By Sarah Musnicky
Author Stephen Graham Jones is no stranger to the slasher. Reveling in breaking down and playing around with the tropes familiar to the horror subgenre, Jones has given plenty for fans to chew on. With the release of I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER, he switches perspectives. While Jade Daniels from The Angel of Indian Lake Trilogy was his play on the familiar 'final girl,' Tolly Driver is Jones' titular slasher.
I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER takes us back to Lamesa, TX, circa 1989. The story is relayed to us via a much older Tolly Driver's voice, giving it an autobiographical feel. Through Tolly, we have painted a clear picture of the small-town life of Lamesa. Outsiders like Tolly and his best friend, Amber, are left to fend for themselves, forming the deepest of bonds that stand the test of time. At least, that's what seventeen-year-olds like Tolly hope.
Tolly is still trying to process the death of his father. He's feeling lost and aimless, drifting in and out of parties uninvited, trying to make sense of himself and the world around him. A triggering incident sparks his subsequent transformation into becoming a slasher. That said, throughout the course of adult Tolly's recollection of these events, a sense of helplessness resonates. Stephen Graham Jones opens up a realm of thought surrounding the slasher mindset. In this dissection, looking away from this slow-rolling train of inevitable heartbreak is difficult.
Since I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER is told from the perspective of a slasher, parts of the story have a natural conclusion. Still, like Jones has done previously in The Angel of Indian Lake trilogy, there's always a surprise to be found. The biggest surprise is how precious Tolly's friendship with Amber is. It's the kind of ride-or-die friendship of which high school stories are made. While Tolly is the main character, the start of I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER is this pivotal friendship.
While I struggled a bit more to follow the action and perspectives in The Angel of Indian Lake trilogy, aside from the jarring pivotal moment where Tolly's life course changes, the trajectory of events was easy enough to follow. Tolly's voice is direct, even when getting lost in the weeds of his tangents. There's an uncertainty and vulnerability that is relatable in Tolly's voice. It penetrates and grabs the reader's heart with ease.
Slashers are meant to be villains—that's at least what the movies say. Yet Stephen Graham Jones has crafted a slasher in Tolly that cuts at the core of emotion. He is the other side of the coin that outsider Jade Daniels represented in The Angel of Indian Lake trilogy. And for many outsiders, it's hard not to find a little slice of Tolly in us.
I WAS A TEENAGER SLASHER is a brilliant deep dive into a character that we should generally be wary of. As mentioned previously, slashers are the villains of the genre. Yet, through Tolly's recollections—however unreliable they may be—one thing becomes clear: friendship can save us, even in our darkest moments.
I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER is available wherever books are sold.
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