Our favourite books we learn in 2024

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 might have made it tough 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 beloved most, as a result of one specifically totally knocked me on my ass, ripped my coronary heart out, made me chuckle, made me cry, and so forth., and so forth., and so forth.: Stephen Graham Jones’ I Was A Teenage Slasher.

Now, I Was A Teenage Slasher wouldn’t look like the type story that’d go away you weeping about love and the facility of friendship for those who’re, you understand, judging a e book by its cowl. The slasher style isn’t precisely identified for emotional depth, so for those who went into this pondering you had been simply in for a traditional revenge-killing spree with some teenage antics combined in, I wouldn’t blame you. And also you wouldn’t be totally incorrect — this e book certainly has these issues. However the supernatural slasher component, whereas being a serious 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 best solution to seal his destiny. Amber, his greatest good friend and actually a ride-or-die, has plenty of information on the topic and primarily turns into his journey information on this bewildering journey. I Was A Teenage Slasher offers with quite a lot of tough topics, just like the grief of dropping a father or mother younger, one thing I immediately associated to, the stress of attempting to do proper by the folks you’re keen on, 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 prime of my checklist, which isn’t shocking as a result of I’m a giant fan, however I Was A Teenage Slasher is actually on one other degree. It isn’t simply one in all my favourite books of the yr, it’s in all probability one in all 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 arduous. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend Editor