Gather The Taking Of Jake Livingston Author Ryan Douglass Readable In Version

the live show where we discussed it: sitelink be/WUASXfpSc Actual rating,/stars.

Jake Livingston is one of the few black students at St, Clair Prep, along with his extroverted and popular older brother, He is introverted by nature and often feels compared to his brother or judged due to the colour of his skin.
This only partially explains his isolated school life, however, Jake Livingston has the ability to see and interact with the dead, They appear wherever he is, often playing out their harrowing last moments as Jake is attempting to live an ordinary teenage existence besides them.


I can think of few times I have been as sad to find I did not love a book more, than with this one.
Everything about this screamed excellence but I had a few issues throughout that I could just not overlook,

Jake was a very interesting character but I never felt that I truly knew him, There was another character who was provided with their own perspective, often through diary entries, and I wish that Jake had also been given the same chance to share his backstory.
Perhaps this would have aided in bonding me with him more, I felt I did know facts about him and an exploration of his emotions frequently appeared, but something about the structure of the story kept me at a distance from really feeling I had a grasp for who he actually was.


I also found this lighter on the horror elements than I had anticipated from the cover, title, and synopsis.
This was a dark read but not in an eerie or creepy way, This was the direction I thought the book would take and whilst it did not ruin my enjoyment to not find this not to be the case, it did mean I had to alter my expectations accordingly.


Whilst I was disappointed to find these elements that did not wholly work for me, I also found many others I loved.
I adored the inclusivity this contained, I want more books about black, gay teens and I appreciated the focus on Jake's struggles in dealing with lack of acceptance both receive, in his community.
It proved truly harrowing to read of Jake's emotions as he is forced to confront the cruelty and harsh treatment that the world contains.


Ultimately, I had a fine time with this book, It wasn't the perfect read for me but I also acknowledge that it doesn't need to be, Far more important is that, with the publication of this book, more individuals have been provided with the chance to see themselves inside the media they consume.


I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, Thank you to the author, Ryan Douglass, and the publisher, Andersen Press, for this opportunity, content warnings: racism, school shooting, death graphic, violence graphic, mentions of suicide attempt, physical and emotional abuse, mental illness, parental and medical negligence, sociopathy, sadism, attempted rape, revenge porn, gore, homophobia, bullying.
Jake Livingstons story reminded me of Jamie Conklin, also black teenager, raised by single mother without rebellious brother who can see ghosts and try so hard to keep it as secret.
But this one is focused on micro aggressions and black queer drama with more Get out meets Dear White People vibes.


Its more thought provoking and challenging reading with such a frightening, jaw dropping scenes scare the living daylights out of you!

The school shooting trauma, invasion of insects, the pain of being outcasted, shunned from society reflected so realistically! You get frightened, you get shaken, you feel sad! All of the sensitive issues including homophobia, violence, bullying, abuse are boldly approached.


Dark and complex part of the story overshadowed the slow burn romance but it was still effective, provocative, unique!

I dont know how many times I jumped off from my couch and screamed! Honestly some chapters are way too much intense!

I finished in one sit and I enjoyed it a lot! I wish it would be a little longer! But I think my neighbors cannot tolerate more screams coming from me! So I think this book already gave me enough thrill for me today! i wanted to love this one so much it was one of my most anticipated reads of the month.
but i was just so confused with the paranormal/horror aspects and the pacing of the story, i didnt understand what was happening half the time and had to go back and reread parts of it to try and figure out what was going on.
i did like jake and allister together though im glad they got their happy ending,

trigger warning for racism, child abuse, attempted rape, violence, school shooting, homophobia,
It's been over one and a half a year of waiting and I'm glad to see how neat the cover art came out! Patiently awaiting the release date :


I am always up for horror! Especially when it's black literature! I need it NOW.




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sitelinkYoutube sitelinkInstagram sitelinkTwitter sitelinkTumblr sitelinkWebsite Started reading The Taking of Jake Livingston at the end of YA week here on Goodreads.
The lists prompted me to remember I had grabbed a copy of this as it seemed very intriguing, there have been comparisons to Get Out.


There are some truly creepy moments in here as our narrator, the main character, Jake can see the dead all around him.
They are surrounded by a blue ectomist, thats how he can quickly notice that they are no longer living, But one ghost in particular is haunting him and it seems like its almost in pursuit of him, This ghosts name is Sawyer Doon, He committed a horrific act of violence at his school, a shooting, before turning the gun on himself, The narrative flips between Jake and entries from Sawyers diary, giving the reader a backstory, But why is the spirit of Sawyer latching onto Jake Does he see him as a way back to the world of the living

The moment The Taking Of Jake Livingston is building up to throughout doesnt take place until aroundof the way through, but in my opinion its worth sticking with.
You will see this certain

moment coming without me stating what it is,
I think the horror filled moments are done well and important subjects, such as racist microaggressions in a predominantly white school, are also handled well.
I do wish that Jakes relationship with friends Fiona in particular and a budding love interest Allister were explored even further, but this is quite a quick read.
The ending felt satisfying. TW for abuse, sexual assault, school shooting, homophobia, racism

Wow, this book as heavy, I wish I had read more into this book because it heavily deals with a school shooting, As a teacher, I try to avoid books about this topic because it hits too close to home, There was a really dark plot line in here where Jake is being haunted by the spirit of a boy who had been responsible for a school shooting and was currently killing more people.
While the dark plot line just wasn't working for me personally, I also found it really hard to get into the horror/paranormal aspect of this book.
It was a bit too complicated for me and hard to follow, Jake could see spirits, jump to other times, and be possessed, . . and even more I still have a hard time explaining this book and it was hard for me to fully grasp the extent of what Jake could do.
The little romance added in was cute, but only came into play very briefly and really for the only lastof the book.
I would have liked more of that throughout the hole book instead of just briefly at the end,

When going into a horror book, I just need to do some more research before seeing if the book will be for me.
Most of my lack of enjoyment of this book was definitely because of personal preferences, ./

I haven't read any horror books for some time now I think the last time was from sitelinkMadeleine Roux so this feels like a breath of fresh air but I don't think I find myself enjoying this one as much.
Let's just go on with what I like about the book first:

The pretty cover, It gives me a whole Frankenstein vibe for some reasons and I love the the colour palette, It what makes me want to read this book in the first place, Book cover first, plot later lol,

Addressing the racism and microaggression faced by the main character for being both people of colour and gay.
I find Jake's life experiences important in providing societal commentary and insight into how discrimination can isolate and depress young people if I were to be critical about it, you know

The horror in this book is not entirely my favourite I'll tell more why but I do appreciate the direction that the author is going for in this book.
I specifically find the death loops intriguing,

Undeniably so, there were also some other things that fell short and doesn't work for me,

Underdeveloped worldbuilding, The book is short which made it super easy to read and get it over with but the worldbuilding is poorly wirtten.
The atmosphere of the novel was inconsistent because there wasn't much to latch onto at the start, and the author didn't provide enough information to grasp Jake's condition.
I don't think I truly understand the death world this book is trying to portray, Especially when it suddenly involved Jake's ancestors, Or why Jake can see ghosts and deem as powerful or Sawyer's equal,

The concept of possession and dreams in horror books is actually not my cup of tea.
The book starts great. However, after few pages, I found the story to be quite flat, And honestly, I was kind of bored not until the plot picks up again towards the end, It's not the author fault though, just a matter of preferences I guess

Allister's presence in Jake's life seems didactic and abrupt.
Even when the book does not put their relationship as the main focus, I still feel theirs as instalove, Therefore, I don't really feel any sort of connection between the two simultaneously making the queer representation felt scant,

Characters. As much as I would complain about a onedimensional character, this book is being farfetched because Sawyer is so complex and multifaceted that the proffered discussions in his chapters are insufficient.
Gun control, school massacres, and mental health are all issues that need to be tackled outside of the private matter but were done poorly.
Meanwhile, not much can be gained for Jake as a character either, All readers would get besides being a boy who can see ghost is an anxious and gay person, It is pretty disappointing.

I am not sure if reading thriller and horror book consecutively is why I didn't find myself enjoying this as I expected myself to be especially when your previous read was better.
I truly wanted to love the book I do, but I couldn't find myself entirely impressed, .