This cover is swoon worthy. I thought the mix of real-life issues with a little (mess-up) ghost action was done so well in this short fast-paced ya horror!

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

I enjoyed this ghost story about a high school student, Jake, who sees dead people living out the final moments of their lives. Suddenly, Sawyer Doon, a high schooler who committed suicide after killing several students at his high school, is obsessed with Jake. And Jake has to figure out why because Sawyer could be a threat to the living.

I picked up this book because I wanted a spooky read and it takes place around Halloween. (I read it in October.) But this book also tackles serious subjects, including bullying and mental illness. Solid YA.

Easy paced book. I feel that the Black Queer trauma and microaggressions were both handled appropriately. This was a quick read, There is a lot going on in this book, but it kept my attention.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of this book. It might be because I’m not the biggest horror/thriller fan, but I thought that this one might be an exception. I would still recommend it to people looking for a diverse book within this genre, but it just didn’t work for me.

Diverse, strong lead, even though it's a work of fiction , the main character is still relatable and easy to connect with. I loved the writing style and would reccomend this book to all age groups

What a amazing book! I feel in love with this one. The story is spectacular, all the characters are super vivid. I recommend with my heart.

The vibes of this book were very creepy and the characters were unique and interesting. The author successfully addressed the intersectionality of being Black and queer and writes about trauma in a really interesting way. This is the first book that I have read about a school shooter and I think it was well done; this is definitely something to keep in mind for content warnings especially if this book is in a high school library. I think that the paranormal aspect was great as well. Parts of this books were a little slow but overall I liked reading this book and it successfully scared me

The Taking of Jake Livingston follows Jake, a gay Black kid, who sees ghosts.

I absolutely loved this novel! It tackled many important issues which is definitely important even in horror books. I do feel as though they could've been more elaborated on if the story was longer though. I also think a longer book would be very good to help keep the pacing of the story more even.

Despite this, this book was a greatly spooky read. The horror was written very well and I enjoyed how the writing style worked well with it.

The characters were very enjoyable and I adored the main character and seeing how he develops throughout the course of the story. He opens up more due to two other characters, his friend and crush. I liked both of their characters as well and wished we could've seen more of them.

Overall, I definitely recommend this and I can't wait to see what else the author writes!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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!

AMAZING! Posting about this soon! I was completely blown away by the worldbuilding, the unique storytelling, the character work, and the dynamics explored. This was such a fun experience and I cannot wait to see what else this author has in store. I was so thrust into the world while somehow simultaneously being led through it with a helping hand. The character interactions were hilarious and cute, not to mention the representation and diversity on which light was shed upon it was so amazing to read about. As a queer and black person, this book could not have made me happier.

I’m not sure where to begin with my review for The Taking of Jake Livingston, so I’ll start with the fact that it was one of my most highly-anticipated releases of 2021. (Also, can we take a moment to absorb that 2022 is just 15 days away?! I feel like I say this every year, but 2021 has got to be the year that slipped by the quickest for me compared to other recent years). But back to The Taking of Jake Livingston:

There were many parts of this book that surprised me–I either didn’t expect them before starting the book, or didn’t see them coming once I dove into the story. Some of these aspects that surprised me I found to be pleasant surprises, whereas other parts I’m still not sure how I feel about. Unfortunately, I can’t go into detail about any of those surprises without spoiling some important parts of the book–sorry to keep you hanging, but I don’t want to ruin the experience for you if you haven’t read The Taking of Jake Livingston yet.

One thing that I can talk about because I consider it to be pretty relative was the level of spookiness in this book–I expected it to be more scary throughout, but will say that some parts made my skin crawl or even gave me the urge to tuck my feet under a blanket and/or away from the edges of beds or couches, hehe. Due to those parts, I didn’t read The Taking of Jake Livingston once the sun set.

I found the characters in this book to be interesting! And I also would have liked to get to know them a little better–so, I wouldn’t have minded if The Taking of Jake Livingston had been a little longer. I think that I would have gotten a better grasp on Jake’s character as well as supporting characters, which in turn would have flushed the story out a bit more for me. In either case, I did enjoy The Taking of Jake Livingston, and am curious to see what Ryan Douglass will write next!

This book was a fast and easy read and handled some important topics in an amazing way about the black experience in PWI’s and there are gay ghosts!! I loved it

Oof. This was not for me and I wanted to love it. The short choppiness was cool but it made me really uncomfortable plot wise and was kind of confusing. Dnf

This was so much better than expected. It tackled so many issues that need to be discussed in a well thought out way. The ending was a bit farfetched, but I can see a lot of the teens in my area picking this up and loving it.

I wasn't able to finish the story. While I was intrigued by the concept, the character of Sawyer was very disturbing and I found I couldn't continue.

This was perfect for spooky season! I love a good spooky story to dive into and get that ghost vibes started. This gave me six sense vibe for sure, it reminded me a bit of merciless, horror but in a ya format until we find out more about the story. I was at the edge of my seat with the mystery!

I enjoyed Jake as a protagonist. He really grew and came into his own feelings as the story progressed. The ghostly aspects were super creepy. Especially the scenes with bugs! The realistic depiction of Jake's life as a medium, and a closeted queer black boy in a predominantly white school, helped this novel stand out in the YA horror genre.

I DNF <u>The Taking of Jake Livingston</u> because I really couldn't get into the story. I even started the book two different times just to be sure it wasn't just that I was in a slump.

The story is about Jake Livingston, who can see ghosts. These ghosts don't bother him in any way, other than to "interrupt" his daily life by watching them die over and over again. Then comes along Sawyer, a spirit who didn't quite get the death and crossover needed.

That's it. The thing that bothered me the most is we aren't told <b>why</b> Jake Livingston can see these ghosts. Is it a family curse? Just him? I mean, why is this queer black teen seeing dead people and how can he stop it?

I feel like maybe part of my problem is that I'm just not really into horror stories? I don't know.

I DNF'd this book halfway through. I just couldn't believe the situations or characters, and was frustrated with the lack of world-building explanation. Despite the cover, which is AMAZING, I just couldn't get through the book.