It's a 4 ⭐️ for me!

The Taking of Jake Livingston is such an interesting take on YA Horror!! I really loved Jake's POV, and diving into his psyche as he not only deals with being a medium, but also his own set of anxiety and trauma from his past. His character arc is so good!!

I found the overall pacing to be fairly decent- and the atmosphere was so creepy!! There is a small romance that I swooned over. I also liked that Jake was already a medium- as in he'd done this before and it wasn't an origin story. I wouldn't be surprised if Douglass wrote more books featuring Jake and his creepy adventures.

Having read books about ghosts and mediums before, I never really stopped to consider how seeing ghosts constantly could affect a person's mental health. I thought this was such an interesting theme to explore throughout the book. And the kinds of ghosts Jake sees are seriously no joke (a tiny bit graphic/ horrific in some parts), so no wonder he has trouble sleeping and functioning in day to day life.

I also found it interesting how the author had two characters in parallel circumstances with similar demeanors, history of abuse, and sexual preferences- and yet they ended up in two completely different places in their lives. Overall I really enjoyed this book, but did feel like there was just a little something missing. Very creepy though, and highly recommend for my YA Horror fans!

*If you need trigger warnings, I would definitely look them up for this book. *

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Ryan Douglass, Netgalley, and Putnam for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

First, I am definitely not a horror type of person – I am a huge scaredy-cat – but I knew I had to read this one. I’m so glad that I did because this was such an amazing story filled with racial tension, the consequences of abuse, and the kind of ghost encounters that scream creepy.

Douglass made it a point to note that Jake was one of the only Black kids at his fancy prep school, and for good reason. While we are seeing Jake get through his school day – despite watching constant death echoes from the people that died on campus – we see just how racist and hateful the faculty, staff, and even students can be. We have a terrible English teacher who sometimes can’t even tell the difference between Jake and his brother and truly believes that Jake is too stupid to know how to read. How completely off base could this woman be? We have some douchebag jock who is so obsessed with bullying Jake to the point that it’s pretty stalkerish… it actually reminded me of how Larry was so ruthless in teasing Xander because he couldn’t admit out loud that he was gay.


**Do you see the kind of realization and relief on Larry’s face after he says he’s gay? Just look at that face oh my gosh.

I’m not saying that happened in this book, but that’s exactly how I felt about it. I mean, jock dude was making fun of Jake’s peen. I’m just saying, dude was obsessed with Jake for a reason and it was just super weird.

So not only is Jake dealing with jerk teachers and jerk bullies and jerk classmates, he’s seeing death echoes everywhere he goes. It’s to the point that he’s so focused on what he’s seeing that he can’t seem to focus on what’s going on right in front of him. People can be talking to him and it’s like he is zoned out. It gets in the way of his potential friendships and his performance in school because he’s not able to shut the dead world out. It’s not his fault, and people just assume that he’s weird or whatever, but they just don’t know.

It starts to get worse when instead of seeing death echoes, he somehow has an evil spirit haunting him, showing when he kills people and terrorizing him in general. This ghost ends up being a student that committed a mass shooting at his school and killed himself a while ago: Sawyer, and Sawyer’s goal is to use Jake’s body to continue his killing spree.


One of the things that I kept focusing on in this novel was how Jake and Sawyer sort of mirrored one another. To me, Sawyer is what Jake would have been like if he was pushed too far. While Jake didn’t go through everything that Sawyer did – and trust me, he went through a lot of messed up things that I honestly wasn’t surprised at what he did – the teasing by his peers and the underestimation by his teachers really felt similar. The sad thing is, Sawyer even tried to reach out for help somehow, but he just wasn’t getting it in the way he needed to. Of course, that doesn’t take away from his actions, and his thoughts on wanting to torture and kill things, but I understand it. It’s kind of like in Criminal Minds, where they have to go into the unsub’s head to understand why he did the things he did, and what he would do next.


I don’t know if it was Sawyer’s influence, but there were times where Jake’s rage felt like it was going to overflow… and things would get violent real fast. That’s really why I felt like their lives were almost the same, and hoped that Jake wouldn’t be pushed too far over the edge and do something similar. Or worse.

I would love to discuss this book with others who read it, because I feel like the more I get into it, the more spoilers I would include. I’m hoping that this didn’t have spoilers? This was a horror novel that I rather enjoyed, and I am happy to say that I am a fan of Douglass’ work.

The Taking of Jake Livingston was a book that I had to put down a few times. It is chilling and as someone who has the fear tolerance of a pebble, I needed some distance at some points especially considering the trigger warnings. Overall, The Taking of Jake Livingston balances intense character detail - both of Sawyer and Jake - with action that will leave you gasping. From the racism Jake experiences - which made my blood seriously boil - to Sawyer's chapters, this book is intense!

Heart wrenching is probably how I'd describe The Taking of Jake Livingston in one word, okay two words. All these moments of abuse and being lost in our own thoughts. The insults and bullying, the pain and hurt, which can compress into a festering wound. All the anger and pain that can be warped, when indulged, into something more deadly. But The Taking of Jake Livingston is also a book about how when we give into rage, it can become an all consuming fire. What I mean about it being a character study, is that it's almost like watching two boiling pots.

I was not a fan of this book. The behavior of the title character is not something I would want to see in my own children. I do like the premise of the story, though.

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc and an arc of this book. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Taking of Jake Livingston

Author: Ryan Douglass

Book Series: Standalone

Diversity: Black MC male, Gay side character and MC, M/M romance

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: Horror, young adult readers, paranormal, ghosts, mediums

Genre: YA Horror

Publication Date: July 13, 2021

Publisher: Putnam

Pages: 244

Recommended Age: 16+ (Death, TW School shootings, TW Animal torture, Language, TW Child abuse, Violence, Gore, Bullying, Racism, TW Suicide, Underage alcohol consumption, Drug reference, Sexual content, TW Child Sexual abuse, TW Slight religious abuse, TW Domestic violence mention)

Explanation of CWs: School shootings are mentioned, is focal to the story, and scenes of it are described and played out in the book. Insects are tortured by a villain character. Child abuse is mentioned and shown, experienced by the main character. Racism plays a side role in this story and there are racist remarks made to the main character. Suicide is shown in the story. Alcohol is consumed by minors and a reference to crack is made. There are two sex scenes in this book and some references to this. There is child sexual assault shown by a family member towards the back of the book. There is a scene where the main character is slightly abused religiously as a ploy by the father to get the main character to not be gay anymore. There is also a small mention of domestic violence.

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I really liked this book! At first I thought it was just going to be a paranormal book, but it quickly turned into one of my favorite horror stories of this year. I loved the plot and was instantly hooked. I loved the character development of the book as well. I also really liked how the author walked a really tight line between making the reader feel bad for Sawyer but yet remembering that he was a demon who you were ultimately hating.

However, I did think that the book had some things it could have improved on. The pacing was a bit wonky in spots. The world building wasn't the best at explaining Jake's medium powers and how the paranormal world worked in general in this story. The book had some really quick action scenes that should have been slowed down in my opinion, and I feel like the book had the material to go another 100-150 pages. I also felt like Allister was a bit too 1 dimensional.

Verdict: It's honestly a really good and spooky read. Highly recommend!

What a delightfully scary book “The Taking of Jake Livingston” was! The author blended romance, horror, supernatural suspense, and even heartfelt moments beautifully.

There are so many aspects to admire about the tale. What made it special for me was the characters. Jake is terrific in the lead. I could connect Jake’s emotions on so many levels (well, except for his extraordinary gift). Jake feels misunderstood, average, and still coming to terms with his sexuality. As if that is not hard enough, he also has to deal with a vengeful spirit that targets him.

However, the highlight of the story was Sawyer. I think he is one of the most complex villains I have read as of late. Even though you hate Sawyer for what he does, there is a part of you that feels sorry for him while you read his journal entries. I always think an author is exceptional when adding complexity to their characters and making you feel various emotions. Not only did I dislike Sawyer, at times, I felt sorry for him. However, for the most part, he scared me. There were also moments where Jake sees similarities between him and Sawyer that stood out for me.

Speaking of which, the author also writes the paranormal angle wonderfully. Some scenes genuinely terrified me, especially when Jake sees the demon or the drawings in his book. My favorite part of the story was when Jake interacts with River and his Grandfather. Similarly, the author added a nice LGBT angle to the plot that gave it a fresh look.

Overall, “The Taking of Jake Livingston” is a gripping young adult horror novel that would surely please fans of the genre.

This debut horror novel definitely needs more readers. I was immediately pulled into this story and I couldn’t wait to see how the protagonist dealt with conflict that was thrust upon him. I am somewhat new to horror novels, one of my more recent horror reads being Mexican Gothic. This is definitely my first YA horror read though.

Douglass did not disappoint at all. The atmosphere and pacing of the book very much felt like a movie and something that I could fully immerse myself in. For this debut to be a shorter novel, I felt it was very important to nail the tone and atmosphere in the book within the first 50 pages and the author did exactly that. I could feel the fog in the room and the cold against my skin.

I also thought the character of Jake was very well developed. The juxtaposition of Jake and the rest of his classmates at St. Clair Prep and even his own brother really drives home how isolated our MC can feel over the course of his story. He’s one of the only black students at his high school and experiences racism and microaggression very frequently. And Jake’s brother is also super outspoken and more built than Jake is. Jake constantly wonders what his life would be like if he resembled his brother more. So on top of dealing with everything going on in his daily life, he also has to deal with the ghost of a murderer!

I thought that the romance in this story was very short and sweet! I do wish we would’ve gotten more of Jake and his love interest, but the pieces we do get fit well within the story and offer a nice sort of break from the mess Jake is currently going through.

Overall, I feel that this debut is perfect for horror fans of any age. It’s also a relatively quick read and can definitely be finished in one sitting!

This book is a bit of a downer, but it kept me turning pages and it has a gripping and positive ending.
Poor Jake does not have the best life to begin with and things only get darker when this poor baby medium comes up against the vengeful ghost of school shooter, Sawyer.
There is so much that happens as the story progresses to show both how Sawyer got to be a vengeful ghost and how Jake experiences the world and all he has to put up with. The parallels between the two are many, but as much as situations are similar, they have very different support systems. And that is ultimately what leads to the big faceoff in the exciting conclusion.
I fully believe that Douglass earns all the praise this book is receiving just from how humanely he treats Sawyer and the fact that his mental state might have led him to do what he did, but it was totally the fault of the adult in his life, his mom, not taking mental health seriously and apparently only caring about what others might say about her son being in treatment.
It's dark and a bit depressing, but very well written with a plot that pulls you in and doesn't let go. I see why it's been getting such great press.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for the read!

This was an interesting book, and not something I have read before. I found it very impactful and heart-wrenching (not something I would have expected from a horror book!). It tackles a fair amount of important issues including homophobia, racism, school shootings, mental illness.

The paranormal world took me a while to understand – how it overlays Jake’s world, how ghosts are stuck experiencing their death over and over, and the creatures/monsters exists. I’d say it wasn’t intuitive, but in the end made sense for the world that Ryan created for it. It is unique compared to other horror/paranormal books that I have read in the past – hence why I felt it took a bit of an adjustment for me. I never felt that Ryan explained it in great detail, but we learned from either Jake’s actions or interactions.

Ryan’s writing style, like the world, took me a little bit to get use to. I believe that his writing is accessible though and once you get into the rhythm of his writing, I found myself binging the book. Ryan doesn’t have a flowery writing style (thankfully since I don’t usually enjoy it) and some may find it jarring at times, but I found it perfect for a horror setting. There was always a sense of unease and bleak/darkness in Ryan’s writing style. I believe the lended itself great to the horror genre since we want, as readers, to have atmospheric writing (which I found Ryan had in spades). With Jake always being exposed to ghosts/paranormal, I found the atmosphere to be dark, gritty, and overall spooky – perfect for the genre and/or Halloween!

This was written with mostly Jake as the focus but we do get some chapters from another POV. I loved having these snippets from the other POV to really get to understand that character and their backstory. We usually get these chapters to help fill in gaps that Jake doesn’t know about this character – we either get these as Jake is learning more about the other character, or during a time when the reader needs that POV because Jake isn’t able to show us. I felt connected to our two POVs. Ryan provided us with great details of those character that I couldn’t help but grow to care for the one character – even sympathize – and I always loved Jake. I found that the secondary characters lacked for me. I found myself getting some of them confused – but I wonder if that was me or if Ryan did that on purpose so we felt a greater connection to Jake and the other POV.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was darker than I had originally expected – not the standard “dark tone” that you grow to expect from horror – which I personally loved. This is perfect for a Fall/Halloween read – and if you aren’t too scared read it in the dark!

(4 stars)

“At the end of the day, you can’t change yourself. So you have no choice but to be yourself. Fuck everyone who has a problem with it.”

Jake Livington is the only Black kid at St. Clair Prep. Oh, and he can see the dead. Everything gets even harder when he meets a vengeful and dangerous ghost who decides to haunt him.

This was a very good and quick read! I enjoyed most parts and I think the sub-plots were really well written into the main story.

I was worried that this book won’t be “dark/intense” enough (because I just really like that) but there were some very creepy scenes involving not only ghosts, but also bugs and murder.

The writing itself was really good! The pacing was amazing, I always enjoyed reading the book and I wasn’t bored AT ALL. However, some scenes near the end were a little bit confusing and I didn’t really know how I felt. But overall, the story is really well told. (I also loved the switch in POVs, it was so interesting to see everything from the perspective of the ghost as he was a very intriguing character)

I don’t really have much more to say. Overall, I would definitely recommend it!

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review :D

(4.5) Well, well, well. I did not think I'd like the book the way I liked it.

the taking of jake livingston is a social thriller that follows jake, who has the ability to see replays of ghosts of the dead in their last moments. on top of that, he is one of the only black students at his private school and faces racism from other students and teachers alike. and then a ghost, sawyer doon, the shooter at his school from years before, begins to haunt him.

The beginning of the book was a lot confusing because the story is told from two points of view and at the same time we get to know them, Jake and Sawyer the ghost. But after that and we get along with the main story the book is pretty amazing. I loved the fact that there was LGTB representation (past and present) and the characters were so well written that you can relate with them.

["That's a yes, right? He smiles giddily. "You can get me in?" "It's not the Met Gala, Grady -it's a house party"]

Jake has found himself to be the focus of a powerful ghost who brought a gun to school shooting people before himself. But it goes beyond that, becoming a story bigger than expected. It feels so real and true, with issues like: homophobia, depression, sexual abuse, RACISM!! and bullying,

It was a book I really enjoyed but was hard to get into it and get used to the way it was written. Even though is short but gripping and entertaining. I'll be expecting more books from this author in the future.


Español:

(4.5) Bueno, bueno, bueno. No pensé que el libro me fuera a gustar tanto como terminó gustándome.

The taking of Jake Livingston es un thriller social que sigue a Jake, quien tiene la habilidad de ver la muerte de los fantasmas en ciclos justo en sus últimos momentos de vida. Además es el único estudiante negro de su escuela privada y enfrenta racismo tanto por los estudiantes como por profesores por igual. Y todo cambia cuando un fantasma, comienza a perseguirlo en todo lo que hace.

El comienzo del libro fue demasiado confuso, debido a que contamos con dos puntos de vista diferentes y vamos conociendo tanto a Jake como a Sawyer, el fantasma que lo atormenta. Pero después de eso nos mantenemos con la historia principal del libro que es realmente increíble. Amé el hecho que hubo representación LGTB (en el pasado y presente) y los personajes estaban tan bien escritos que uno se puede identificar con ellos.

Jake se encontró así mismo siendo el enfoque de un poderoso fantasma que había llevado un arma a la escuela empezando un tiroteo, terminando consigo mismo.Pero esto va mucho más allá de eso y se convierte en una historia mucho más grande de lo esperado. Se siente tan real y verdadero, con problemas como la: homofobia, depresión, abuso sexual, ¡¡¡RACISMO!!! y el matoneo.

Fue un libro que realmente disfruté pero fue duro adentrarse en él y acostumbrarse a como estaba escrito en inglés- Sin embargo es corto pero enganchador y entretenido. Estaré esperando más libros de este autor en el futuro.


*** This is an e-ARC, uncorrected text.

I loved how the author covered some heavy topics like racism, bullying and homophobia. What should have been a hit for me, unfortunately was underwhelming. I wanted to love this more than I did. I mean come on, a boy who sees ghosts?! And a ghost who can still hurt people? 🤯

The alternating POV’s were done really well, but it was one of those books that when I put it down, I wasn’t that eager to pick it back up.

Even though it was just average for me, I’d still encourage others to give it a go.

The Taking of Jake Livingston is an absolute gripping, thrilling and striking YA paranormal debut with its social situations and nightmare to trauma bringing ghouls. This book is a fast-paced style that definitely hook me up until its every last page. As such, the main character focuses on the missing part of being controlled or what it’s being called “taking”, this book had me chilling and rolling with its vivid nightmare descriptions, and it also composes of beautiful and engaging written lines.

This book did also disputes and explores the lack of coping mechanism to the mental health system. Sawyer’s journal was quite heavy to read but Douglass did an amazing writing style to give a strong backstory and not mitigating of what he did.  Sawyer’s diary entries are emotional and tragic. Hence, there should be a high observation to mental health system and provide supports, as well.

The Taking of Jake Livingston is a striking story about horrors and monsters lurking in any imagination. It is certainly haunting but the premises are quite impressive.

(Massive thanks to PRH International for providing an eARC edition of this book my way.)

Rating: 3 ⭐️

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada for sending me an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: suicide, school shootings, gruesome descriptions, depression, gun violence, homophobia, racism, abuse

“The Taking of Jake Livingston” follows Jake, one of the only black students in an all-white school. He has the ability to see ghosts and can also see how those people died. This ability ends up putting him in danger when he encounters the ghost of a school shooter, who may or may not be targeting Jake now.

This story keeps you on the ends of your seat. If you’re into horror, the this book is for you. I am personally not a fan of horror but this book wasn’t too bad. There were some gruesome parts and the vivid details really made it feel like you could see what Jake was seeing when it came to the ghosts’ deaths. I really like the aspects of the ghosts. I thought the descriptions of the spectres really added to the horror element of the story.

Sawyer, the ghost who haunts Jake, seems like a great villain and adds edge to the story through his history with the school shooting. We get a dual POV between Jake in the present and Sawyer’s journal entries leading up to the shooting. I feel as though we didn’t really need the journal entries every second chapter. I think it was just there to add a goreyness to the story. I mean, it does add a little background to why Sawyer did what he did, but I feel like I could’ve connected with him better if we didn’t get his perspective. Maybe if we learned about him through other people then maybe it would’ve read better.

A positive thing that came with this book was that it was very fast paced. It’s a quick, short read that kept a steady pace the entire time. I listened to the audiobook and I think that was the way to go. The narrator was great at acting out both POVs along with the ghostly sounds that were added. I always appreciate a quick read and this one did not disappoint in that aspect.

While the story was enthralling, I had an issue connecting to the characters. I felt like these characters didn’t really have an arc at all. Jake didn’t change very much throughout the story and I couldn’t really tell if Sawyer did either. This might be affected by the length of the novel. If it had been a little longer, even 75-100 pages longer, these characters could’ve been fleshed out a little more.

Overall this was a decent YA horror novel and if you like plot driven stories, then I highly suggest this one. If you prefer character driven stories, maybe consider passing on this one.

“It’s amazing how many people don’t want to look racist and how few care about not actually being it.”
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Whew. This book y’all. I have an affinity for books set in GA and this one is such a wild read. It took me a while to get into the story cause it felt a little choppy and disjointed, but the last half of the book was my fave as I got to see how all the connections started making sense and I was 🤯 (we’re not gonna talk about how long it took me to figure out who Sawyer was even though it was clearly stated in the beginning) (cue the Clue boards cause I felt like a detective putting pieces together). Fiona and Allister were my faves, and I loved seeing their relationship to Jake and how his ghost sightings affected how he connected to them. And the ending was so 🥺.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Jake’s voice was so strong from the beginning, and I loved his thoughts about intersectionality especially as it related to sexuality. There were some plot twists that definitely shook me, and this book was definitely unpredictable for me which I enjoyed. I even got a little scared at times 🌚

When beginning this book, I was extremely excited for a thrilling and spooky horror novel. I did DNF this book due to the triggers within the book that I was not aware of. This novel contains triggering topics such as rape and sexual assault. I am rating this book based off how far I got into it. I greatly enjoyed the setup and imagery of this novel. I look forward to reading future books by Ryan Douglass.

Get Out meets VE Schwab and Danielle Vega in this #YA #paranormal #thriller
👻
Jake Livingston sees ghosts. He has his entire life. Mostly it doesn’t bother him—he’s able to tune them out at home and school, but now there’s a new ghost named Sawyer. This particular ghost shot up his high school before taking his own life, which means he’s angry and taking it out on Jake. Now he must fight against this new ghost, homophobia, racism at his prep school and a new crush. Will it be too much for Jake to handle?
👻
This #book is considered a horror story, but more than that—it’s a story about abuse and prejudice. @ryan_souflee does an amazing job of showing what it’s like to be Black and gay. Lots of themes are discussed in this #novel that will jumpstart many conversations. This title released yesterday. Grab it now!

CW: school shooting, suicide, violence, parental abuse, racism, homophobia, bullying, attempted sexual assault

This was a short, fast, interesting read that kept me turning pages! I loved the character of Jake -- he seems like a genuinely compassionate person with realistic flaws, and his development throughout the story was great. The book deals with a lot of heavy topics, but I thought they were folded into the narrative really well.

I thought the workings of the ghost world was really interesting, and I kind of wish there had been more development there. Since the book is relatively short, I feel like there was room to flesh out Jake's abilities and his interactions with the dead a little more, and it would have made the story easier for me to follow because I would know what options Jake had in terms of fighting Sawyer. That said, I tend to like exploring the world of a story, so readers who prefer to skip straight to the action might actually prefer this choice.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who wants a short, spooky read with some well-placed social commentary.

"The Taking of Jake Livingston," is a dark, challenging, and suspenseful horror story. There is diverse representation within the major characters of the book.

There are some very difficult themes in this book.

DNF @ pg 67.

I honestly was expecting this book to be completely different and it was not. I didn’t go into this wanting to read something that would attempt to make me feel sympathy for a serial k*ller

I am thankful to PenguinTeen for sending me an ARC of this book to read and review.