Title: The Last Final Girl
Author: Stephen Graham Jones
First published September 16, 2012
216 pages, Paperback
ISBN: 9781621050513 (ISBN10: 1621050513)
Rating: 3.14
Overview
In The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones, life in a slasher film is a breeze, but only if you know when to die. The setting is a suburban town in Texas, where everyone knows everyone and the sheriff is a local celebrity.
On the surface, it seems like a peaceful place. But after Homecoming princess Lindsay barely escapes death at the hands of a sadistic murderer in a Michael Jackson mask, the town is forever changed.
Lindsay becomes a legend – the final girl who bravely defeated the killer and saved the day. But when Halloween masks start floating down the river and another slaughter begins, Lindsay realizes that one victory isn’t enough.
She must assemble a new team of final girls to replace those who were lost and become The Last Final Girl. This is a fight not just for survival, but for the title of ultimate final girl.
About the Author
Stephen Graham Jones has written around 25 to 30 books, and he’s a New York Times bestselling author. He’s particularly fond of werewolves and slashers, and his favorite novels vary from day to day.
Some of his all-time favorites include Valis, Love Medicine, Lonesome Dove, It, and The Things They Carried. Nowadays, Stephen resides in Boulder, Colorado, which is a far cry from the West Texas he called home during his childhood.
He’s married and has a couple of kids, and he may or may not have one truck too many.
Editoral Review
The Last Final Girl by Stephen Graham Jones is a haunting literary masterpiece that defies easy categorization. Published in 2012, this gripping novel blends elements of horror, suspense, and coming-of-age drama into a seamless narrative that is both emotionally resonant and viscerally terrifying.
At its core, The Last Final Girl is a chilling examination of the horror genre and the cultural forces that shape our perceptions of violence and victimization. Jones, a prolific author and professor of creative writing at the University of Colorado, brings his unique perspective to bear on this subject matter, crafting a story that is as thought-provoking as it is spine-tingling.
The plot of The Last Final Girl follows the experiences of a group of teenage girls who are the sole survivors of a series of brutal slasher movie-style attacks. These girls, known as the Final Girls, are forced to confront their trauma head-on as they navigate the aftermath of the killings and try to move on with their lives.
Jones excels at creating complex and nuanced characters, and the Final Girls are no exception. Each of these young women has her own unique personality, backstory, and coping mechanisms, and Jones does an excellent job of fleshing out their inner lives and exploring the nuances of their relationships with each other.
The setting of The Last Final Girl is also noteworthy. Jones situates the story in a small town in Texas, where the violence and tragedy that has befallen the Final Girls is juxtaposed with the mundane realities of everyday life.
This creates a sense of unease and dissonance that is palpable throughout the novel. One of the most impressive aspects of The Last Final Girl is Jones’ masterful use of language.
His prose is evocative and poetic, and he has a knack for crafting imagery that is both beautiful and unsettling. His descriptions of the killer, in particular, are some of the most chilling and memorable passages of the book.
If there is one criticism I have of The Last Final Girl, it is that the pacing can be a bit uneven at times. Some sections of the novel feel slow and ponderous, while others are breakneck and frenzied.
However, this is a minor quibble, and overall the book is a triumph of storytelling and literary skill. In conclusion, I wholeheartedly recommend The Last Final Girl to anyone who is looking for a deeply engrossing and thought-provoking read.
Fans of horror, suspense, and literary fiction alike will find much to admire in Jones’ riveting tale of trauma, survival, and the human experience. I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
