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kryskross's review
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Racism, Gun violence, and Blood
henrygravesprince's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Incest, Mass/school shootings, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Murder, and Racism
Minor: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, and Gore
evelynyle_88's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Racism, Bullying, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide
Minor: Domestic abuse, Animal cruelty, and Gore
I love that I decided to change my edition of this book to audiobook. From dnf list, to finished. The Taking of Jake Livingston took my breath away. I love every second of it. This book was triggering for me but it is indeed a good book. I can't imagine if myself is Jake; being a medium. I love how creepy every chapter were. Thank you for the story, Ryan! You are brilliant!nemeiadarkwalker's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Mass/school shootings, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death, Bullying, Blood, Emotional abuse, Death, and Addiction
Minor: Gore, Classism, Cursing, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
asinglebird's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Gore, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
tashasbooks's review
- 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
3.25
Jake has felt like a loner for a long time, due to the fact he can see ghosts. It's not a fun power, and he often sees people dying over and over and ghouls leeching off people's sadness. When a next door neighbor is murdered, he realizes an angry ghost beyond the veil is terrorizing his town and Jake's life, with the intention of possessing him.
I have mixed feelings, I felt like the character development was well done. You can't help but root for Jake, due to the discrimination he faces and the society he lives in. Sawyer (the murderous ghost) is doing everything he can to destabilize Jake's life and it works. Overall though, I found that I liked his character and his overall motivations and decisions made sense. Jake grows into himself and gains confidence, as well as finally learning to make friends and rely on them.
I think I struggled most with the plot. For some reason, it took me a while to feel invested in this book. The plot was pretty jumpy from point to point, and it never felt fully realized and very rushed, especially the end! I also wish we had more development from other side characters, with the majority of this book focusing on Jake and Sawyer's perspectives. I think the ending didn't really make sense? Like as a whole, a LOT of things weren't wrapped up and there were consequences that were never really explained. Overall, this book tackles heavy themes and I would recommend that anyone reading this checks CWs.
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Violence, Racism, and Gore
sarah_shelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I also found Sawyer’s chapters so incredibly uncomfortable. That’s on purpose. He’s the antagonist of the story and no matter what happened in his life, he’s still a mass shooter. I struggle with storylines connected to these kind of strategies to begin with, but being in his head and listening to him (since I borrowed the audiobook) was very distressing. I know the backstory is giving the character nuance and explaining how he became what he is — even acknowledging that the people in his life were terrible people. But I could’ve done without it.
Both of those things made it hard for me to enjoy this book more. But my thoughts weren’t all negative. I did really enjoy listening to Jake’s journey as he learns to accept who he is, stand up for himself, and be confident in his abilities. The exploration of dead world and the ghost fights were super cool! I loved how Jake and River were able to help each other conquer their (metaphorical and literal) demons. And Jake’s happy ending with Allister at the end was very sweet.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Racism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Child abuse, Murder, and Bullying
Moderate: Suicide, Death, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Gore, Animal cruelty, and Domestic abuse
Attempted sexual assault Torture of bugs POV of mass/school shooter (not during event)discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
One thing I think the author did really well, was depict the parallel between Jake’s helplessness as he’s being stalked and harassed by a paranormal entity; and his helplessness as he endures the racism of his fellow classmates/teachers in his all-white school. In both cases he’s being worn down over time, knowing there’s no one who hears him or would believe him.
I struggled a little in the second half as the action became more focused within the astral plane and the fighting is done between spirits wielding ectoplasmic smoke, etc., just because the language gets sort-of nebulous and I had trouble tracking what was going on. But I don’t think that’s a weakness of the writing so much as a limitation of my imagination.
This is a great spooky season read, but definitely check trigger warnings as this story heavily features depictions and discussions of gun violence and school shootings.
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Child abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Car accident and Racial slurs
fullbelliedsnake's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Sexual assault, Rape, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Classism
Minor: Religious bigotry and Vomit
allisonsmith120's review
1.5
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