Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to read this as I had issues with my kindle, however I don't want to give it bad feedback as it's no fault with the book.

I have come to discover that while I like horror, I don't like YA horror. I've struggled to read YA for a while, just not my cup of tea anymore and it turns out reading YA even in my favourite genre not going to change that. I lost interest in this book and ended up DNFing.

how words on paper can create the most haunting but beautiful visuals I just don't understand but somehow Ryan Douglass managed it. i loved this book. even when i wasn't 100% sure what was happening plot wise i was so intrigued and compelled by jake's story. this book will be part of my "spooky season" recommendations every year for the forseeable.

I found this book really really hard to get into and didn't finish it. I feel like it had a lot of potential and I may give it another chance in the future.

As spooky, haunting and engaging as I hoped it would be, but there was something about the pacing that didn't quite work for me. Still something I'd recommend people give a go during spooky season (or whenever they feel like devouring something dark that they won't want to put down)

Who knew ghosts could be so real!
Jake is in living hell.
Jake can see the dead, although they are harmless there is one particular ghost that is becoming powerful and not taking no for an answer.
Jake is now feeling vulnerable and not sure he can shake this ghost off.

3.5 stars. This really creeped me out ! The pacing was good and Jake, neglected by his mum, bullied by his brother, trying to survive as a black kid in a predominantly white school, gay - has things pretty difficult until you add in that Jake is also a medium who sees the dead and is being hounded by one vengeful ghost in particular. It’s actually more harrowing than it sounds. I found this a very interesting theme and it was well done. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

This was a much darker and more hard hitting book than I was anticipating and there were times when I felt like the balance between the paranormal aspects and the contemporary issues didn't quite work. I thought there were some important discussions in the narrative about generational trauma, mental illness and domestic violence but the plot didn't quite work for me. I would definitely recommend this book however and am very aware that I am not the target audience for it, so my opinions should definitely be taken with a pinch of salt.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Way too over-hyped, I can see why people love this book but sadly it wasn't for me
I had a really hard time keeping up with all the paranormal things that were going on in addition to all the HEAVY topics like racism, homophobia, child abuse, gun violence etc

It's great to see more books like this being written, especially within YA. It's important and necessary, not only for our Black queer youth to see themselves represented but also for our white queer youth, so that they can see that the narrative can and does shift to people outside of those who look like them.

The Taking of Jake Livingston follows the story of (surprise surprise) Jake Livingston, the only Black guy in his year, who is secretly gay. He navigates the trials and tribulations of high school life, all whilst battling a poltergeist (a gay school shooter who committed suicide) who wants to create a trail of death and destruction in his wake.

I found this book to often be very confusing when the main character was talking about any fantasy element. This could be down to the fact I'm not particularly well acquainted with the specifics of science, and I admire Douglass's attempt to explain the science behind the mythical elements.

Another aspect that I struggled with, but which may resonate with a younger audience, is that I found the dialogue, particularly towards the end of the story, to be quite cringey. Perhaps this is because I'm 26 years old and have already ready many books with characters that speak about topics in a similar way, but I found it incredibly hard to relate to. However, this could certainly chalked down to the fact that I'm not the target audience.

Whilst this book wasn't perhaps for me, I do think it is a very necessary story that should be told, and will hopefully help someone come to terms with their sexuality and identity. The story is a unique coming of age story which will appeal to horror/ urban fantasy fans who are looking for something a little different.

This sounded so promising, but I ended up very disappointed. There were a lot of plot details that weren’t revealed until relevant and I was never really sure as to why certain things were happening. There didn’t seem to be any consequences to actions, along with the point of view of a school shooter and his tragic past, which just felt icky and uncomfortable. I liked the relationship but overall not a success for me.

Loved this right from the get go and was utterly hooked. I loved the characters and just how this was written. Really interesting plot with some good plot twists. Loved the friendships and relationships in this book and really enjoyed the ending.

First of all I would like to say thank you to the publisher, the author and net galley for allowing me access to an advance reader copy of this book.

I would like to say this is a well advertised and marketed book I’ve heard about this so many times as a horror thriller which I think usually isn’t my best genre but I thought this was intriguing and wholesome. I very much enjoyed I thought it was very well thought out the characters were well rounded and pacing was really good.

The Taking of Jake Livingston is a fun, creepy YA read perfect for Halloween. The plot follows sixteen year old Jake. He sees dead people everywhere and he's a medium. What happens when a ghost won't leave Jake alone? If you're looking for a short read that will give you chills, this is the one. Be sure to check out The Taking of Jake Livingston today!

Jake Livingstone can see dead people. All the time. Add in that he's also one of the only black people at his school, and you could say he stands out and finds it hard to fit in. When a particularly vengeful ghost gets ideas of using Jake to complete his revenge from beyond the grave, Jake must use his wits and his unique powers to fight back. Because his life might just depend on it.

There was a lot to unpackage in this one. I liked the juxtaposition between Jake and Sawyer. Both are outsiders in their own way and have a lot of similarities. It was interesting to see how their lives and family shaped who they were, and the path each of them takes. I also liked the conversations this discusses involving race and how Jake is overlooked, or subjected to 'throwaway' racist comments from his peers as if they're nothing. They don't realise the impact every word has on Jake. The inclusion of LGBTQ themes also introduced a new aspect of Jake to get to grips with too. At the end of the day, he's just a kid trying to figure himself out. While also seeing horrific death loops from ghosts. If that's not enough to mess you up, I don't know what is.

Where I think this fell a little flat for me was the writing style and overall world building. We don't really get a clear explanation of why Jake can see these ghosts, meaning it sometimes felt a little confusing and without structure.

Overall a good diverse horror story that feels fresh and unique, but could have done with some additional world building for me.

Initially, going into this book, I didn't expect it to be as heavy as it turned out to be. Which is definitely not a bad thing! I think perhaps the cover art gives the feel of a more "spoopy" YA thriller when instead some really important and timely issues are raised throughout the plot.

Along the lines of trigger warnings, there may be a few things to keep in mind if you are sensitive to subjects such as racial and homophobic abuse/bullying, child abuse/sexual assault.
I don't think these topics should be shied away from being written about, (when written with respect to the subject matter), even in YA because these are things that do happen to young people. As horrible as that is.

As a reader, I really felt for both of the main characters. Jake and Sawyer. It felt like a very real representation of how bullying and hate can twist and warp someone in very opposing ways. You got both sides of the story of when someone has support to stop the abuse, and when those in supposedly supportive roles turn a blind eye to such abuse.
This mirroring within the two protagonists was really quite heart breaking and poignant.

I would say I enjoyed the style of writing as a whole, it definitely had quite a fluid rhythm to it. Although I did find this dream-like rhythm became a little confusing in scenes where Jake astral projected or there were interactions with the spirit world.
I think this book brought up really important discussions around systemic racism and racial bias within education, especially privatised institutions.

I'm not sure if this was written to be a standalone or not, but the inclusion of River's character made me think that perhaps the author had thought of a different branch to where this story could go in terms of almost being a protector of sorts, who hunts bad spirits from the other side.
Part of me feels like maybe this was a little too much happening at once and that I would have enjoyed delving into it deeper in a sequel. I don't think I felt fully satisfied with the explanations of River's character and the inclusion of the whole spirit world battles plot.

Overall though I did enjoy this and flew through it in one sitting.

This was a great read which I enjoyed. I would say it’s more of YA than horror genre which I was expecting it to be since it’s released near Halloween. An entertaining quick read, would recommend.

The Taking of Jake Livingston is a short but intense horror, perfect for a dark winter night! I was pretty quickly wrapped up in the world that Jake sees, and the book had a very creepy vibe that kept me ready to jump out of my seat.

A good quick read for the spooky season!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I liked The Taking of Jake Livingston.
I was really excited to read this book as it sounded right up my alley!
It definitely was a short and fun read!
Sadly I did have a few issues with it but nothing too extreme.
Thank you netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Title: The Taking of Jake Livingston
By: Ryan Douglass
Published by: Andersen Press
Pub Date: 12 Oct 2021
Genre:: Horror | Teens & YA
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3718004114

A HUGE haunting thank you to Andersen Press and NetGalley for a copy of this book
( I was close to selling my soul for a copy)

Jake Livingston is just a teenage boy trying to survive high school like everyone else. Only unlike his peers this means having to deal with ghosts and trying no to be detracted by every deathloop that is on constant reply. Who can focus on class with a repeating bus crash going on outside, the screaming, screeching and yelling alone would distract any sane person. The life of a medium might be tough enough, but add in teenage hormones, being black, gay and seeing dead people . It might be cool if you could use your powers to stop the white jock at your school for kicking the living crap out of you, or help you tell that cute boy you fancy him, maybe even give you the answers to the next class test. But if anything being a medium sucks. And then you get stalked by a murdering ghost.

For such a short book Douglass gives us so much to unpack. Is there anything I feel this book didn't cover? I definitely felt he touched on the following
1) Death/ Loss
2) Race/ racism
3) Class
4) Abuse including sexual
5) Sexual Orientation
6) Mental Illness
7) Neglect
8) Betrayal

There was a lot of representation here. As someone who can personally identify with the majority of themes in this book, I was glad to see Douglass had done such a good job. I was particularly impressed with his forming of Sawyer as a character. It would have been easy to write Sawyer as nothing more than a deranged killer and make him compactly 2D and over look his mental illness altogether. It showed that Sawyer was not born evil, that his experiences and neglect turned him into what he was.


I believe.Douglass also showed how it common place for the victim (in this case a victim of racism) to be pushed into acting out, only then for the instigate to cry "victim" leading the true victim to be punished.

There were only two faults I found with this book, firstly I felt like I was chewing on bones. Whether it was down to editing or a choice by the writer, I felt there was loads missing, Douglass was giving us a great story but the odd time I felt like scenes were missing. I could have read another 200 pages of this story.

That said sometimes it was hard to keep track of what was happening. One example is near the start of the book where Jake is heading home after school. I found the description of the crime scene very confusing and had to read it a few times to understand what Douglass was saying. There were ghosts and Halloween decorations and an elderly couple and lights.

I was glad this overload of information didn't happen to often, but I still meant I had to read a page a few times to understand what was happening. An authors voice can take some getting used to, and I have never read a book by Douglass before so I hope I will enjoy his books more in the future, now that I have a feel for his writing voice.


These are the only reasons the book lost a star.

P.S. Let me know if you got emotional at the end too? or am I alone in that lol