The Taking of Jake Livingston
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- Create Date：2021-07-14 07:19:17
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Ryan Douglass
- ISBN：198481253X
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Summary
Get Out meets Danielle Vega in this YA horror where survival is not a guarantee。
Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St。 Clair Prep， one of the others being his infinitely more popular older brother。 It’s hard enough fitting in but to make matters worse and definitely more complicated， Jake can see the dead。 In fact he sees the dead around him all the time。 Most are harmless。 Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again， they don’t interact often with people。 But then Jake meets Sawyer。 A troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school last year before taking his own life。 Now a powerful， vengeful ghost， he has plans for his afterlife–plans that include Jake。 Suddenly， everything Jake knows about ghosts and the rules to life itself go out the window as Sawyer begins haunting him and bodies turn up in his neighborhood。 High school soon becomes a survival game–one Jake is not sure he’s going to win。
Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St。 Clair Prep， one of the others being his infinitely more popular older brother。 It’s hard enough fitting in but to make matters worse and definitely more complicated， Jake can see the dead。 In fact he sees the dead around him all the time。 Most are harmless。 Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again， they don’t interact often with people。 But then Jake meets Sawyer。 A troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school last year before taking his own life。 Now a powerful， vengeful ghost， he has plans for his afterlife–plans that include Jake。 Suddenly， everything Jake knows about ghosts and the rules to life itself go out the window as Sawyer begins haunting him and bodies turn up in his neighborhood。 High school soon becomes a survival game–one Jake is not sure he’s going to win。
Reviews
Paige （pagebypaigebooks）
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“Vengeance tends to tether you to things you’re meant to forget。”I'd like to thank Penguin Teen Canada for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review！I've also posted this review on Instagram and my blog。Instagram PostBlog PostWhen I first heard about this story I was intrigued about the element of seeing ghosts and was very excited to see the representation。 I'm going to start off by saying that this is a book that has many incredibly heavy topics in it that could be triggering for “Vengeance tends to tether you to things you’re meant to forget。”I'd like to thank Penguin Teen Canada for sending me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review！I've also posted this review on Instagram and my blog。Instagram PostBlog PostWhen I first heard about this story I was intrigued about the element of seeing ghosts and was very excited to see the representation。 I'm going to start off by saying that this is a book that has many incredibly heavy topics in it that could be triggering for many people。 Please check out the content warnings before picking this book up。 This is very much a horror book， not thriller。 I personally wish I had been aware of the content warnings before requesting an ARC copy。 One element of the plot that confused me the most was the extent of Jake's powers and how they could be used。 At many points a random fact or ability would appear with no explanation as to why it came or how it worked。 For example the ectomist， which I still do not fully understand。 Jake unfortunately felt like a very one dimensional character， we don't explore his personality very much and I found him more to be a vessel for the plot than actually being interested in him as a person。 What I disliked the most， and what made me feel the most uncomfortable was Sawyer。 Throughout the book we get diary entries from him， leading up to the school shooting。 These entries were extremely disturbing， detailing much of the plot pertaining to the content warnings listed above。 At many points it feels as though you should be sympathizing with him because of what he has been through。 This made me very uncomfortable as he does many horrific acts throughout the book。Some final thoughts that come to mind are: don't read this book at night， and don't read this book when you're alone。 This book made me extremely uncomfortable。 。。。more
Rosh | Reads and Reviews
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WOAH。 This book is…interesting。 I’m not sure I would have been able to handle this YA as a teen。 Not only is it a horror that left me scared more times than I’d like to admit， it covers some very serious and troubling topics that I wasn’t prepared for。 I would definitely check out the content warnings if you pick this one up。I enjoyed the overall plot and thought the social commentary was very on point。 The MC Jake goes THROUGH IT as a high school kid， and I don’t just mean because he can see de WOAH。 This book is…interesting。 I’m not sure I would have been able to handle this YA as a teen。 Not only is it a horror that left me scared more times than I’d like to admit， it covers some very serious and troubling topics that I wasn’t prepared for。 I would definitely check out the content warnings if you pick this one up。I enjoyed the overall plot and thought the social commentary was very on point。 The MC Jake goes THROUGH IT as a high school kid， and I don’t just mean because he can see dead people （cue Haley Joel Osment， IYKYK）。 I liked Douglass’ writing style， but for me， the horror overpowered and didn’t allow me to fully love this one。 If you enjoy horror， paranormal activity and ghosts in death loops， you should pick up this book！ 。。。more
Pei
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Enjoyment: 3。5/5Execution: 3。5/5Final: 3。5 （rounded to 4）An incredibly chilling and gripping fast-paced horror read。 The Taking of Jake Livingston tackles a lot of heavy issues well and was a fascinating read。 I've included a list of CWs below， which I'd recommend looking over before picking up this book。 There is a nightmare quality to the book， which is told from Jake's point of view， and he's a really interesting and conflicted narrator。 He is one of the only Black kids at St。 Clair's prep， w Enjoyment: 3。5/5Execution: 3。5/5Final: 3。5 （rounded to 4）An incredibly chilling and gripping fast-paced horror read。 The Taking of Jake Livingston tackles a lot of heavy issues well and was a fascinating read。 I've included a list of CWs below， which I'd recommend looking over before picking up this book。 There is a nightmare quality to the book， which is told from Jake's point of view， and he's a really interesting and conflicted narrator。 He is one of the only Black kids at St。 Clair's prep， where his classmates are largely white and privileged。 I really felt for Jake and the constant microaggressions to flat out racism he dealt with on a regular basis from his classmates。 The bullying portrayed in the book felt really real and unfortunately， very relatable。 The story starts up with the murder of Matteo， survivor of a local high school shooting， and Jake， a teenage medium， finds himself haunted by Sawyer， the teen responsible for the shooting。 We have occasional flashbacks from Sawyer's POV， which are disturbing and provide more background for him。While the scenes are very well written and appropriately terrifying， I had difficulty understanding what was happening at times。 Given the whole supernatural premise of everything， with Jake being able to see the dead and the possession， I think this is intentional， but I personally wasn't a fan。 It's difficult to get a grasp of who Jake is， as well as his relationships to the other characters， because he spends so much of the story in a state of emotional and physical limbo。 Perhaps some more worldbuilding/background to the story would have helped， because I would've liked to know more about Jake and his background whereas we are thrown right in。 There's a lot of Sawyer's background that is explored vs sprinkles of Jake's history。 Additionally， the book ends a little abruptly and there are a lot of things that jump straight to the conclusion。 Even after finishing the book， I was left with a lot of questions。 Ultimately， I wanted a little more in regards to relationship development between Jake and his new friends， as well as with his family。Lastly， which was by no means any fault of the author， but the formatting of my e-arc was terrible with random spaces/lack of spaces between sentences and words， which made it difficult to stay in the story。 Sometimes it would occur in the middle of dialogue， which lead to confusion over who was saying what， so I would have to reread the scene， imagining it from the alternate perspective to get a feel for what was happening。 This definitely made it hard for me to stay connected to what I was reading and was very distracting。 Overall， this was an enjoyable read and I think this would be absolutely fascinating in a visual format as well。 It's scary and yet heartwarming， and I would love to see more from this author！ Thank you to Penguin Teen for the e-arc through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。Content warnings （may be incomplete， may contain spoilers）: （view spoiler）[School shooting， guns， graphic descriptions of violence， animal cruelty， underage recreational drug & alcohol use， cyberbullying/revenge porn， homophobia， racism & microaggressions， attempted rape of minor/incest， assault， death/murder， bullying， blood/gore， graphic descriptions of injury， body horror， disturbing insect imagery， nonconsensual possession， mental & physical abuse， parental neglect， mentions of suicide， sadism （hide spoiler）] 。。。more
Joefel
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Review coming soon！
Karlie Schaefer
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"It's more a hope than a promise。 I can't make any promises。"The Taking Of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass is both creepy and contemporary。 For Jake， being a queer black teen in a mostly white school is difficult enough， but now imagine also seeing dead people everywhere you go。 When one of the ghosts seems to be able to break through into the world of the living， it's up to Jake to stop a murdering ghost， protect himself， and balance the complexities of his social life。 At times downright scar "It's more a hope than a promise。 I can't make any promises。"The Taking Of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass is both creepy and contemporary。 For Jake， being a queer black teen in a mostly white school is difficult enough， but now imagine also seeing dead people everywhere you go。 When one of the ghosts seems to be able to break through into the world of the living， it's up to Jake to stop a murdering ghost， protect himself， and balance the complexities of his social life。 At times downright scary， and at other times heartbreaking， this book was much more than I had expected it to be。 An excellent own voices story with a supernatural twist。Disclaimer: The quoted text is from an advanced reader copy I received from G。P。 Putnam's Sons and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review。 。。。more
Sarah
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2。5 stars
Oliver Harris
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alright as I always take the time to say I am not own voices here so please please go seek out those reviews first。 This was such a great read！ I don't want to say much for multiple reasons but just let me say I really enjoyed this story。 This is definitely a book I plan to recommend and talk up as much as I can。 This was such a cool and unique story and I can not wait to see and hear more thoughts about this book。 alright as I always take the time to say I am not own voices here so please please go seek out those reviews first。 This was such a great read！ I don't want to say much for multiple reasons but just let me say I really enjoyed this story。 This is definitely a book I plan to recommend and talk up as much as I can。 This was such a cool and unique story and I can not wait to see and hear more thoughts about this book。 。。。more
Michelle
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4。5！Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours， Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital and physical copy of this book for exchange for an honest review。 All thoughts are my own。I had such a fun time reading this book！ It is a great mix of spooky and real issues。 There was a lot of talk around hemophobia， racism， abuse， and gun violence so please be advised before you start reading if any of those are trigger warnings for you。 These topics were handled very well and it was interesti 4。5！Thank you TBR and Beyond Tours， Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital and physical copy of this book for exchange for an honest review。 All thoughts are my own。I had such a fun time reading this book！ It is a great mix of spooky and real issues。 There was a lot of talk around hemophobia， racism， abuse， and gun violence so please be advised before you start reading if any of those are trigger warnings for you。 These topics were handled very well and it was interesting to merge a school shooting with a boy who is an unwilling medium。Jake Livingstone is one of the only black kids in his mainly white high school and seeing ghosts everywhere just makes high school that much harder。 Jake is a very likeable character and very well developed。 There are a lot of sides and backstory to Jake that helped you understand why he felt like he did in a lot of the parts。 His brother Benji had a good character development even though he isn’t seen too much in the novel。 I also really enjoyed Jakes friends Fiona and Allister。Sawyer， the （ghostly） villain， was also really well fleshed out and developed。 While we don’t really see the main event that happened to Sawyer， we do get bits and pieces from his diary and the couple of chapters from his POV that discuss his past and backstory。 I really liked having chapters from both of their POVs as it helped the story move along and be more comprehensive。I also enjoyed the writing in this book。 There were a lot of great quotes and parts where I really just loved how it was worded （continue reading to see some of my favourite quotes）。 However I do wish the book was longer and some parts felt like they could and should have been expanded on since they just felt open ended and forgotten。Overall， this was a really great read and I was a little surprised with how much I enjoyed it。 It was a quick read， perfect for a summer night by a campfire。 。。。more
Meghan
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Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending my an eARC in exchange for my honest review！CWs: graphic imagery; death/murder; suicidal ideation and attempts; mass shootings/gun violence; child abuse， mental and physical; attempted sexual assault; racism， bullying， and homophobiaI had really high hopes for this one。 I love a classic paranormal slice-of-life novel， and all the better when it's starring a queer Black boy。 Unfortunately， this book just。。。 wasn't great。The Taking of Jake Livingston follows Thank you to Penguin Teen for sending my an eARC in exchange for my honest review！CWs: graphic imagery; death/murder; suicidal ideation and attempts; mass shootings/gun violence; child abuse， mental and physical; attempted sexual assault; racism， bullying， and homophobiaI had really high hopes for this one。 I love a classic paranormal slice-of-life novel， and all the better when it's starring a queer Black boy。 Unfortunately， this book just。。。 wasn't great。The Taking of Jake Livingston follows Jake as he navigates being not only gay and one of the only Black kids at his private school， but also being a medium。 The ability to see the souls in the After isn't new for him， but he's always tried to ignore it up until now。 Suddenly， Jake's already stressful life is made worse when he finds himself haunted by the ghost of Sawyer Doon--the boy who shot up his high school before taking his own life。 Now， it's not just Jake's life on the line， but his friends， his families， his crush--and even the ghosts of the kids whose lives Sawyer took in the shooting。 Some positives！ The main plot was pretty fast-paced and therefore did a pretty good job of keeping you engaged。 The ghost-world was unique and intriguing， and I enjoyed the concept of using "ecto-mist" as a weapon。 There were some fantastically gory and creepy imagery， some undeniably spooky， hair-raising scenes， and the author certainly succeeds at unsettling the reader， especially within Sawyer's （the shooter） scenes。 Like， objectively， this is a fun book。Unfortunately， these things couldn't really compete with the fact that this book reads much like low-budget teen superhero movie。 There are so many strange lines， metaphors， and similes thrown into intense life-or-death scenes that gave me straight up whiplash （I will never forget "my neck cracked like a crisp lobster"）。 The dialogue typically felt distant and unnatural， and the pace at which relationships developed was much the same。 Perhaps the biggest issue to be raised is that this plot and its characters are just seriously lacking in foundation。 The characters， although they definitely stand apart from one another， are notably underdeveloped and flat， including Jake。 Each character felt like they were made of one （1） character trait。 For Jake's friend group， for example: the anxious one， the confident one， and the adventurous one。 You never really learn anything about any of their hopes， their dreams， how they feel about。。。 anything。 The scenes felt slapped on top of one another with flimsy bridges to connect them。 Often， emotional repercussions didn't seem to carry over--Jake has his life threatened by a ghost， he runs downstairs to witness a school fight， and he isn't even shaken by the former。The plot twists were unpredictable not because they were clever， but because they were almost completely baseless and a little unhinged。 Most plot points occurred because they could， not because they made sense。 Like， suddenly， Jake can merge with another ghost to become more powerful （similarly to Sawyer）， I guess？ And to be fair， this is a super cool idea--it just needed more of an explanatory build-up to it。 Why can he do this？ Can all mediums do this？ How did he do it without even knowing it was possible？ There are a lot of other questions I have for this world pertaining to just about everything--some of which aren't necessarily questions that need to be answered， but I felt should have at least been offered。The romance was pretty cute， and although a little cringe-worthy at times （as high school romances oft tend to be）， it definitely made me smile。 It's also just nice to see a queer romance between Black boys in YA for once。In the end， this just wasn't my cup of tea， but it does have its moments。 I can easily see this appealing more to a different audience， so if it sounds like something you might enjoy， or if you're just looking for a fun， fast-paced read without any life-changing revelations， consider checking it out！ 。。。more
Katja （Life and Other Disasters）
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*I was provided with an eARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review！*CW: racism， homophobia， bullying， school shooting， graphic violence/death， suicide and suicidal ideation， physical and emotional abuse， mental illness， parental neglect and abandonment， attempted rape/child molestation， drug use， possessionEver since I saw the cover for this book （shout out to Jessica Jenkins， who designed it， and Corey Brickley， who did the cover art）， I knew I had to pick it up。 Horro *I was provided with an eARC by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review！*CW: racism， homophobia， bullying， school shooting， graphic violence/death， suicide and suicidal ideation， physical and emotional abuse， mental illness， parental neglect and abandonment， attempted rape/child molestation， drug use， possessionEver since I saw the cover for this book （shout out to Jessica Jenkins， who designed it， and Corey Brickley， who did the cover art）， I knew I had to pick it up。 Horror is still a new-to-me genre and I'm slowly easing myself into it， unsure where I truly stand on it， but I have no regrets reading The Taking of Jake Livingston。While it may seem short， The Taking of Jake Livingston packs quite the punch。 From the get go， Jake's narration style mixed with the diary entries from Sawyer manage to create great tension and suspense。 Although Sawyer gave me the creeps， I enjoyed how reasons for his behavior were explained but not excused。 I felt like it was really easy to connect to the teen voices， which were casual but also had some really beautiful lines included。 I was barely a couple pages in and I wanted to know everything that had happened and was about to happen。I have to say that you barely get a breather while you read， with heavy topics such as abuse， racism， bullying， etc。 being around every other corner。 It became quite a lot at some point， but， at the same time， perfectly portrayed Jake's dire circumstances。 He was about to be stripped of everything， even his self， and you really felt that along with him。 All of that made the lighter moments， especially those with Fiona and Allister， who were like bright spots in the ever-growing darkness， all the sweeter。 I often wished they had been featured even more prominently， just to give Jake someone to lean on， although I understood that wasn't the main plot。Despite the heaviness and the gruesome scenes， some of which had me in literal tears， the book does end on a hopeful and lovely note。 I don't know if I could have handled a glum ending， but I was really pleased and even happy at what I got。 This was a story about ghosts， control and letting go of things/people that hurt you， but it was also about self-acceptance and even queer Black love。 While the romance surely wasn't the main plot， the author managed to incorporate it perfectly， making it something that eased the heavy parts without ridiculing what was happening。In the end， I was impressed by how much intensity could fit into such a "short" book。 Some parts felt a bit disjointed and rushed， lacking consequences at times， but the discomfort and creepiness of some scenes will continue to haunt me。 I'll try to just think of the nice ending instead 。。。Fazit: 3。5/5 stars！ Gripping and haunting story you will surely fly through！ 。。。more
Steve Dunk
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The fact that I even picked up The Taking of Jake Livingston is a testament to its greatness because I don’t read thrillers， not really。 Less than five or so a year normally but lately I find myself not only reading more thrillers but enjoying them as well！ And truthfully， the buzz surrounding this debut was just too great to ignore so， here we are。Two things that jump out at you right away are the books incredible cover （Corey Brickley） and the page count， it’s low。 I’ve read a lot of debuts re The fact that I even picked up The Taking of Jake Livingston is a testament to its greatness because I don’t read thrillers， not really。 Less than five or so a year normally but lately I find myself not only reading more thrillers but enjoying them as well！ And truthfully， the buzz surrounding this debut was just too great to ignore so， here we are。Two things that jump out at you right away are the books incredible cover （Corey Brickley） and the page count， it’s low。 I’ve read a lot of debuts recently that were beefy， and while I’m always in favor of “tell your story in the number of words you need to tell it”， it’s kinda nice to breeze through something now and again。 It certainly helps with pacing issues， or it should at least， and The Taking of Jake Livingston is indeed paced and plotted very well， yes， you’ll find that these pages turn easily。But I can’t help but think that Ryan was so focused on writing a “tight” novel， that he left a few things hanging plot wise， especially when it comes to the paranormal aspects of the story。 We aren’t given a lot of “why”， but a ton of “whom”， so it ends up being weirdly a character driven genre book。 So， my advice is focus on the spectacle， the horror， and the spooky， don’t worry so much about cause and effect。 And definitely focus your energy on Ryan’s fantastic character work， which is without a doubt the book’s greatest achievement， so let’s start there。Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston feels like the last of great romantic poets in a lot of ways， taking his brooding and detachment to a level that rivals Heathcliff and makes Jon Snow exuberant by comparison。 Jake’s isolationist behavior is part self-induced and part discriminatory in nature thanks to several things out of his control。 He’s an artsy medium who sees dead people pretty much everywhere he goes， he’s gay， Black， and has the unfortunate disadvantage of having a more popular jock older brother。 In a vacuum， this makes him an interesting well-rounded person who’s well worth your time， in a contemporary American prep-school with 99% cis-white kids， not so much。Jake’s isolation is so important to this story， and you can imagine how spending your days seeing specters relive their final gruesome moments will heavily influence one’s psyche， and it does here。 If you remember high-school at all you’ll recall that it’s supposed to be a shared experience， and for those that didn’t have that through no fault of their own， it can be pretty fucking rough。 And you’d think you could at least count on the grownups in Jake’s life for a little sensibility， but you’d be wrong。 The adults in Jake’s world not only don’t know any better， but even dole out either unrealistic expectations， moments of micro aggressive racism， or are dead， so yeah， not much help there。This detachment carries over to the reader I believe， and it’s so well done that I’d bet paychecks that many reviews will comment on just that， that they weren’t able to connect with the book’s main character。 They’re right， and that’s the point， and it’s where Ryan’s true skill shines， because he’s subverting this first person POV in the best possible way， like he’s subverting the horror genre as well。 Kinda genius。For the full review， click the link below！https://www。cinelinx。com/off-beat/the。。。 。。。more
B
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I really wanted to love this。 Great premise， absolute fire cover， and Black， LGBTQ representation all had the makings of a fantastic book。 Unfortunately， that’s where it ended。 This whole book was a damn mess。 I hated being in Jake’s head- all of his thoughts were so jumbled and made no sense， and the pacing was so weird。 Things just seemed to happen with zero buildup and people were randomly introduced with no backstory or mention and then disappeared again as if they were never even there。 I h I really wanted to love this。 Great premise， absolute fire cover， and Black， LGBTQ representation all had the makings of a fantastic book。 Unfortunately， that’s where it ended。 This whole book was a damn mess。 I hated being in Jake’s head- all of his thoughts were so jumbled and made no sense， and the pacing was so weird。 Things just seemed to happen with zero buildup and people were randomly introduced with no backstory or mention and then disappeared again as if they were never even there。 I had a very hard time following this story and the progression， and things just were not written well。 Also， why are you writing from the perspective of a fucking school shooter？ Why are you trying to get me to sympathize with someone like that？ I felt really gross reading it instead of creeped out， which was kind of a trend in this book。 Nothing about this was as scary or spooky as it should’ve been， and there was WAY too much supernatural shit going on for one person。 Give me a medium who can see the dead or astral project or can see auras or or or; not ALL OF THE ABOVE。 It was confusing and messy and it just did not work。 The overall quality of this book was not great， and truthfully sounded like a poorly written middle grade novel。 I do not recommend this。 。。。more
Kim
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Thank you PenguinTeen for an Advance copy in exchange for my voluntary honest review！3。5/5 stars， due to it not being what I personally like， I would recommend this to people who would be interested in this type of book。Jake Livingston has a lot going on。 He is a queer black student at a mostly white private school， so he has a lot that he has to deal with。 In addition， he is also seeing ghosts， as if everything else wasn't enough for him to have to deal with。Sawyer Doon is a great villain becau Thank you PenguinTeen for an Advance copy in exchange for my voluntary honest review！3。5/5 stars， due to it not being what I personally like， I would recommend this to people who would be interested in this type of book。Jake Livingston has a lot going on。 He is a queer black student at a mostly white private school， so he has a lot that he has to deal with。 In addition， he is also seeing ghosts， as if everything else wasn't enough for him to have to deal with。Sawyer Doon is a great villain because we know how horrific he was， but as a ghost we learn his side of what happened。 It doesn't necessarily make us like him or agree with what he did， but we can feel some empathy for him。I loved how Jake was just trying to live his life like normal， while dealing with being haunted by ghosts （specifically Sawyer）。 Then enters new kid Allister who just might be interested in Jake。I felt like this book dealt with a lot of topics in such a short amount of time。 We've got the horror aspect， LBGTQ+， racism， romance， and just getting through high school。 Even though there was a lot going on in this short book， the author did a great job fitting all the pieces together perfectly。 。。。more
Thescorpion。bibliophile
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DNF at 28% The plot was really unique and interesting but somehow I couldn't connect with characters and the story！ I don't know if it's the book or my reading slump but I'm in no mood to finish this for now！ DNF at 28% The plot was really unique and interesting but somehow I couldn't connect with characters and the story！ I don't know if it's the book or my reading slump but I'm in no mood to finish this for now！ 。。。more
Nathanael Lapierre
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4。5/5This book was a short， but interesting read。 The gay-thriller genre is almost nonexistent in professional literature， so Ryan Douglass had a lot of room for creativity in creating this story。 As a Black and queer person， I felt that Jake was a very believable character， with no obvious character flaws。 It was refreshing reading a story with a gay male lead whose entire personality and conflict wasn’t centered around his sexuality。 It was also thrilling to read a book with a character that l 4。5/5This book was a short， but interesting read。 The gay-thriller genre is almost nonexistent in professional literature， so Ryan Douglass had a lot of room for creativity in creating this story。 As a Black and queer person， I felt that Jake was a very believable character， with no obvious character flaws。 It was refreshing reading a story with a gay male lead whose entire personality and conflict wasn’t centered around his sexuality。 It was also thrilling to read a book with a character that looks like me and has relatable experiences as a minority in a PWI environment。 The aspects of Jake being a medium were a bit confusing in the first couple of chapters， as well as the capabilities of ghosts。 However， as the book progresses， Douglass does a wonderful job of explaining Jake’s abilities without explicitly detailing them to the reader。 I would recommend this book to anyone even slightly interested and can’t wait for more well-written Gay Thrillers/Horrors/Supernatural/Fantasy novels！ 。。。more
Rachel Emily
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This was a seriously creepy horror book， focusing on Jake - the lone black kid at a prestigious white school who can see ghosts， and Sawyer， the monstrous ghoul that only he can see。 Not only does Jake have to worry about bullying， microagressions， and feeling alone at school， now he has the ghost of a killer trying to come after him。 I really， really enjoyed the author’s storytelling and writing in this。 The writing is concise while also full of metaphors， and it still has this quick， snappy fe This was a seriously creepy horror book， focusing on Jake - the lone black kid at a prestigious white school who can see ghosts， and Sawyer， the monstrous ghoul that only he can see。 Not only does Jake have to worry about bullying， microagressions， and feeling alone at school， now he has the ghost of a killer trying to come after him。 I really， really enjoyed the author’s storytelling and writing in this。 The writing is concise while also full of metaphors， and it still has this quick， snappy feel to it。 I feel like it really amped up the tension during the scenes when Jake was having to fight off Sawyer。 This is a quick read， coming in at under 250 pages， but it’s also gripping and gritty。 I don’t read horror - YA or adult - very often， but this makes me want to find some others and give them a try！Things to note - there are definitely some serious topics in this book， school shootings， rape and abuse， suicide attempt， murder， graphic descriptions of death， racism， homophobia， and overall violence。 Thank you TBR Tours and Beyond for the arc！ 。。。more
Damien
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Trigger warning: homophobia， child abuse， trauma， violence， school shooting， bullying， and attempted rape of a minor。 From the beginning of the book until the last pages， I was spooked。 I am not a horror fan， but this was done well。 It reminds me of the Ghost Whisperer。 Jake’s ability to see and talk with ghosts is problematic in that it leaves him vulnerable。 I like how Ryan reconciles Jake’s story and Sawyers as well to give us context for their respective experiences。 I would recommend this a Trigger warning: homophobia， child abuse， trauma， violence， school shooting， bullying， and attempted rape of a minor。 From the beginning of the book until the last pages， I was spooked。 I am not a horror fan， but this was done well。 It reminds me of the Ghost Whisperer。 Jake’s ability to see and talk with ghosts is problematic in that it leaves him vulnerable。 I like how Ryan reconciles Jake’s story and Sawyers as well to give us context for their respective experiences。 I would recommend this absolutely to anyone looking for a good debut！ 。。。more
Becca
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Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me with an e-ARC of The Taking of Jake Livingston in exchange for an honest review！Content Warnings: School Shooting， Gun Violence， Racism， Homophobia， Attempted Rape， SuicideHello， hi！ Do you have a second for me to introduce you to my most anticipated book of 2021？！ I'm still in shock that Penguin Teen gave me the chance to read The Taking of Jake Livingston before its release; I have been at the edge of my seat waiting for my pre-order to arrive for mon Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me with an e-ARC of The Taking of Jake Livingston in exchange for an honest review！Content Warnings: School Shooting， Gun Violence， Racism， Homophobia， Attempted Rape， SuicideHello， hi！ Do you have a second for me to introduce you to my most anticipated book of 2021？！ I'm still in shock that Penguin Teen gave me the chance to read The Taking of Jake Livingston before its release; I have been at the edge of my seat waiting for my pre-order to arrive for months。 This book honestly has everything I want: horror， a vengeful ghost， LGBTQIA+ rep， written by a Black author （& ft'ing a Black main character）， a stunning cover and it's pitched as Get Out meets Daniella Vega。 Safe to say， I was sold from the get-go。The Taking of Jake Livingston is written from two perspectives。 We， of course， journey through the world as Jake Livingston -- our main character who happens to be a Medium。 And through journal entries， we also enter the upsetting mind of Sawyer， our antagonist who murdered his classmates during a school shooting。 It can probably go without saying， but The Taking of Jake Livingston might not be for everyone in terms of the brutal content within its pages。 Ryan Douglass does not shy away from the blood and the gore。 My horror heart was absolutely thriving while reading。 Bodies were dropping & you know what else dropped？ Ryan Douglass' crown。 Let me get that for you， King。 I read an interview recently with Ryan， where he mentions that he's working on a New Adult Romance， and uhm -- can we say range？ Love that for you， Ryan。Besides the spooky （which btw， there are some really amazing eerie scenes in The Taking of Jake Livingston; it's not just blood & gore）， I loved the relationships that Jake Livingston develops along the way -- both platonic & romantic。 In the beginning， Jake Livingston typically keeps to himself， but along the way， he picks up some pals （& love） who prove to be on his side。One thing that does bother me about this book is that there are multiple small mentions of characters， but they're not utilized enough for you to remember who they are when they're brought up again。 This may simply be due to the fact that The Taking of Jake Livingston is a pretty quick read， leaving little room to expand on certain aspects。 Or maybe it all has to do with the fact that my memory is not as sharp as it once was。This leads me to the fact that The Taking of Jake Livingston is an incredibly fast-paced read; there is constantly something happening in the paranormal realm of the book。 A lot of readers will probably devour this read in one sitting， as the book begs to keep turning those pages。 And， in general， this book simply just felt short。 If you're into Horror & are able to read books with the content warnings listed， I definitely feel that The Taking of Jake Livingston is worth it。 It's a super quick read & filled with some phenomenal horror aspects like ghosts， blood & gore。 。。。more
Ketelen Lefkovich
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I really wanted to like this book， but I didn't。The Taking of Jake Livingston sounds promising， but it's overall a mess。Very little about the paranormal aspect is explained， I still don't really understand the gist of it。 There's astral projection， an ecto goo（？） Angry ghouls and yeah nothing is coherent or fully fleshed out。Characters are very flat and to me， they were too unidimensional， they seem described too much in the present that you don't even get to see their pasts or feel like they ha I really wanted to like this book， but I didn't。The Taking of Jake Livingston sounds promising， but it's overall a mess。Very little about the paranormal aspect is explained， I still don't really understand the gist of it。 There's astral projection， an ecto goo（？） Angry ghouls and yeah nothing is coherent or fully fleshed out。Characters are very flat and to me， they were too unidimensional， they seem described too much in the present that you don't even get to see their pasts or feel like they have a concrete personality。 Jake also conveniently has new powers whenever necessary and that just felt too deus ex machina。The antagonist has its own pov's and to me， they were complicated because it seemed like they were meant to make you sympathize with him。 Also it was disturbing to read this character and yet I don't understand WHY is he after the protagonist。I wasn't scared， or tense， or even chilled by reading this。 There was no atmosphere whatsoever。The mass shooting problem， gun control， and mental health aspects were just barely touched upon and it honestly feels sloppy to insert such themes in a novel and then don't address them properly。Didn't like this book and do not recommend it。Thank you to Penguin Random House for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review。↠ 1 star 。。。more
Kristi
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“… find the most miserable， tortured creatures， the ones looking to escape from their realities， and I attach to their pain， their weeping， their doubtful silence。”If you’re thinking this will be a light fluffy read， it isn’t。 It’s full of pain， hurt， and terror as author Ryan Douglass tackles some incredibly difficult topics full-on and unapologetically。 This is definitely a multi-genre read and I loved it。 Jake just doesn’t fit in at his new school – for one， he’s black， two， he’s gay and thre “… find the most miserable， tortured creatures， the ones looking to escape from their realities， and I attach to their pain， their weeping， their doubtful silence。”If you’re thinking this will be a light fluffy read， it isn’t。 It’s full of pain， hurt， and terror as author Ryan Douglass tackles some incredibly difficult topics full-on and unapologetically。 This is definitely a multi-genre read and I loved it。 Jake just doesn’t fit in at his new school – for one， he’s black， two， he’s gay and three， he see’s spirits。 A black boy in the midst of white privilege and classism just trying to get by on the daily when one of the spirits he sees begins to interact in a way that Jake’s never seen – the spirit of Sawyer Doon， school shooter has taken notice of Jake and he’s determined to have him。 Mr。 Douglass did such an amazing job with the characters！ The making of a monster is so evident as we learn about Sawyer’s life and afterlife， what drove an already sick boy to even sicker actions。 And then there’s Jake， hiding everything that makes him Jake， he isn’t without his own pain。 He stuffs everything that is different about him down until it chokes him。 The secondary characters are developed well – just enough to give me a strong found family feel along with the sense that we aren’t always hiding our secrets as well as we think。 Everyone needs an Allister and a Fiona in their lives。 The plot is at turns terrifying and heart-wrenching; watching Jake navigate his way through a torturous day at school dealing with racism and classism only to be further tortured after by the spirits that only he can see had me feeling anxious and worried， angry and sad。 It’s beautiful in the sense that Jake is able to find support in the most unlikely of places and in a true coming of age sense， he begins to use this support to accept and love himself。 Aside from the social issues， this is one freaking scary story！ Ectomist， Ghouls， Wraiths， Possession and Astral Projection are terrifying yet fascinating themes throughout and Mr。 Douglass brings the fright in spades。 I finished this late at night – with the lights on！ I loved delving into Jakes world and I truly hope this isn’t the last we hear from him！ I think Jake has a lot of great stories ahead of him and I’ll be here for it if it happens！My thanks to @PenguinTeen for the reading copy！TW: Homophobia， Racism， Gore， Murder， School Shooting， Violence， Bullying 。。。more
Amber
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YA queer horror that involves possession？ Yes please。 It's a bit short-ish， but the pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat。 I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however， my opinions are my own。 YA queer horror that involves possession？ Yes please。 It's a bit short-ish， but the pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat。 I received an ecopy of this book through Netgalley; however， my opinions are my own。 。。。more
Erin
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I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest reviewMy Rating: 4 StarsI am not generally a fan of thrillers because I am， quite honestly， a HUGE chicken。 I get freaked out really easily and it usually keeps me from reaching for the genre。 After I read （and loved） Ace of Spades earlier this year though， I was just in the mood for more of the same and this book sounded perfect！This was such a quick book for me！ The pacing and the length of it made this practically a one sitting read。 I I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest reviewMy Rating: 4 StarsI am not generally a fan of thrillers because I am， quite honestly， a HUGE chicken。 I get freaked out really easily and it usually keeps me from reaching for the genre。 After I read （and loved） Ace of Spades earlier this year though， I was just in the mood for more of the same and this book sounded perfect！This was such a quick book for me！ The pacing and the length of it made this practically a one sitting read。 I liked Jake almost immediately and it was easy to root for his character as the plot progressed。 What I really loved was that this book was more than a thriller， and discussed some other really important and relevant topics。 Though he was forced into a lot of his character growth and development， it was still fun to witness。The villain really stood out to me because he was SO dark and twisted， but getting to know him via journal entries also had me feeling a bit of sympathy for him。 Sawyer had a rough life， and my heart definitely broke for him more than once。Overall， this was the dark queer book that I needed， and I definitely recommend it for fans of the genre！ Be sure to check trigger warnings before reading。 。。。more
Lisa Welch
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I appreciated the intersectionalities that the author included in this book， and how he addressed the treatment of different marginalized communities。 However， the writing lacked nuance and needed to be tightened up。 There were some holes in the plot， and I did quite a bit of skimming in the second half。
Joleen （starlightbooktales）
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4 StarsTW: Racism， bullying， attempted rape， school shooting， gun violence， homophobia， and abuse。Sometimes you find a book， and you end up reading it in one sitting。 That's exactly what I did with The Taking of Jake Livingston。 I found it impossible to put it down， so I just read until I was finished。 I typically don't like to read horror books until October， but the synopsis of this one sounded too good to pass up。 And I am so glad I read it because I ended up really enjoying this one。The stor 4 StarsTW: Racism， bullying， attempted rape， school shooting， gun violence， homophobia， and abuse。Sometimes you find a book， and you end up reading it in one sitting。 That's exactly what I did with The Taking of Jake Livingston。 I found it impossible to put it down， so I just read until I was finished。 I typically don't like to read horror books until October， but the synopsis of this one sounded too good to pass up。 And I am so glad I read it because I ended up really enjoying this one。The story focuses on two povs， Jake， our ghost seeing main character， and Sawyer， a ghost who is haunting Jake。 Now I don't want to get too spoilery， so just know that Sawyer isn't a good guy。 In fact， his chapters were the most disturbing。 But Jake， I enjoyed his character the most。 He was a bit spaced out most of the time， but I think that is pretty normal when you are being haunted by a ghost。 With a unique plot， a fantastic MC， and some serious spooky scenes， I would 100% recommend this one。 Especially to horror lovers out there。 I cannot wait to see what Ryan Douglass puts out next。 。。。more
Iza
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arc received from the publishers。 thank you， penguin！ The Taking of Jake Livingston， or: Area Boy Is Really Going Through It All The Damn Time。 I thoroughly enjoyed this quick-paced， chilling tale， which follows Jake， the aforementioned Area Boy。 He has enough to deal with， being one of the only Black kids at his private college prep high school， but he also constantly sees the dead。 All the time。 In his vision， the 'dead world' constantly overlaps with his own— among unfinished equations and f arc received from the publishers。 thank you， penguin！ The Taking of Jake Livingston， or: Area Boy Is Really Going Through It All The Damn Time。 I thoroughly enjoyed this quick-paced， chilling tale， which follows Jake， the aforementioned Area Boy。 He has enough to deal with， being one of the only Black kids at his private college prep high school， but he also constantly sees the dead。 All the time。 In his vision， the 'dead world' constantly overlaps with his own— among unfinished equations and failed tests， ghosts caught in their own death loops are constantly distracting him， repeating the moments they died until they finally fade away。。。 or break free。Jake thinks he has it under control; keep his head down， tell ghouls to leave him alone， pretend they aren't there， and he'll be fine。 But then he meets Sawyer Doon， the ghost of a school shooter who killed six of his classmates and then himself at a different high school a year ago。 He breaks free from his death loop and decides to continue his work from the afterlife， fueled by his victims。 With bodies piling up and the ghost focused on him as part of his grand revenge plan， Jake's previous medium knowledge becomes useless as he fights to survive both in the real world and the dead world。 When I say this book had it all， I really do mean that。 A social horror that uses ghosts， possession， and astral projection as an avenue for explorations of homophobia and anti-Blackness？ Check。 Horrific， bone-chilling scenes that made me afraid to sleep at night？ Check。 Kickass friends and a suave， charming love interest we should ALL be simping for？ Check。 A complicated main character， a complicated villain， and a complicated story that all deliver in a satisfying way？ Check！I'll admit， this book did take me a second to get into。 It does switch between Jake's POV and Sawyer's， which I didn't expect， but the way it's organized makes sense once you get to the last third。 TAKING is also crafted with intentional brevity， which was a bit strange since most books I've read tend to serve some piping hot exposition and worldbuilding upfront and then let you chew on it while the rest of the story pans out。 However， TAKING dives right into it and weaves the details and rules of its world around Jake as he moves through his day-to-day。 The mentor figure isn't as prominent as one might expect （which was sad for me， she seemed really cool！）， but these narrative choices were， in my opinion， done in a way that really underscores the plot。 There's no info-dumping because Jake is， despite being trained as a medium， ignoring what's around him as best as he can。 The rules of ghosts and ghouls are there but don't matter very much when Sawyer upends what little Jake lets himself know。 I really loved the way this was done once I thought about it， and I'll admit， Allister and Fiona smoothed over everything else for me。 I adored them both。 I can see how others may want a more fleshed-out story， but I loved how in the present this story was and it ticked a lot of uncommon boxes that I really liked to see in paranormal books （which are somewhat spoilery， so they'll stay unmentioned）。 There were some heavy topics in here， especially about microaggressions and school violence， but I also enjoyed Jake's personal journey and the arc he went through with his friends and love interest。 I hope a lot of Black queer kids will be able to see themselves in this book， and I'm definitely looking forward to more of Ryan Douglass's work！ ❧ 4 ★ 。。。more
Kaitlin
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Spooky， queer， dark， creepy， fast paced， and only 250 pages！ You will not be able to put this down。 I cannot wait for more books by this author。
Heather Freeman
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This is a truly stunning novel。 The way Douglass deftly weaves traditional horror tropes with contemporary YA elements as well as incisive commentary on white supremacy， homophobia， and toxic masculinity was breathtaking to see on the page， and it results in a book that I read in practically one sitting， unable to put it down。 Jake's experience with racism from fellow classmates， teachers， administrators， and others was all-too realistically depicted， but I appreciated that the book never pulled This is a truly stunning novel。 The way Douglass deftly weaves traditional horror tropes with contemporary YA elements as well as incisive commentary on white supremacy， homophobia， and toxic masculinity was breathtaking to see on the page， and it results in a book that I read in practically one sitting， unable to put it down。 Jake's experience with racism from fellow classmates， teachers， administrators， and others was all-too realistically depicted， but I appreciated that the book never pulled its punches or shied away from representing the ways micro- and macro-aggressions were a constant source of misery and anxiety for him， in addition to his ability to see dead people and at time commune with them。 There is heavy stuff in this book， including discussions of sexual assault， possession， gore， body horror， etc。， but there's lightness and joy too: I loved the way Jake's best friend and then his love interest get introduced and drawn into the story， and I loved the way they supported him throughout his increasingly high-stakes attempts to rid himself of the ghost Sawyer's attention。 That being said， the only critique I have of the novel is the choice to include school-shooter Sawyer's "voice" via intermittent diary chapters。。。I get the ultimate point about homophobia and toxicity， but I didn't love reading the murderous boy's point-of-view （and I think it opens the novel up to readings about mental health and violence that are problematic and almost assuredly unintentional）。 Aside from that， this is a very literally breathtaking book。 。。。more
Ryan // Vale
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Did not finish - 33%I was really looking forward to this book so I was disappointed to find I did not like it at all。 I struggled through as long as I could but at the end of the day I don't want to waste my time on a book I don't like。I was really uncomfortable with the ableist portrayal of a mentally ill character in this book and I hated the way it associated mental illness with violent people。 It also contained the harmful stereotype that mass shootings are committed by bullied， mentally ill Did not finish - 33%I was really looking forward to this book so I was disappointed to find I did not like it at all。 I struggled through as long as I could but at the end of the day I don't want to waste my time on a book I don't like。I was really uncomfortable with the ableist portrayal of a mentally ill character in this book and I hated the way it associated mental illness with violent people。 It also contained the harmful stereotype that mass shootings are committed by bullied， mentally ill people from broken homes。In addition to this the main character felt really underdeveloped。 Despite spending 1/3 of a book in his head I couldn't tell you much about him other than the fact that he is the only Black boy in his class， he doesn't like most people and he sees ghosts。 Oh， and he's gay but that isn't even brought up before 32%。 We know more about the shooter/ghost that Jake - we even know he's gay before we know Jake is。On the plus side it had some very chilling and scary moments but they did not make up for everything else。Content Warnings: suicide， mass/school shootings， graphic violence， bullying， homophobic violence， references to animal abuse 。。。more
deedee
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This was one of the most unique， diverse， vividly descripted ya book I have ever read。 The story follows Jake Livingston who is the only queer and black kid in his very white prep school but that's not the only thing making him stand out。 He can also see the dead。 When his neighbors is murdered in his home with no knowledge who could have even gotten into their house， a spirit starts to haunt Jake。 This spirit reveals himself to be Sawyer Doon， the school shooter at the public highschool down th This was one of the most unique， diverse， vividly descripted ya book I have ever read。 The story follows Jake Livingston who is the only queer and black kid in his very white prep school but that's not the only thing making him stand out。 He can also see the dead。 When his neighbors is murdered in his home with no knowledge who could have even gotten into their house， a spirit starts to haunt Jake。 This spirit reveals himself to be Sawyer Doon， the school shooter at the public highschool down the street where he murdered multiple students， only to come back and complete the job for other students who had survived。 The author's descriptions of scenery， the way the characters felt， the ghosts/ghouls， the mist all of it was something I could see vividly in my mind and it felt like I was right there along side Jake as my own spirit following him watching it all go down。I 10/10 would recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a unique and diverse ghost story！*Thank you NetGalley and PenguinTeen for sending me an arc of The Taking of Jake Livingston！ This book comes out on July 13， 2021！ :） 。。。more
Sidhant
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