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jackiie'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: Homophobia, Bullying, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Racism, Stalking, Car accident, Child abuse, Outing, Violence, Suicide, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Drug use
coryyalva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
About halfway through the book the direction that the story seemed to be going in seemingly disappeared and the author suddenly started driving the characters in directions that didn't seem to go anywhere. Suddenly a book that was so intriguing with characters that were both lovable and disturbing turned into a long drawn out battle with confusing focus shifts.
To sum it up quickly: the first half of this book felt as though it had been reviewed a thousand times and the last half felt like it was thrown together quickly and read over once before publishing. I felt as though the second half of the book did not get the love and care that the first half got.
The ending was everything I wanted it to be, but the middle completely lost me as a reader.
Graphic: Gun violence, Bullying, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Homophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
- 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 understand the role that the violence played in the book, and it fit. Just wasn’t prepared for it going in.
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
lthumphrey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Bullying, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, War, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Pedophilia, Slavery, Alcohol, Cursing, and Rape
jjames_mal's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
This book was super fast-paced and action packed (so action packed that I didn't really know what was happening sometimes), and at only 240 pages I really wish it was longer. I loved (most) of the characters and the ending, and I can definitely say that The Taking of Jake Livingston is being added to my list of books that made me cry.
Graphic: Blood, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Animal death, Racism, Mental illness, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Incest, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
parasolcrafter'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: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Mass/school shootings, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism and Drug use
mcdal's review against another edition
4.0
Emotionally? I'm a person who grew up in the United States and spent countless years during my academic career fearing for my life. Obviously this book struck a nerve, and it surprises me how even though I have been out of high school for three years now, that familiar fear, anxiety, and anger came rushing back. Though I would chalk that up to the writing; I mentioned above there were some issues with tone, but never did I feel the subject of school shootings was mishandled. Douglass took great care to balance out the real world issues with the supernatural storyline, and again, I deeply appreciate that.
Honestly, my main issue with the book was that it left me wanting more, which is a pretty good problem to have. Something I've noticed with a lot of Young Adult novels is that I end up feeling like I could've used at least 50 or so more pages to make the experience more complete (especially when it comes to supporting characters, who are often given great character designs but not enough room to be fleshed out). I would have loved to have more development for Jake's friends and his day-to-day school life, because I think it would have elevated the heavier story beats that occur in the last few chapters of the book. As it stands, I was still invested and very much pleased with how the story concluded, but the supporting cast could have used more development. I also wish we had gotten some more journal entries for Sawyer before his breaking point, because the ending of that thread felt abrupt and at risk of oversimplifying Sawyer in a way that's detrimental to the larger themes of the story.
Overall, I was really invested in this story. Jake's character was all-around fantastic and incredibly engaging from the start; the descriptions of the ghosts and ghouls were vivid and haunting; and I would absolutely love to read more from Ryan Douglass in the future (especially if it's more queer YA horror, I have such a soft spot for that)
Graphic: Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Suicide, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Incest
vepowell's review against another edition
2.25
Graphic: Suicide, Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, and Violence
bbellabeee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Violence
saldre'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? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Animal death, Death, Incest, Mass/school shootings, and Racial slurs