Reviews tagging 'Outing'

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

11 reviews

elysianbud's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Outing, Child death, Suicide attempt, Racism, Slavery, Child abuse, Car accident, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Racial slurs, Self harm, Blood, Death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Bullying, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide

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

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

brookey8888's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Hate crime, Car accident, Outing, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, and Violence

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Suicide, Blood, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Pedophilia, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Grief, Vomit, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, and Rape

bryelle's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gaslighting, Mass/school shootings, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Alcohol, Murder, Pedophilia, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Rape, Suicide attempt, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, and Child abuse

Moderate: Outing and Slavery

ecn's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Child death, Bullying, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide, Vomit, Body horror, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Hate crime, Incest, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Violence, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

mjwilliamson's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Incest, Outing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Stalking, and Transphobia

Minor: Vomit, Stalking, Slavery, Rape, and Homophobia

nothingrhymeswithrachel's review against another edition

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, and Vomit