Reviews

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

d_kilian's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

cobaltbookshelf's review

3.0

3.5 stars

Quick horror read I really liked Jake as main character. Overall I liked it especially cover.

thepetitepunk's review against another edition

2.0

took me almost 2 months to finish this short book. halfway through i switched to the audiobook, and i thought the narrators did a good job. but the story itself did not hold my attention.

kryskross's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Racism, Gun violence, and Blood

heated_dragon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

fr0gsonmushrooms's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

lilholmn's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

chrissiewithanie's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

janagaton's review

4.0

This was more graphic than I thought it'd be, but I'm here for it. I enjoyed both perspectives, and I appareciated the social commentary revolving around being a Black gay teenager in high school. Also loved how short & sweet it is, yet still has a well-paced storyline.

TW: suicide, parental abuse, homophobia, bullying, racism

pyrobin's review

3.25

3.25 ★
i feel like the beginning captivated me, but after that, i slowly lost interest. it's a great book, it tackles significant themes and it's a nice read, but i feel like there were a couple of things that i could not get past. some dialogues felt a bit weak to me, and in general, the whole world-building seemed to be missing a lot more development. besides that, i enjoyed this book and i would recommend it if you're a horror fan. jake was an amazing lead character, and i felt like the author did a fantastic job at portraying all his issues as a gay black teen who also sees ghosts, really liked to see his character development.