Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

87 reviews

allisonsmith120's review

dark medium-paced

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Racism, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Animal cruelty, Murder, Self harm, Blood, Child death, and Mental illness

Moderate: Racial slurs, Car accident, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

saurahsaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

I really enjoyed this book, but didn’t expect it to be so violent. I loved its lore and strangeness, the themes of identity and being othered. And I just want to protect main character 🥹💜

I understand the role that the violence played in the book, and it fit. Just wasn’t prepared for it going in.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Child death, Racism, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Outing, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Car accident, Cursing, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Transphobia

Minor: Animal death, Abandonment, Infidelity, and Police brutality

ehmannky's review

dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

 I think that if this book had been like 60 or 70 pages longer, it would be one of the best YA horror books I've read. The ghost stuff is genuinely chilling, and Douglass has a talent for writing some very creepy scenes with great social commentary. I felt like I needed more of Jake with the two friends he gets over the course of the book. It felt like Douglass just speed-ran them into being best friends (I think if maybe the book started off with them all being friends I would have bought it more). Again, the paranormal stuff is excellent, it's just the connection between the main and supporting characters that felt a bit lacking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child death, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Toxic friendship and Abandonment

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Body shaming, Bullying, Incest, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Cursing, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Classism, Medical content, Car accident, and Child death

brookey8888's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This was fine. There was a lot I liked about it but a lot fell flat for me. I liked the discussion about racism, bullying, sexual assault, coming out, and family trauma/heritage. I liked how slowly Jake started to accept himself and the friendships and relationships that formed as well as the strengthening of the family. I just felt the the plot and the horror aspect was boring and it didn’t keep my attention sadly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Hate crime, Car accident, Outing, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, and Violence

outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Jake Livingston is one of a very small number of black students at St Clair Prep. He's not a swot, but neither does he fight against the rules like his brother, instead he tries to fly under the radar, however, he has an unusual problem. Jake sees ghosts, ghouls, & ectoplasm everywhere he goes & now he's being haunted by the ghost of a white school shooter, Sawyer Doon. Most ghosts are little more than replays of their death over & over, but Sawyer is different. He isn't tethered to one place, & he can communicate with Jake, & also commit murder. Jake doesn't know why Sawyer has chosen to haunt him but as things become more & more dangerous, he realises that if he doesn't banish Sawyer to the afterlife, he might be joining him sooner than he'd like.

Many of the characters in this aren't very nice, even Jake's older brother Benji bullies Jake & mistreats his on/off girlfriend. The best things are the friendship that grows between Jake & Fiona, another student at SCP, & his tentative friendship/possible relationship with new boy, Allister. The issue I had was that there was no explanation of when/how Jake is able to see ghosts etc & how long this has been happening, you're just thrown into the story. I also didn't find it credible that Jake would allow Sawyer to take over his body, yeah it's because he wants to try & find Sawyer's weaknesses to use against him, but he commits a crime using Jake's body. What about DNA evidence that could put him in the vicinity? Or if someone had seen him near there? Overall, it deals with some difficult subjects & I didn't really enjoy reading it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Racism, Bullying, and Homophobia

Moderate: Drug use and Animal cruelty

helliepad's review

emotional reflective tense fast-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? No

5.0

This is such a speedy read and I'm sad that I got to the ending that quick, but there's no point in extending a story when it's already told what it wants to be told. I love Jake's point of view, how he manages to just roll with life despite the horrors (I mean, kinda. He obviously does not roll with it as easily as others in the story might've done but considering the fact that he managed to survive and just... do stuff despite the horrors makes him really strong actually.

I love that he's gay I love that everybody has a story I love that no page goes to waste. Amazing read and thank God I'm busy with work or else I'll  be very sad if I finished this in one day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, Car accident, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Death

Minor: Abandonment

goldendreams's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, Violence, Gun violence, Mental illness, Child death, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Child abuse, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Cursing

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

There are def some difficult topics in this book so check out content/trigger warnings before reading!
Overall, thought the book was solid. I enjoyed the paranormal aspects of it and how it also spoke on trauma. I would've liked to see more of Jake learning/accepting his power thought. I enjoyed reading about his interpersonal relationships growing and how his intrapersonal relationship grew as well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Pedophilia, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Grief, Vomit, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Rape

loki_sdaughter's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

5 Stars
I thought this book was really good. I'm not always a huge fan of dual POV's but the way that this author did it, I thought was flawless. In the short amount of pages Ryan Douglass had to tell a fully fledged story, I was hooked, and I was invested until the end. I absolutely loved the character depth and development, I just thought everything about this book was perfection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, Murder, Gore, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Bullying

Moderate: Cursing, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Domestic abuse and Car accident