or must listen, the narrator brings this story to life so perfectly it gave me goosebumps. Seriously, you will do yourself a disservice if you don't give it a listen!

Horror that broke me...

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his southern accent was the perfect touch to the story.

This was a fun listen, like letting me into the head of all the great teen slashers i grew up loving.

i got a bit lost i the story and had to rewind it a handful of times, but overall i enjoyed it.

All the great Slashers…

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After reading/listening to and enjoying the Indian Lake Trilogy and loving All the Good Indians, I was excited for this one. But despite the unique POV, SGJ’s rambling style was fatiguing in this one. It doesn’t dig deep enough into the characters to make a memorable statement about life in small town Texas, And it didn’t go hard enough with the slasher elements to provide any unique shock or horror. At this point the meta-slasher, where characters acknowledge the “rules” of slasher film tropes while battling their own slasher is becoming a trope itself, and SGJ is too good a writer to keep mining that same territory. The narration wad pretty good in this though.

Rambling tangents with occasional violence

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it reminded me if watching Scream for the first time. loved the way it flowed so smoothly but still kept you anxious for what was next.

very different in a good way

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I love the way Stephen Graham Jones tells stories! His characters are well developed, he doesn’t always write a “happy ending” (he writes the right ending), and I love how his life experience helps create unique narratives. He instantly became my favorite author and I’m looking forward to many more books.

Another Amazing Story from Stephen Graham Jones

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This was slow and at times laborious, but was worth the read in the end.

Slow

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If I hear the word "slasher" any time in the next few days, it will be far too soon. I had a hard time connecting with this story and characters. It's NOT the book I thought it would be, though the audio performance is really good. It was hard to follow like I've seen in some reviews as I had no clue the equipment he kept describing and referring to, so it was hard to conjure in my mind. Knowing what the book IS though, maybe in a few months down the road I'll give it another listen and see if my opinon changes, or hopefully my wife will get more from this if she decides to listen.

Slasher says I x100

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The story was fine. It didn’t really hold my interest. But here is the weird thing. I loved the acknowledgements. I want book of just that. I typically enjoy this writer’s work but not this.

Here is the deal.

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I knew the author had done his job when I cried for the slasher. The hope that he would somehow rise above it all held firm. The love was there in the midst of the horror. Michael Crouch’s narration of Tolly was dead-on perfect…all West Texas accent and awkward teenage angst.

Sorrowful Horror Tale

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He was yapping most of the time good to go to sleep or he made me drooling

Very cool theme

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