This book had me gripped from the first page, but it slowly lost me as the story progressed. The original concept was incredibly intriguing: a boy who can see ghosts and becomes haunted by the ghost of a school shooter. Jake tries to understand why Sawyer did what he did, and that journey was actually a pretty fascinating one. Where the book lost me was what felt like a sudden shift to full-on paranormal. I don't know how to exactly describe it, but it was like Jake could see ghosts and then all of a sudden it was a poltergeist possessing him. I'd say the book just went a different direction than I had hoped, and it was difficult for me to finish due to my own expectations.
However, Ryan's LGBTQ+ representation was well-done, and tactfully done, as well. I think having the contrast between Jake and Sawyer highlighted many of the issues the community still faces today. It was a nice plot line to the overall story. (I've also watched various panels with Ryan on them, and I highly recommend listening to him talk. While I wasn't a huge fan of the story, hearing him speak about it is a wonderful experience.)

Thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me with an e-ARC of The Taking of Jake Livingston in exchange for an honest review!

Content Warnings: School Shooting, Gun Violence, Racism, Homophobia, Attempted Rape, Suicide

Hello, hi! Do you have a second for me to introduce you to my most anticipated book of 2021?! I'm still in shock that Penguin Teen gave me the chance to read The Taking of Jake Livingston before its release; I have been at the edge of my seat waiting for my pre-order to arrive for months. This book honestly has everything I want: horror, a vengeful ghost, LGBTQIA+ rep, written by a Black author (& ft'ing a Black main character), a stunning cover and it's pitched as Get Out meets Daniella Vega. Safe to say, I was sold from the get-go.

The Taking of Jake Livingston is written from two perspectives. We, of course, journey through the world as Jake Livingston -- our main character who happens to be a Medium. And through journal entries, we also enter the upsetting mind of Sawyer, our antagonist who murdered his classmates during a school shooting. It can probably go without saying, but The Taking of Jake Livingston might not be for everyone in terms of the brutal content within its pages.

Ryan Douglass does not shy away from the blood and the gore. My horror heart was absolutely thriving while reading. Bodies were dropping & you know what else dropped? Ryan Douglass' crown. Let me get that for you, King. I read an interview recently with Ryan, where he mentions that he's working on a New Adult Romance, and uhm -- can we say range? Love that for you, Ryan.

Besides the spooky (which btw, there are some really amazing eerie scenes in The Taking of Jake Livingston; it's not just blood & gore), I loved the relationships that Jake Livingston develops along the way -- both platonic & romantic. In the beginning, Jake Livingston typically keeps to himself, but along the way, he picks up some pals (& love) who prove to be on his side.

One thing that does bother me about this book is that there are multiple small mentions of characters, but they're not utilized enough for you to remember who they are when they're brought up again. This may simply be due to the fact that The Taking of Jake Livingston is a pretty quick read, leaving little room to expand on certain aspects. Or maybe it all has to do with the fact that my memory is not as sharp as it once was.

This leads me to the fact that The Taking of Jake Livingston is an incredibly fast-paced read; there is constantly something happening in the paranormal realm of the book. A lot of readers will probably devour this read in one sitting, as the book begs to keep turning those pages. And, in general, this book simply just felt short.

If you're into Horror & are able to read books with the content warnings listed, I definitely feel that The Taking of Jake Livingston is worth it. It's a super quick read & filled with some phenomenal horror aspects like ghosts, blood & gore.

ake Livingston is a young gay Black kid who sees ghosts and goes to an all-white prep school. Could his life be any more complicated? Well, it certainly can when Sawyer comes into his life. Sawyer is the ghost of a boy who killed himself after doing a mass shooting at his school. But not even death can stop him, and Sawyer targets Jake, an outcast like him, to possess and continue wreaking havoc.

The Taking of Jake Livingston is definitely a horror book. It's filled with a lot of blood, ghosts, murder, and traumatic events. It's dark and intense, so beware of all the trigger warnings. Personally, this was the second book in my life I had to take a break from because it was getting to my head. The first was Pet Sematary by Stephen King. I couldn't stop thinking about the story, and it got me in a weird mood, which isn't desirable since I read it on my way to work.

This is a short book, and it feels like it. You follow both Jake, in the present, and Sawyer's diary in the days before his demise. It's a rushed story, the characters aren't well developed, and it's too chaotic at times. The plot is understandable and straightforward, but certain scenes are too confusing, and you're not able to pinpoint what's happening. This especially occurs in fight scenes involving Jake's magic.

Magic's the only interesting aspect about Jake. It's weird because he's had these powers for years, but he doesn't develop them. Then, every moment he starts to control his magic, it feels like it happens to further the plot, not because it's earned. This magic also isn't that well explained, things just happen and Jake goes with it. There's also a cute romance plotline that isn't the focus of the story, as it shouldn't be, but it's nice to see him grow and make friends.

Sawyer, on the other hand, is so conflicting. He's pure evil, and reading his perspective can get to you. But he comes from a history of trauma that you can't help but sympathize with at least a bit. Was he always like that, or did circumstances turn him into a sadistic murderer? Still, there's no excuse for anything he did.

The Taking of Jake Livingston is an unsettling YA horror filled with violence, blood, and ghosts. It can be a difficult read, so please beware of the trigger warnings!

I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't.
The Taking of Jake Livingston sounds promising, but it's overall a mess.

Very little about the paranormal aspect is explained, I still don't really understand the gist of it. There's astral projection, an ecto goo(?) Angry ghouls and yeah nothing is coherent or fully fleshed out.

Characters are very flat and to me, they were too unidimensional, they seem described too much in the present that you don't even get to see their pasts or feel like they have a concrete personality. Jake also conveniently has new powers whenever necessary and that just felt too deus ex machina.

The antagonist has its own pov's and to me, they were complicated because it seemed like they were meant to make you sympathize with him. Also it was disturbing to read this character and yet I don't understand WHY is he after the protagonist.

I wasn't scared, or tense, or even chilled by reading this. There was no atmosphere whatsoever.

The mass shooting problem, gun control, and mental health aspects were just barely touched upon and it honestly feels sloppy to insert such themes in a novel and then don't address them properly.

Didn't like this book and do not recommend it.

“… find the most miserable, tortured creatures, the ones looking to escape from their realities, and I attach to their pain, their weeping, their doubtful silence.”

If you’re thinking this will be a light fluffy read, it isn’t. It’s full of pain, hurt, and terror as author Ryan Douglass tackles some incredibly difficult topics full-on and unapologetically. This is definitely a multi-genre read and I loved it.

Jake just doesn’t fit in at his new school – for one, he’s black, two, he’s gay and three, he see’s spirits. A black boy in the midst of white privilege and classism just trying to get by on the daily when one of the spirits he sees begins to interact in a way that Jake’s never seen – the spirit of Sawyer Doon, school shooter has taken notice of Jake and he’s determined to have him.

Mr. Douglass did such an amazing job with the characters! The making of a monster is so evident as we learn about Sawyer’s life and afterlife, what drove an already sick boy to even sicker actions. And then there’s Jake, hiding everything that makes him Jake, he isn’t without his own pain. He stuffs everything that is different about him down until it chokes him. The secondary characters are developed well – just enough to give me a strong found family feel along with the sense that we aren’t always hiding our secrets as well as we think. Everyone needs an Allister and a Fiona in their lives.

The plot is at turns terrifying and heart-wrenching; watching Jake navigate his way through a torturous day at school dealing with racism and classism only to be further tortured after by the spirits that only he can see had me feeling anxious and worried, angry and sad. It’s beautiful in the sense that Jake is able to find support in the most unlikely of places and in a true coming of age sense, he begins to use this support to accept and love himself.

Aside from the social issues, this is one freaking scary story! Ectomist, Ghouls, Wraiths, Possession and Astral Projection are terrifying yet fascinating themes throughout and Mr. Douglass brings the fright in spades. I finished this late at night – with the lights on! I loved delving into Jakes world and I truly hope this isn’t the last we hear from him! I think Jake has a lot of great stories ahead of him and I’ll be here for it if it happens!

My thanks to @PenguinTeen for the reading copy!

TW: Homophobia, Racism, Gore, Murder, School Shooting, Violence, Bullying

YA queer horror that involves possession? Yes please. It's a bit short-ish, but the pacing keeps you on the edge of your seat.

A riveting social thriller and phenomenal ghost story.

Jake sees dead people — ghosts and wraiths and everything in between. Not that anyone believes ghouls follow him when he’s extra sad or that he can kind of sort of astral project. The onslaught of death and dead people is a lot for anyone to deal with when Jake just wants to blend in. Instead, his abilities make it nearly impossible for Jake to stay in the present — forget having the headspace to figure things out about himself. One of those things that need figuring out: Jake is a closeted gay teen. But being the only Black student in his grade at St. Clair is terrible enough with racism coming at him from students and teachers alike. There’s no way he’s expanding his target mark by adding gay.

“White boys can be gay because gay is all they are. Allister and I … we’re Black and gay, and being both would put targets on our heads.”

Ryan Douglass
And then Sawyer Doon hits the scene — a ghost more corporeal than any Jake’s encountered. More accurately, Sawyer is the ghost of a dead school shooter who’s returned to continue killing and take possession of Jake’s body.

At its core, The Taking of Jake Livingston is a riveting social thriller and a phenomenal ghost story. You’ve got a lot — a lot !— of scary stuff that goes down, including the attempted possession of Jake’s body and a host of gruesome murders. While the novel’s central themes of racism, racial micro aggression, bullying, and homophobia give voice to an underrepresented reality. The combination leads to a dynamic blend of action that will have you flying through the pages with your heart in your throat.

Jake and Sawyer are characters who’ve had to become edited versions of themselves to fall in line with society’s expectations of masculinity. Jake becomes quiet and withdrawn. Sawyer turns to violence. We root for Jake and are shaken by Sawyer’s actions. Douglass weaves his story threads with expert ease, including a slow-burn romance, and creates some real story magic here — a ghost story that draws you in and makes you think.

Trigger warnings: suicide, attempted sexual assault, homophobia, racism, animal cruelty, physical abuse, school shooting.

4.5/5 stars

I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

My Rating: 4 Stars

I am not generally a fan of thrillers because I am, quite honestly, a HUGE chicken. I get freaked out really easily and it usually keeps me from reaching for the genre. After I read (and loved) Ace of Spades earlier this year though, I was just in the mood for more of the same and this book sounded perfect!

This was such a quick book for me! The pacing and the length of it made this practically a one sitting read. I liked Jake almost immediately and it was easy to root for his character as the plot progressed. What I really loved was that this book was more than a thriller, and discussed some other really important and relevant topics. Though he was forced into a lot of his character growth and development, it was still fun to witness.

The villain really stood out to me because he was SO dark and twisted, but getting to know him via journal entries also had me feeling a bit of sympathy for him. Sawyer had a rough life, and my heart definitely broke for him more than once.

Overall, this was the dark queer book that I needed, and I definitely recommend it for fans of the genre! Be sure to check trigger warnings before reading.

I appreciated the intersectionalities that the author included in this book, and how he addressed the treatment of different marginalized communities. However, the writing lacked nuance and needed to be tightened up. There were some holes in the plot, and I did quite a bit of skimming in the second half.

The Taking of Jake Livingston, or: Area Boy Is Really Going Through It All The Damn Time. I thoroughly enjoyed this quick-paced, chilling tale, which follows Jake, the aforementioned Area Boy. He has enough to deal with, being one of the only Black kids at his private college prep high school, but he also constantly sees the dead. All the time. In his vision, the 'dead world' constantly overlaps with his own— among unfinished equations and failed tests, ghosts caught in their own death loops are constantly distracting him, repeating the moments they died until they finally fade away... or break free.

Jake thinks he has it under control; keep his head down, tell ghouls to leave him alone, pretend they aren't there, and he'll be fine. But then he meets Sawyer Doon, the ghost of a school shooter who killed six of his classmates and then himself at a different high school a year ago. He breaks free from his death loop and decides to continue his work from the afterlife, fueled by his victims. With bodies piling up and the ghost focused on him as part of his grand revenge plan, Jake's previous medium knowledge becomes useless as he fights to survive both in the real world and the dead world.

When I say this book had it all, I really do mean that. A social horror that uses ghosts, possession, and astral projection as an avenue for explorations of homophobia and anti-Blackness? Check. Horrific, bone-chilling scenes that made me afraid to sleep at night? Check. Kickass friends and a suave, charming love interest we should ALL be simping for? Check. A complicated main character, a complicated villain, and a complicated story that all deliver in a satisfying way? Check!

I'll admit, this book did take me a second to get into. It does switch between Jake's POV and Sawyer's, which I didn't expect, but the way it's organized makes sense once you get to the last third. TAKING is also crafted with intentional brevity, which was a bit strange since most books I've read tend to serve some piping hot exposition and worldbuilding upfront and then let you chew on it while the rest of the story pans out. However, TAKING dives right into it and weaves the details and rules of its world around Jake as he moves through his day-to-day. The mentor figure isn't as prominent as one might expect (which was sad for me, she seemed really cool!), but these narrative choices were, in my opinion, done in a way that really underscores the plot. There's no info-dumping because Jake is, despite being trained as a medium, ignoring what's around him as best as he can. The rules of ghosts and ghouls are there but don't matter very much when Sawyer upends what little Jake lets himself know. I really loved the way this was done once I thought about it, and I'll admit, Allister and Fiona smoothed over everything else for me. I adored them both.

I can see how others may want a more fleshed-out story, but I loved how in the present this story was and it ticked a lot of uncommon boxes that I really liked to see in paranormal books (which are somewhat spoilery, so they'll stay unmentioned). There were some heavy topics in here, especially about microaggressions and school violence, but I also enjoyed Jake's personal journey and the arc he went through with his friends and love interest. I hope a lot of Black queer kids will be able to see themselves in this book, and I'm definitely looking forward to more of Ryan Douglass's work!

❧ 4 ★

The Taking of Jake Livingston

When I got the email that I have a arc for this book , I literally screamed and when penguin teen sent me the finished copy before pub date… I was this close to pass out, thank you so much penguin teen for a finished copy and an e-arc.
Overall thoughts – the book is short and amazing , definitely one of those book which will break your reading slump and is a perfect re-read book, go read it <3
4.5 Stars
Plot- The plot of the book started within the 10 pages, which was amazing as I love fast paced books.
Diversity-There were two or more lgbtqia+ characters with a black main character and a mentally ill villain.
Setting- the setting of the book was really good , it was really dark academia- horror-ish setting which I love. I also have a blog post for what to bring at St. Clair (link in bio)
Romance- I would say read it till end and you’ll know
Ending – the ending was unexpected and so good and satisfying, I loved it.

thank you to penguinteen for a copy of this arc * 4/5⭐️

this was such a wild (in the best way) read! i enjoyed the idea and the way the author created and described the setting. he manages to captures both harrowing elements of the supernatural AND the terrifying reality young Black men (specifically queer young Black men) endure when living in in predominantly white areas. the author also does an INCREDIBLE job of writing some creepy, skin-chilling scenes. this isn’t a book to read by yourself in the middle of the night. trust me, i could only read some chapters during the day.

in terms or critiques there were a few issues i personally had in regards to pacing/open-ended situations, but nothing major.

however the author also did a remarkable job of representing Black queer young men, and I adore Jake and his rose quartz. although the book revolves around Jake stopping the ghost of a white school shooter from wrecking more havoc on the living and the dead, racism, privilege, and microagressions are also discussed in a natural (not forced) way.

overall i enjoyed this book, and would def recommend it :)

TWs to be aware of // school sh00ters/sh00ting, mentions of animal abuse, attempted r*pe of a minor, homophobia, racism, and a CW for blood/gore/violence

Did not finish. Stopped reading at 33%

I was really looking forward to this book so I was disappointed to find I did not like it at all. I struggled through as long as I could but at the end of the day I don't want to waste my time on a book I don't like.

I was really uncomfortable with the ableist portrayal of a mentally ill character in this book and I hated the way it associated mental illness with violent people. It also contained the harmful stereotype that mass shootings are committed by bullied, mentally ill people from broken homes.

In addition to this the main character felt really underdeveloped. Despite spending 1/3 of a book in his head I couldn't tell you much about him other than the fact that he is the only Black boy in his class, he doesn't like most people and he sees ghosts. Oh, and he's gay but that isn't even brought up before 32%. We know more about the shooter/ghost that Jake - we even know he's gay before we know Jake is.

On the plus side it had some very chilling and scary moments but they did not make up for everything else.

Content Warnings: suicide, mass/school shootings, graphic violence, bullying, homophobic violence, references to animal abuse

This was one of the most unique, diverse, vividly descripted ya book I have ever read. The story follows Jake Livingston who is the only queer and black kid in his very white prep school but that's not the only thing making him stand out. He can also see the dead. When his neighbors is murdered in his home with no knowledge who could have even gotten into their house, a spirit starts to haunt Jake. This spirit reveals himself to be Sawyer Doon, the school shooter at the public highschool down the street where he murdered multiple students, only to come back and complete the job for other students who had survived.

The author's descriptions of scenery, the way the characters felt, the ghosts/ghouls, the mist all of it was something I could see vividly in my mind and it felt like I was right there along side Jake as my own spirit following him watching it all go down.

I 10/10 would recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a unique and diverse ghost story!

*Thank you NetGalley and PenguinTeen for sending me an arc of The Taking of Jake Livingston! This book comes out on July 13, 2021! :)

Gosh I just love being a reader who loves picking up titles outside of my comfort zone because of an author interview / recommendation / incredible cover! I had all of these for this book, and so I was thrilled to receive an advance copy thanks to Penguin Teen. After gearing Douglass talk about the book earlier in the year, I was intrigued, even though paranormal / ghost stories aren’t typically my jam.

This book spoke to me, and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. From the beginning, I was invested in Jake as a character and I think he was written with the perfect voice for him and this story. Not only did I feel his struggle as a teen, as a medium, as a queer POC during the book, but Douglass painted vivid moments that were completely immersive. It gave me the creeps, as intended and I may have hid behind my book as I quickly wanted to read on to find what would happen next.

Who knew ghosts and murder would be able to cover such deep topics like race, identity, abuse and have such a wide variety of what could be considered trigger warnings, also got to the heart of the matter with friendship, acceptance and even love. Somehow the author manages to weave the story together in a way that left me wanting MORE, without ruining it by just merely fulfilling a trope.

At times it felt as though the events happening to Jake felt unfinished, and with how short the book was I’d love to know more of the behind the scenes of why Douglass chose to write the book in this way, but overall it was an enjoyable read. I cannot wait to read more from the author in the future.

“i can’t figure out what i hate more: seeing the dead, or being the one black eleventh grader at st. clair prep”

-disclaimer before we get started:
>any citations made of the actual book are directly from the arc, therefore it is based on uncorrected text that may be changed before the final version of the book.

this story opens up with an introduction of our main character, jake livingston, who is a queer black student in an almost completely white school, and on top of that, can see the dead. he mostly just sees the person and their death almost as if it was a continuous loop, where the person just keeps dying and reliving it. until he meets someone that manages to escape this loop, a school shooter that (miraculously) is the only person that seems to move as they please. the battle between jake and this murderer thus begins, where the past keeps coming back to bite him.

the synopsis of this story was impressive. ya horror is something that rarely appeals to me, as i find that it is normally hard to execute in a correct way. but i was immediately interested in this story, and the beginning of it had me hooked. by page one, i had a feeling i would enjoy this book.

and for the most part, i did. the continuous adventure between jake navigating through highschool, this new ‘world’ he can see that he has been shutting out for the past sixteen years of his life was interesting. i adored his character development, from relying on one shitty friend to making new ones. jake was an interesting character to learn about, and seeing how who he was and how much it affected it was also an interesting perspective to learn about. racism is something he experiences often in this book, with students around in school taking advantage of the fact he was different. being a minority will bring these types of problems, from name calling at school to people treating you differently, and i felt that the author managed to portray these feelings of despair you may get correctly, along with how you react. it always makes me happy to read a new book where the main character isn’t just a white person. im sure there is many people who will adore the representation they received in this book. i will not address the LGBTQ representation, as it is not my place to deem if it was accurate or inaccurate, or if there is an issues with it.

onto the reason for a three star rating:

SPOILERS AHEAD I REPEAT MILD SPOILS PROCEED WITH CAUTION

-pacing:

i know. i know. pacing is always an issue with me blah blah blah. do i really need to expand on this? i just found it to be really slow in the beginning and then it just randomly sped up and i was trying to catch up to all the major events that occurred from one page to the next.

-worldbuilding (is this a correct word for what im talking about? who knows):

damn man, i was just, confused for most of the part. maybe im just slow and it was nothing to do with the actual book, but i felt as though we glossed over major points we needed to fully understand. like in one page, jake mentioned he had a mentor and then he was never talked about again until the last chapter or so ? where did this mentor come from? honestly, there were more unanswered questions by the end then when we started reading.

-sawyer.

i get where the author was going with this, i do. there's evil in all of us blah blah and all that good stuff. however, i do not agree. a chunk of this book was spent reading things from sawyer’s perspective, where he explained events leading up to his decision to commit a massive school shooting. and, by the way everything was explained, you could tell it was meant for us to, in a sense, sympathize with him(?) because of everything he went through. i do not give any fs on what happened to the man. the fact that he committed a shooting still stands, and no amount of trauma from his past can justify his actions.

SPOILERS END

all in all, this book was really interesting and i would reread it some other day. aside from the issues i had, i was impressed with the book and the idea for it. i felt it could have been better executed, but im also glad that there is now a new book with new representation that queer black men can relate to.

A supernatural slice of life! The supernatural aspect of the book was described in such a realistic, matter-of-fact way that I almost believed it. This was a nice spin on a ghost story. I loved how most of the ghosts were stuck in a death loop—it's something I haven't come across before and I thought it was super cool.

The characters felt very real. I liked that they all acted like I would expect high school students to act. They didn't act older than they were and I appreciated that.

Loved the characters. Loved their story. Loved the book cover too.

After sitting with this review for a day, I'm still finding this a difficult book to review. So many good things, but there were things that didn't work for me.

It's a story of Jake, who's a closeted gay medium who sees ghosts. He's dealing with so much - constant visions of death, a black kid in mainly white school, some trauma from the past, and now being haunted by an evil spirit of another boy Sawyer, a school shooter.

This was a pretty dark story, as the parts about Sawyer were very disturbing. They deal with his abuse and him spiraling down and leading up to the shooting. I found those parts a bit too violent for me. It made me really uncomfortable.

I liked how Jake's story unfolded though, especially the romance side. It wasn't the main plot but it was big part of Jake's arc. His acceptance of himself and who he is. Getting free of the binds that were binding him, being accepted by his ancestors, understanding better his family and finally accepting them too.

It is a disturbing YA horror full of creepy, disturbing scenes. A cute romantic interest that rounded out this story, and gave some light to the dark.

This book is one of my favorite types of horror books...very creepy as well as action packed. Jake is such a likeable character who is going through so much. The reader really feels for him. Sawyer, the villain of the story, is fully developed. He is not one dimensional at all. I highly recommend this one.

The Taking of Jake Livingston is a fresh new take on a YA social thriller. I love that Jake was a medium and that this supernatural element didn't detract from what it means to b a queer Black man.

When it comes to Sawyer targeting Jake for his haunting and wanting to posses Jake, it helped to understand that Sawyer didn't receive the support he needed. Douglass' writing was descriptive and immersive, more than once I had to confirm that I didn't have insects on me. I enjoyed the fact that there was creepiness adding to the dark moments, made for a bone-chilling thriller.

Don't fear though, this book also had a small romance subplot (which you all know I love), that added some support to the plot but didn't detract from the focus. I might have cried (I did) when Jake was interacting with a whole slew of ghosts and comes out to one of his ancestors. The support and words of encouragement in that time will likely change the life of anyone struggling to figure out if they'll be accepted for who they are as a whole.

The narrative alternated between Jake and diary entries of Sawyer. While I imagine it was a device that helped the event that made Sawyer's story go from one that the reader could empathize with to one of tragedy and terror. It made me wonder if the intention was for the reader to was to still empathize with Sawyer even after he had killed all those innocent people. I was also hoping for the abuse that Jake faced to be addressed in more than a passing sentence.

Douglass does an excellent job at creating a ghost story that has realistic elements and traumas built in to the storyline as plot devices.

CW: homomisia, racism, attempted sexual assault of a minor, physical & emotional child abuse, suicide & attempted suicide, suicidal ideation, school shooting, bullying