Who Wrote It?
Stephen Graham Jones.
First paragraph
“On the battered paper map that’s carried the two of them across they’re not sure how many of the American states now, this is Proofrock, Idaho, and the dark body of water before them is Indian Lake, and it kind of goes forever out into the night.”
What’s It About?
Jade Daniels is a walking encyclopaedia of slasher horror movies who looks at life through the lens of a slasher movie. She’s in the last throes of high school, has no friends, and most of the town thinks she’s a freak.
Jade lives with her abusive father in the town of Proofrock on the shore of Indian Lake, a manmade lake that sits on top of the buildings of the original town. The area has a lot of urban legends and gruesome folklore.
“When you’re wearing slasher goggles, everything can look like a slasher.”
Wealthy families (referred to as the ‘Founders’) have begun building huge mansions on the other side of Indian Lake from the town. Jade meets Letha Mondragon, the daughter of the main Founder, at school one day and immediately identifies her as the perfect embodiment of a ‘final girl’. Jade is positive that a new slasher cycle is beginning.
“And if Jade’s right about there being a final girl in town – if that’s in fact what Letha Mondragon, sitting two rows up and one over, is – then what that means is that a slasher cycle is trying to get started, meaning life’s going to get real cheap around these parts. A lot of people’s insides are about to start being on the outside.”
Jade’s excited at the thought of being a witness to a slasher cycle and is determined not to miss a minute of it. But she’s also torn between watching the cycle play out, helping Letha fulfil her destiny as a final girl, and trying to keep the final body count to a minimum.
“…it’s either going to look like or be Stacey Graves, which will be pretty wicked, or it’ll look like or be Ezekiel from Drown Town, the scary-ass preacherman with the big hands and too-wide mouth…”
She digs into the history and urban legends of Proofrock and tries to convince the local cop that she’s not the danger, that she’s trying to stop the inevitable final massacre. But he doesn’t believe her.
It soon becomes clear that Jade has secrets of her own that she doesn’t even admit to herself.
What Should You Expect?
- Expect an author with an encyclopaedic knowledge of slasher movies and the history of slasher movies.
- Expect to find it exhausting at times to be in this girl’s head, particularly during the first half of the story. You may not like her much at first but stick with it.
- Expect an unreliable narrator who sees the whole world through the lens of a horror movie, and expect to eventually start to wonder why she’s like this.
- Expect to feel quite sorry for Jade as you experience her life through her eyes. The only way she can feel significant is to be an expert on horror; it makes her unique and makes her feel special, like she stands out from the crowd.
- Expect to get an education in slasher horror through reading what at first appear to be history assignments but are actually pages from Jade’s diary.
- Expect to wonder if this is really happening or if it’s all in her head.
- Expect to start reading faster and faster as the story progresses until you feel like you’re running along with Jade as the end approaches.
- Expect to wonder if the novel finished a bit too early. Don’t expect a nice, neat ending.
- Expect to smile in places and to become attached to Jade, so much so that you’re not even mad that there’s going to be a sequel. But this story does work fine on its own.
Should You Read/Watch It?
Absolutely, especially if you’re a fan of early slasher movies.
This is a well-written, interesting, easy read that makes you laugh and cry and wonder and feel for Jade.
Where To Get It?
This is the first book in the Indian Lake trilogy.
