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.

It’s not enough that Jake Livingston is one of the only Black students at his exclusive private school, or that he’s gay, or that he likes drawing more than sports. He also can see ghosts. For much of his life, they’ve existed in the background—he sees them in death loops, but they don’t cross over into the world of the living to interact with him.

That changes when Matteo Money, survivor of a high school shooting and Jake’s neighbor, is murdered In his bathroom. Days later, he finds the initials S.A.D. written in blood, Sawyer Doon, the shooter at Matteo’s school who killed five before shooting himself.

Powered by anger and desiring vengeance, Sawyer identified Jake, suffering from low self-esteem, as the ideal host through which conduct his revenge tour. Realizing he’s at risk, Jake decides he needs to learn as much as possible about Sawyer to be able to effectively resist him.

With his friends Fiona and Allister, he steals Sawyer’s journal which traces his path from troubled teen to murdered. Ultimately, Jake will need help from both the living and dead if he hopes to overcome his nemesis.

THE TAKING OF JAKE LIVINGSTON is incredibly creative and thought-provoking. In a small volume, it addresses so many important issues: bullying, racism, negative LBGTQ+ attitudes, and other traumas. As Jake was exposed to Sawyer’s rage, he might have found that some of it mirrored his own but that he never expressed.

Personally, I had a hard time visualizing many of the scenes where Jake interfaced with ghosts; the descriptions confounded me. Additionally, I wanted a little more information about how the “rules” of the spirit world worked: it felt like there were many inconsistencies. My biggest challenge is that Jake did the one thing he was cautioned not to do, risking everything, and his behavior flummoxed me.

I have been enjoying TA books they have so much depth to them especially this book. This book touches on revenant topics , ghosts , possession , horror, loyalty, mental health. Just jam packed. A queer black teen facing racism going to an all white school . Already an outcast and on top of that he sees ghosts. There’s this one particular ghost that Jake can’t shake and it feels like it wants to take over him. I’m not going to say anymore to not soul anything . Consider picking this one up.

3.75

The taking of Jake Livingston is a horror ya. It is not a genre that I read, but I was so mesmerized by the cover that I absolutely had to read it. Jake is a quiet, reserved boy and he has always believed that respecting rules and trying to remain anonymous would mean that he would have no problems, despite being one of the few black guys in his school.
This is the attitude with which he also faces his secret: he can see ghosts.

And most days? I can’t figure out what I hate more: seeing the dead or being the only one Black eleventh grader at St. Clair Prep.

Sadly, he'll learn that wishing the world to leave you alone doesn't make it a reality, not when you live in a typically racist usamerican suburban setting and not when you attract the attention of a vengeful ghost.
A sudden trail of violence will force Jake to investigate the tragic event that had afflicted his town a year earlier: a school shooting where many people lost their lives, including executioner Sawyer

The thing I liked the most is Sawyer's point of view through pages of his diary in order to approach the shooting story through two opposite points of view.
The other merit of the book is the simplicity with which the writer talks about various issues such as racism, bullying, in order to make it even more impactful.

I liked the author's style but there is a big issue that has affected the book: even if the fast pace is certainly pleasant, some elements are not well developped. For example, I would have liked a deeper study of paranormal elements, and I would have preferred a slower development of relationships. But even the school shooting seems to be put aside too quickly in the end.

It is a enjoyable standalone book but it could have been better.

I don't know whether this book needed a new editor or what, but it was senseless violence. It was graphic, and I can stand a lot of stuff. I'm not sensitive at all. Jake Livingston can see the dead. He can also tell where and how the people died. When one of his neighbors dies who was part of a school shooting he gets pulled into a situation that he can't get out of alive.

I read this after reading a similar book with the same gist of Get Out and this one didn’t come out on top. I couldn’t get into it and all the flashbacks threw my off.

I think this book was really well done in that I found it extremely unsettling. I don’t think I ever want to read a book again where I’m in the POV of the serial killer. Those chapters kept me up at night.

This was a short book that I wish was longer. There was so much potential for where this book could have gone but it ended up feeling rushed.

I tried to get into this book, but it just wasn't for me. The plot started out slow and I think I wanted a fast-paced light horror story rather than a darker social commentary. I may try again later.

Como vocês já sabem, essa resenha é em parceria com a Random House Internacional, de quem recebemos esse eARC (Advance reading copy: algo como “uma cópia de leitura avançada, ou seja, o livro ainda pode sofrer alterações antes de ser publicado). Também lembrando que essa resenha terá um formato diferente: por ser um ARC, não haverão quotes, já como os livros podem sofrer mudanças em seu texto antes de serem comercializados. Gostaríamos de agradecer profundamente a Editora pela oportunidade de parceria.

Como a sinopse diz muito bem, Jake Livingston consegue ver as pessoas mortas. Não apenas as vê, como pode ver em um looping se repetindo de novo e de novo as formas com que elas morreram e várias coisas em torno do mundo espiritual: por exemplo quando um espirito está a tempo demais vagando na terra e se torna um tipo de… dementador, por falta de palavra melhor e sobrevive assim não tirando felicidade das pessoas, mas em ambientes de pura miséria e tristeza.

Um dia, enquanto voltava da escola, Jake vê um desses seres circulando sua vizinhança e é então que fica sabendo que seu vizinho, um jovem, aparentemente se suicidou. E é aí que a vida de Jake consegue mudar para pior. Jake descobre que seu vizinho na verdade é um dos sobreviventes de um massacre que aconteceu em um colégio em que Sawyer atirou em vários adolescentes e se matou no final. E Jake está convencido de que é o fantasma dele quem está por trás da morte de seu vizinho.

Quando eu aceitei a oferta desse livro da editora, eu realmente não tinha ideia do que vinha pela frente e do quanto eu me divertiria com essa história. Eu até pensei que era mais infantil o livro, mas ele realmente não é. É cheio de passagens sérias e assuntos importantes, o livro fala não só sobre um garoto sobrenatural, mas fala sobre racismo que Jake sofre, sobre relacionamento amoroso e também sobre abuso. E tudo com um cuidado muito bem colocado.

O livro todo se divide em dois pontos de vista: nós temos o ponto de vista de Jake atualmente e também temos o ponto de vista de Sawyer no passado, mostrando o que o levou ao fatidico dia em que ele matou os colegas e tirou sua propria vida e toda a “motivação” por trás do acontecido – o que claro, não justifica o que ele fez, mas dá uma certa explicação.

E ele é um livro muito bom de ler, você consegue sentir a mesma angustia que Jake sente por estar sendo assombrado por Sawyer, mas principalmente pelos planos que o outro tem pra ele – que eu não posso contar porque acabaria com a graça do livro. Jake é um personagem divertido e é muito bom ver a evolução dele no tempo em que o livro se passa, nós vemos ele deixando aos poucos de ser o menino que tem medo de tudo para aquele que enfrenta as coisas, mesmo sabendo que nem tudo está a favor dele.

E a história em si… É primorosa. Eu ia adorar se o autor resolvesse fazer uma continuação e nos mostrar acompanhando outros casos paranormais de Jake (algo do tipo A Mediadora ou Anna Vestida de Sangue), seria maravilhoso. E, ah, como eu disse, o livro trata de assuntos sérios e além disso ele é recheado de representatividade.

Se você gosta de livros de mistério e livros com/sobre fantasmas, dê uma chance pra esse livro. É certeza que você vai adorar!

Thanks for the free book, Penguin Random House International.

I overall enjoyed this book. It was a lot of fun to explore the spooky world that was Jake’s life and see what he had to deal with day to day having to see the ghost world at the same time as the real one.

My one big thing is that I wish this ghost world was expanded on some more. We see how Jake deals with it but don’t really get to learn more about it or why he can see it and others can’t. It goes a little bit in but barely dips the toes into what could have given us readers so much more information and then it would have us feeling a lot more for Jake and what he is going through.

The book definitely deals with some dark themes and goes into some heavy topics so be prepared for that if you pick this one up.

The book’s pace was very fast and I found myself being carried along with it. I enjoyed the side characters a lot, mainly his friends, and would love to see a sequel to this with more exploration into the history of his family to show more of his gifts.

I think that anyone who likes ghosts and creepy thriller dramas would enjoy this one.

Hearing about this book for months and finally getting a chance to read it made my year. Just as I felt about Cemetery Boys and Witch King, this book represents an entire group of readers who can read about characters and teens with similar likenesses in the LGBT community. In addition, this is one of the few horror novels I absolutely enjoyed because there’s no needless violence towards minor characters like women (looking at you, bestselling horror writers). Not one character is made inherently evil based on who they are or how they identify. The antagonist used his anger in a destructive manner, but Jake managed to take a lot of his anger to help others, even when he struggled. Unlike other horror novels, this one tells a story that stays with the reader for more than just viscerality and violence.

This was one hell of a dark book! Seeing dead people is not half of it. This book weaves an LGBTQIA coming of age story with Ghost Busters meets the Next Karate Kid meets Degrassi! The action was nonstop! Imagine trying to stop a homicidal ghost on the psychic plain whole coming to terms with your sexuality! Dark Academia at its finest and high school has never been this hard to focus on studies. Get ready kids! This one is sure to hold your attention.

This was actually really heavy for me and I stopped reading it for now. I think I’m going to pick up back up eventually because I really liked where it was going.

I absolutely enjoyed The Taking of Jake Livingston. It gave such a unique twist on hauntings that I really appreciated. I loved seeing Jake evolving throughout the book. I was very creeped out because ghosts are little sneaky things. But it was worth it! I can’t wait to see more from this author

The Taking of Jake Livingston was one of my most anticipated reads this year.
The minute I saw the cover I knew I needed to read this.
A ghost story starting a Black queer teenager? Yes please.

Jake sees dead people. He sees their death playing on a loop in the place where they died. I found that detail super interesting. I love a good ghost story and that just made it even better to me.

Jake is one of 2 black teens in his all white prep school, he’s most definitely an outcast.

I love that the author isn’t afraid to make you uncomfortable! I enjoy dark reads and this was definitely on the dark side. I was actually surprised with the descriptions of the ghosts/deaths. I kept forgetting that this is a YA book.

My one and only issue with this book was that I found some of the horror scenes very cheesy. This could be because I enjoy and am used to horror though. This didn’t take away from me enjoying the book.

I really loved the writing and the characters. This was a strong debut and am hoping for a sequel.

Overall I thought this was a great book. The story covers a lot of hard topics, I would definitely look into triggers.

Jake Livingston see the dead. The moments of their death pretty much every where he goes.
The book alternates between Jake and Sawyer a kid who shot people before shooting himself. And Jake is being haunted by Sawyer.
Though we get Sawyers backstory nothing made me sympathies with him, I just wanted him gone. You definitely get the creepy horror vibes from this book. Maybe I should of waited until October to read it. (Just saying)
It also deals with a lot of difficult subjects for example bullying, racism, abuse of a minor, homophobia, mass shooting. A lot of hard topics but I think the other did good incorporating everything into the book.

Thank you to PenguinTeen for the gifted earc in exchange for an honest review.

I adore scary books and it's about time that black, queer kids get to fight ghosts. This story has twinges of Stranger Things and is just wonderfully creepy in every nail-biting way possible. 5/5 scary stars!