Hello mediums and clairvoyants,

It’s time for another book review!

This time I chose to read The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass.

I love all things spooky, so when I found this book on my TBR I knew I had to dive right in! On to the book review!

Blurb

Get Out meets Danielle Vega in this YA horror where survival is not a guarantee.

Jake Livingston is one of the only Black kids at St. Clair Prep, one of the others being his infinitely more popular older brother. It’s hard enough fitting in but to make matters worse and definitely more complicated, Jake can see the dead. In fact he sees the dead around him all the time. Most are harmless. Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again, they don’t interact often with people. But then Jake meets Sawyer. A troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school last year before taking his own life. Now a powerful, vengeful ghost, he has plans for his afterlife–plans that include Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about ghosts and the rules to life itself go out the window as Sawyer begins haunting him and bodies turn up in his neighborhood. High school soon becomes a survival game–one Jake is not sure he’s going to win.

GoodReads

Amazon

***Brief disclosure***

I am an Amazon affiliate and earn a tiny commission for purchases made through the Amazon links in this post at no cost to you. It’s a great way to help me keep things running on my blog if you’re already intrigued enough to make a purchase. 

The Review

I had fun with this spooky YA read, but it left me wanting more from the experience.

Jake Livingston is a black gay teen living in Georgia. He’s always been able to see and hear spirits, and he’s done his best to ignore their presence. But when a series of murders happen too close to home, Jake is thrust into a battle against a malevolent spirit hellbent on destroying those who hurt him and anyone who interferes. Can Jake stop the spirit before its sets its sights on his family and friends?

I really loved the premise of this book. Seeing spirits replay their death loops on repeat is creepy and unpredictable in Jake’s world. I loved all the fall vibes. This book also explored important themes of identity, bullying, and lightly touched on rape.

Jake is timid and reserved, due to his upbringing, sexual orientation, and his ability. My heart really went out to him and I wanted him to triumph over his metaphysical and real-world obstacles from the beginning to the end. I also really loved the side characters of Fiona, River, and love interest Allister. They injected a dose of positivity into Jake’s bleak existence.

Where things fell apart for me were certain developments with the plot. In the beginning, the paranormal system that was built up made sense to me, but about halfway through some of the paranormal action went off the rails. I feel like it went from zero to one hundred without enough build up or explanation of his abilities. I also felt that the writing felt a little stilted in spots and that brought me out of the story.

Overall, this was still a fun story. If you consider its flaws and still want to give it a go, you may just love it. Happy reading!

That’s A Wrap!

Well that’s it for this book review. I hope you enjoyed it!

Have you read this book? Are there other similar books you’ve read that you simply have to gush about? Feel free to leave a comment. I’d love to start a conversation!

Have a great day!

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