This book was short and I loved the pacing. It dealt with Black queer trauma and microaggressions from an all white school.

The MC is able to see ghosts replay their last moments. This was a good mysterious/thriller spooky story and I can't wait to see what else the Author writes.

3.5/5 stars, an interesting tale of ghosts but also handles many important topics

This book was a fast and easy read and handled some important topics in an amazing way, not to mention the ghouls and ghosts. But some of this stuff was also the negatives of the book as well. I still really enjoyed this book for the most part, as it was super quick and had some great characters. Jake is the main character, he's a queer African American teen going to an all-white school, leaving him feeling left out. On top of that, he is also a medium and can see ghosts and interact with them. This is what really drives the plot forward and it was an interesting way to take the story.

I really enjoyed the descriptions of the ghosts, it was done in a unique way that I felt could be really interpreted by the reader. I haven't read a book dealing with the paranormal in a while, and this book hit the mark on that for me. The only downside to that is I would have loved to have more background concerning this. We don't really know how Jake came around to being a medium, or how he found out. I feel like even just a little background on that would have rounded out the story even more. Sometimes the ghost/scenes felt a bit choppy toward the end, I'm not sure if that's because of what happens or that the author was rushing. I did really enjoy this aspect of the story.

There were a couple of really important topics handled here, and since I am not African American I don't have the right to say how good all the representation is. Talking to a few people about the contents makes me think it was good, at least concerning the racism aspect. I felt appalled by what was happening to Jake, and always noticed the racism and how it was portrayed in a bad light. This book also touches on homophobia, as well as mental health. The mental health part was a bit polarizing to me, but I see what the author was trying to do and I got that part. The homophobia was barely touched on in my opinion, but I will leave it to others of the LGBTQ community to decide if it was a good representation or not.

It was really amazing how so many messages and intense scenes could fit in this small book, it was such a fast read and I'm really glad. But I also wish it was a bit longer, we could have had a bit more build-up to things. Some of the topics and pieces of the story felt a bit rushed, including the character relationships. I loved Jake's friendship with Fiona and Allistar, but I would have just loved to see them together more or have Jake explain the otherworld to them more. Overall, it really wasn't a bad book and I'm for sure going to keep an eye on this author to see what else they put out!

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass is in fact a creepy ghost story. Jake is a medium, and can see ghosts, ghouls, and death all around him. However, when his neighbor is murdered, everything he thought he knew about his ability is challenged. With the murderer now setting their sights on Jake, can he learn how to fight back?

At the beginning of this story, I was completely creeped out. I made the mistake of starting it at night, and that's not really something you do with a ghost story. However, as I read on, I realized this was more about fighting the demons within ourselves as much as it was about fighting the demon that was after Jake. This book was really well written and has a diverse set of characters. It was a perfect story for showing people that they should love themselves and never let other people define who you are.

This book was so great! It was hard to put down and the representation was amazing! I will definitely be recommending this book to my audience

I found the writing to be a bit disjointed, like facts were introduced in a way that made me feel a little thrown off, but overall a good book. It's unique and I think my teens will enjoy it, and the great cover will help me get it in their hands!

~book reflection~~spoilers~

TW: suicide, violence, rape

“Is it too much for me to ask I not be haunted all the time?” I whisper to the particles of luminescent dust fizzling at my fingertips, as if they’re my connection to God. “Can’t I have a crush at school, even if it’s a boy? Can I just be a kid?”

Or am I doomed to lurking darkness? Prisoner to evil?

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thank you to @penguinteen for sending me an advanced review copy of this book.

though i didn’t love this book, i’d recommend this book to those looking for queer Black representation in horror/thriller and those who are fascinated by astral projection. regarding my dislike, i think this is a book that would actually be better as a movie. very few books are better as movies, but when the descriptions in the book are confusing, sometimes visual representations can better elucidate what the book was trying to conjure up.

Ryan Douglass’ The Taking of Jake Livingston is described by the publisher as a YA thriller that is “Get Out meets Holly Jackson.” i’m gonna be honest – at this point, whenever a book or movie or art piece is described as being like Get Out, i cringe. don’t get me wrong, i loved Jordan Peele’s movie, but everything compared to Get Out turns out to be nothing like it.

having finished the novel, i can see why the comparison was made given that there is a theme of “white person trying to take over a black person’s body”- but i think this book actually reminds me of the TV show Behind Her Eyes with the astral projection scenes and has elements of the teen superhero movie Sky High in the fighting scenes. i’d be curious to see if other people think the Get Out comparison was the most apt.

set in the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area, The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass switches perspective between two teen boys – Jake Livingston, a Black sixteen-year-old attending an ultra-white prep school called St. Clair; and Sawyer Doon, the ghost of a white teen who committed a school shooting at his high school Heritage High before killing himself. [cont.]

(1) both boys are gay, are a bit isolated from their family, and keep to themselves, finding it hard to fit in (for different reasons), but beyond that the two are not much alike.

Jake is a medium who can see ghosts and ghouls, usually the spirits of those who have passed but are unable to move on. these ghosts are usually harmless though they cause Jake a lot of stress, as he can often see the ghosts performing the last task they did before they died.

on top of that, going to a prep school means that Jake is racially isolated – him and his brother frequently disciplined by the white teachers. at school, Jake is spacey, often distracted by these ghouls, and keeps to himself. he doesn’t have any friends he likes, and is nothing like his older brother Benji who fits in better at the school as an athlete and a straight person.

no one seems to be able to see ghosts but Jake - and maybe a Black woman named Josette who seems to be sort of a fortune-teller / knowledgeable on the otherworldly who is seen giving Jake advice only once in the book.

Sawyer Doon, on the other hand, is a white teen who is obsessed with the violent habit of picking apart bugs for fun, ripping off their legs, ripping off their wings. after his first attempt of suicide, he is forced into a mental health institution and then given a therapist shortly after. already alienated from his family, Sawyer snaps after his uncle attempts to rape him. taking a gun and heading to Heritage, he kills several students before committing suicide himself.

as a ghost, Sawyer is unlike other ghosts because he doesn’t just stay in the loop. instead, he enacts revenge on survivors of the school shooting, first killing Matteo Mooney, a student who used to bully Sawyer.

(2) Sawyer is not a sympathetic character because no school shooter is. but he is an interesting exploration of the sort of alienation that leads students to snap. as he leaves to the high school, there’s a feeling from him that if his life has to be bad, then other people’s lives have to be bad. and if he’s gonna die, then he wants to take people with him. it’s part entitlement, part misdirected anger.

Sawyer, in his mission to enact revenge, wants control of Jake’s body. this is where i feel the book gets a bit confusing.

it’s unclear why it has to be Jake’s body. Sawyer even says himself that if it wasn’t Jake’s body, it would be someone else. i understand a ghost wanting a human body and i COMPLETELY understand a white person wanting to be in Black person’s body – but i’m lost on why Sawyer wants Jake’s body specifically. that confused me given that Jake never went to school with Sawyer or had any special contact with him.

in Get Out, you’ll remember that the white girlfriend was indiscriminate in the occupation of Black people’s bodies – getting men and women under her control through romantic relationships. basically, whoever she dated and could bring home was who they used for body supply. here in this book, i’m not sure why it had to be Jake’s since Sawyer wasn’t described as indiscriminately taking over Black people’s body.

i also think Jake’s powers could be better explained. in the beginning of the book, Jake’s only power is seeing ghosts. then it seems he controls ecto-mist (not explained in the book, but basically like mist in the ghost world) and then we find out he can create swords out of his fingertips and see auras. i wish they would have defined his powers set in the beginning of the book.

apart from the sometimes confusing, sometimes entertaining otherworldly elements, i actually loved the exploration of Black queerness in high school.


(3) spoiler - Allister is a Black student who transfers to St. Clair and ends up admitting his crush on Jake. i wish that storyline would have been a bigger part of the novel.

Jake’s ruminations on how much is taken from queer people is spot on – something simply as sharing a kiss or hugging a partner could trigger violence in others and this can leave queer kids feeling very lonely. there’s a scene where Jake remembers admitting his crush to a male friend years ago and having that friend distance himself – and so because of this, Jake is afraid to accept Allister’s advances.

or the violent relationship between Jake and his father, who attempts to beat the gay out of him and then pray it away at church. these daily violences happen to queer kids all the time.

even more nuanced is the exploration of being Black AND gay – and the feeling that you can’t be both at the same time. there’s a scene where Jake is talking to his grandpa (now a ghost ancestor) and is afraid to admit his sexuality. but his grandfather laughs and replies: “It’s been Black folks like you, Jake, since it’s been Black folks-you know you sound like a fool.” affirmations that we don’t have to choose between being Black and being queer are so important.

had that been the crux of this book, i would have loved it because i love contemporary explorations of human beings. but the thriller part fell flat for me. i’m not a speculative fiction stan – so it has to be really good for me to love it.

i would have liked to see a better explanation of Jake’s medium abilities and a stronger connection between Jake and Sawyer’s desire for his body.

this book comes out July! i have an interview with the author set to publish on We Need Diverse Books. check both out if you feel called to.

Trigger warning for school shooting and suicide, mention of attempted sexual assault and past child abuse abuse, homophobia.
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As one of the few Black kids in his school, Jake Livingston doesn’t fit in. To make matters worse: he also sees dead people. As weird as that is, they’re usually harmless— until now. The vengeful ghost of a school shooter, Sawyer, is haunting Jake and survivors of the shooting are dying. Jake needs to figure out how to stop Sawyer’s plans before it’s too late.
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If you’re looking for YA horror, look no further. This book was creepy and intense! It was way darker than I expected. I really enjoyed the eerie paranormal moments, the progression in Jakes relationship with his brother, and the romance. One issue I did have was that there didn’t seem to be any real consequences for Jakes actions and I think that it would have added more to the story if there were. As for Sawyers story, I’m not sure how to feel about it. I found myself feeling bad for him, which I didn’t expect. Though I had a couple issues with it, I did enjoy this story, and now I’m in the mood for slasher films— add this book to your Halloween tbr!
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3.5/5 stars, THE TAKING OF JAKE LIVINGSTON by Ryan Douglas is available July 27, 2021!
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Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for sending me an eARC to review!

The Taking of Jake Livingston isn’t the type of book I usually read--not a big supernatural horror fan--and it took me a little while to get into it, but once I did I really liked it. Jake is a very sweet character, and it’s compelling watching him find his voice in both the supernatural world and the mundane one. This book is kind of weird and very dark, so I would be mindful about recommending it to teens--there’s some pretty graphic violence. But, I think for teens who are able to handle that kind of stuff it would be a great read.

This book is creepy and full of ghosts. I found myself anxious throughout the entire book. There isn't really any explanation or backstory for the main plot. I wish it was fleshed out more.

Spoilers ahead:


The Taking of Jake Livingston is a wild ride of a book. The horror elements are legitimately scary, even to this adult reader. The development of Jake's identity is expertly done, especially his coming out process.

Some of the violent content makes this book one I cannot add to my middle school shelves, but this will be a great pick in a high school library for more mature readers.

I found the humanizing of a school shooter to be very difficult to read but I think that is the point. The reader has to confront the common idea of a violent teen. Librarians and teachers should be aware of the triggers in this book re: blood, violence, rape, etc.

This book was nothing short of disappointing. I could barely read the first chapter because the writing style was intolerable. I was really disappointed because I was excited to read this book.

The Taking of Jake Livingston was honestly everything I was looking forward too, it had horror, ghosts, and really well developed characters. Jake, the main character, is a queer black teen who goes to an all-white school. He is already having to deal with being the outcast and dealing with racism every day, but add on the fact that he can see ghosts takes it to a whole other level. He starts to feel like a certain ghost is haunting him and makes him miserable and scared all the time. He has to figure out what this ghost wants and to end his haunting.

I loved the aspect of the ghosts and how well thought out it was, I really felt like I could imagine what Jake was seeing. Sawyer Doon is the perfect villain because even though what he did was incredibly wrong and horrific, getting his side of the story you felt a little empathy for him. He was just too evil and far gone to get on his side, but I did understand his pain and anger. I loved how Jake was just trying to live a normal life and the new kid who also happens to be black, Allister, might like Jake. First, Jake has to fight off some crazy ghosts before he can maybe go on a date with Allister. While this is a horror novel it dealt with so much more than just Jake dealing with the dead. This book dealt with some heavy topics and the author did it perfectly.

While this was a short and fast paced book, I wish it was longer. In my opinion it went by so fast that some of the topics and part of the storyline felt rushed. I wish we could have gotten more of Allister and Jakes friendship and Fiona as well. I would have loved to delve deeper into the otherworld that Jake can see. Other than me just wanting a longer book because I loved these characters so much, this was a fabulous book. It would definitely be the perfect book for Halloween season!

Jake is a mediator. When he’s not avoiding ghosts and ghouls, he’s ignoring the snobs at his all white prep school. The synopsis gave me The Mediator (Meg Cabot vibes) so I had to try it!

So here is the problem with judging a book by its cover: I was expecting a quirky teen movie type scary story. What I got was actual horror horror with lots of trigger warnings: bullying, suicide, school shootings, racism, homophobia, and I’m sure I’m forgetting more. (e.g. Not the best read for a pregnant woman with insomnia.)

Even though this was not the perfect read for, I think people will love this unique story with its vivid writing.

Jake Livingston is not your typical high school student. He is one of the handful of black kids at his private school, he is gay, and he is a medium. A typical day for Jake includes racist jokes from his classmates, suppressing his true feelings, and seeing ghouls and ghosts around him at all times.

After the unexpected death of a neighbor, Jake's life is thrown into chaos that seems to be surrounded by the ghost of a local boy who was the lone gunman at a mass murder shooting at the local school. Jake not only has to deal with normal teenage boy problems, he now has to figure out with this ghost is trying to kill him.

Though the plot of the story had a lot of promise, I found that the writing was slightly confusing and it was hard to envision the action as it was unfolding. I felt like the book could have benefitted from being a little longer in order to flesh out some of the plot, since the story felt kind of rushed at the end.

I feel like Ryan Douglass has a lot of potential as an author, and I really love that the main character of a horror novel is a black, queer teen boy--I can't think of another book in which that's the case. For me, there was something just too choppy about the writing and I don't know that I love the idea of getting in a school shooter's head--and the fact that there was a school shooting seems so not a plot factor at all.

I'll read something else Douglass writes for sure.

I don't typically rate books I've DNF'd, but in this case I'm only providing one here because it's required to submit the review. I decided to stop reading at 50%. My gripes include a few things:

For one, the writing style was too choppy and disorienting for me to get invested. I didn't feel like I understood the main character or his ghost-seeing abilities at all. And every event or development felt abrupt to me, especially the romance.

But the big issue was the portrayal of school shootings. The villain is a mass murderer, and I'm sure this can be handled well and sensitively in stories, but I didn't feel like it was given nearly enough weight to feel comfortable with using it as a plot device (at least in the half of the book I read). Given that this is being published in the YA US market, I'm not sure how that will sit with teens, the target demographic, who already have to deal with the fear of becoming a victim. As a mother who, of course, is terrified for my kid, the flippant treatment of school shootings in the book didn't sit well with me at all.

Examples? The book feels like a slasher movie. It's over the top, with dramatic scenes, and yet there's no real acknowledgement of the consequences / aftermath of a shooting like this, or mood of the town or emotions of anyone other than the main character (sorta).

And the cincher is that the MC's POV is interspersed with diary entries that seem intended to get the reader to sympathize with a school shooter. The diary entries (the ones I read) reinforce narratives about mental health issues (when this is a much larger issue of gun control, media narratives like this that villainize those suffering mental health problems, and our unwillingness to acknowledge that this is a systemic issue -- otherwise it wouldn't be happening over and over in the US) and other stereotypes. I can't get on board with this in any way.

Please do note that I can only, of course, write my thoughts based on the first half of the book. I thought about reading the rest, in case the book's treatment of school shootings became more nuanced and less game-like. I read quite a few reviews to see if others mentioned a change in the second half (as far as I can tell, no one has). In the end, I decided there was no reason to keep reading a book that was making me feel ill.

AHHH how can I put my thoughts into words.

I have so many mixed feelings about this. I loved and (in my opinion) disliked some things. I loved the writing. The way the ghosts and the creepy atmosphere was being written was so compelling. There were moments where I definitely started getting scared. I really liked Jake and his story, and I definitely cared for him which is a plus!

The things I didn't like and I think this was more in my personal opinion, was the plot. I think for me personally at this moment I would rather not read anything related to school shootings. While this isn't the central plot of the story, it is still a significant factor in one our secondary character's story.

Again, everything else worked for me and as a horror novel this definitely did what it said it was going to do! I was creeped out, I was rooting for Jake, and I loved the slasher-elements (like Jake's nightmares-so creepy). I will 100% be recommending this to horror aficionados.

I enjoyed this book even though I don't usually like horror or thriller. The premise is super interesting and very well executed. I loved the main character, Jake, and his point of view is really easy to follow.

★★★☆☆ 3/5

DNF

i’m going to rate this book purely on the interactions between jake, allister and fiona that i have enjoyed thus far.

that being said, as a person who has lived through two threats and lockdowns, i cannot continue reading a book in which we are made to sympathize with a school shooter.

4/5 stars!

thank you so much penguin teen for providing this ARC! where do i begin? ryan douglass you sweet beautiful human!

jake livingston is just a black queer teen trying to fit in the walls of a predominantly white school, and i personally can relate to that on levels beyond measure! it was refreshing to see jake develop the way that he did, although some of it may have been against his free will, i enjoyed it regardless. sawyer was a perfect villain, someone you could almost sympathize with but the evil that consumed him stopped you in your tracks. the real villain in the story was chad, and i’m so happy that jake handled the situation the way he did i wouldn’t have wanted it any other way! i’ve never read a queer story before, so with this being my first, i am very happy that this is what gets me into the genre! allister and jake are everythinggggg!! i will admit, i was originally going to give this book a 3.5 stars based on how hard it was for me to grasp the eco-mist portion of the book. it was very confusing, even after i reread it a couple times I was still pretty stuck. but i would say the last 15% of this book really was it saving grace for me.