Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

48 reviews

jackiie's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

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

lennybiird's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death

Moderate: Homophobia and Racism

Minor: Religious bigotry

discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was super creepy; definitely recommend for fans of paranormal thrillers. 

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.

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Content Warnings

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

challenging dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

the horror elements were really well done! i felt like the character relationships could’ve been better executed but it was still a solid read B) 

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Content Warnings

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

saurahsaurus's review

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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Content Warnings

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

whatchareadingheather's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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

This is a sparkling debut that is equal parts fun and anxiety inducing. The YA aspect of the book is VERY YA and might be a little off-putting for readers picking this up for the horror aspect, but I WILL say that Douglass's descriptive writing does an impeccable job with making you feel like you're in Jake's shoes as a teenage Medium that it's easy to read past the YA-ness of it. Hoping that Blumhouse gets their hands on this one for a future adaptation! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Body horror, Bullying, Death, and Suicide

Minor: Child abuse, Incest, Rape, Car accident, Pedophilia, Racism, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

thebookpaiges's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Death, Grief, Body horror, and Racism

Moderate: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexual assault, Rape, Self harm, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Alcohol

helliepad's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? No

5.0

This is such a speedy read and I'm sad that I got to the ending that quick, but there's no point in extending a story when it's already told what it wants to be told. I love Jake's point of view, how he manages to just roll with life despite the horrors (I mean, kinda. He obviously does not roll with it as easily as others in the story might've done but considering the fact that he managed to survive and just... do stuff despite the horrors makes him really strong actually.

I love that he's gay I love that everybody has a story I love that no page goes to waste. Amazing read and thank God I'm busy with work or else I'll  be very sad if I finished this in one day.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, Car accident, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Racism, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Death

Minor: Abandonment

eli_jw's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

This was a lot sadder than I thought it would be, and a lot darker as well. I enjoyed it quite a lot, couldn't put it down actually. Maybe the only thing for me is I wish that Allister and Fiona were developed a little more, but overall a sad and spooky read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Sexual assault, Body horror, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

loki_sdaughter's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5 Stars
I thought this book was really good. I'm not always a huge fan of dual POV's but the way that this author did it, I thought was flawless. In the short amount of pages Ryan Douglass had to tell a fully fledged story, I was hooked, and I was invested until the end. I absolutely loved the character depth and development, I just thought everything about this book was perfection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, Murder, Gore, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Bullying

Moderate: Cursing, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Domestic abuse and Car accident