Reviews tagging 'Outing'

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

11 reviews

elysianbud's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

4.0

The entire second half of the book was just the author ripping my heart out of my chest while I sobbed violently. I've literally just finished it and I think I have a headache from dehydration...

Great characters and good plot. Love to see assholes get their due. Author sets atmosphere brilliantly. 

(Also the cover for this is gorgeous!)


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jackiie's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.0


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saurahsaurus's review against another edition

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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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brookey8888's review

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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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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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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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bryelle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

Jake is such a lovable character. He is a medium who is dealing with high school and seeing ghosts. He starts to see the ghost of a teenage boy who is  torturing him. He has to solve some troubles from his past to defeat this ghost and banish him. 

Along the way Jake meets some friends who are in it for the long run. And also falls in love. 

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ecn's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-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? No

3.75


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amandalorianxo's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.25

So there are a lot of triggers that I wish had been brought up somewhere before the start of the novel. This should not have been marketed as YA. It’s too intense for young teens. One of the triggers is a school shooting. Despite that, this novel is hauntingly painful and sad. Albeit really short which I low key wish it was longer. I didn’t think I understood the backstory of how Jake gained the ability to see the dead. It was like the audience was expected to just take his word for it and accept it. The storyline with Alister was cute but it could have meshed a little better. Overall, I think if the story had been maybe fifty or a hundred pages longer, I would have felt more of an understanding as to why Jake can do what he do and why Benji can’t. 

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mjwilliamson's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-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

2.75

I liked the book. It wasn’t a bad book to read. I found the content and themes it touched on very compelling and they told a very interesting story. However, I found Jake to be a bit of a Mary Sue. Everything that he did wrong, or went wrong, could somehow be attributed to his circumstances/the ghosts and ghouls surrounding him. There was no ownership for his actions and there weren’t any major consequences for his actions. I would have liked him to have dealt to a modicum of his damage before it was immediately accepted by his family/friends. 

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nothingrhymeswithrachel's review

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4.75


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