Our favourite books we learn in 2024

I did a lot of studying in 2024, and was fairly fortunate to have (largely) loved all of the books and comics I picked up. That would have made it tough to decide on favorites when it got here time to replicate on the yr, however there was no query in my thoughts about which guide I cherished 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 seem to be the type story that’d depart you weeping about love and the facility of friendship in case you’re, you understand, judging a guide by its cowl. The slasher style isn’t precisely recognized for emotional depth, so in case you went into this considering you have been simply in for a basic revenge-killing spree with some teenage antics blended in, I wouldn’t blame you. And also you wouldn’t be solely fallacious — this guide certainly has these issues. However the supernatural slasher factor, 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 wish to be a slasher, however he’s. It’s in his blood, because of a string of freak incidents that aligned in simply the suitable option to seal his destiny. Amber, his finest pal and really a ride-or-die, has a number 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 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 guide has landed on the prime 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 degree. It isn’t simply one in every of my favourite books of the yr, it’s most likely one in every of 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