Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

11 reviews

directorpurry's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Blood, Racism, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Mass/school shootings, Sexual violence, Murder, Bullying, Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, and Death

Moderate: Incest and Toxic friendship

coryyalva's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

I was so so so excited for this book. The concept was so intriguing to me. Jake's struggle between the world of the living and the dead had so much potential....but the potential fell flat so quickly.

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.

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Content Warnings

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

bri_14's review

emotional 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

3.5

This book dragged a bit in the beginning but when it kicked off, it didn’t really stop. I didn’t know where this book was going—initially expecting a darker, murder mystery story. I enjoyed both POVs to highlight the similarities between Jake and Sawyer. I think each characters’ pains and low points were genuine. I’m only concerned about Sawyer’s first major outburst (for lack of better words) because given his background, I could see some sympathizing his violence. It felt like textbook to how it’s portrayed on the news. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual harassment and Animal cruelty

httpspuppy's review against another edition

2.0

this book was a wild ride and im not sure i enjoyed it-
this seemed like a bad piece of fanfiction and im not here for it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Suicide, Murder, Sexual assault, Hate crime, Incest, Mass/school shootings, Suicidal thoughts, and Body horror

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug abuse, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

jo_lzr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Rape and Pedophilia

howlinglibraries's review against another edition

I'm so sad to DNF this, but at this point I've recognized that I can either DNF it now with no star rating, or power through the rest of it and inevitably give it a low rating, because this book is not working for me at all. I love the fact that we're getting to see Black queer rep in YA horror, because that's something that is almost unheard of, but the writing is disjointed and not enjoyable, the school shooter's personality feels sensationalized to the point of being a stereotype, and Jake as a narrator simply isn't an enjoyable head to be inside of.

Jake is so emotionally and mentally clocked out from everything and everyone around him that reading this book feels like the literary equivalent of a really bad "brain fog" day (IYKYK). I'd also liken it to a hazy dream sequence, except it's the entire book and it wasn't a pleasant narrative experience.

I would have loved to have enjoyed this book more and I'm definitely open to reading future releases from this author, but The Taking of Jake Livingston didn't work for me. That said, it definitely feels like one of those stories that has an audience, so if you enjoy YA horror, I would still recommend giving it a try!

✨ Representation: Jake is Black and queer; Jake's brother Benji is Black; Allister is Black and queer.

✨ Content warnings for: school shooting, violence, murder, suicide, substance abuse, characters filming and sharing films of sexual activity without consent

I read a final copy I purchased myself, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also sent an early review copy by the author/publisher. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Gun violence

echo24's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Homophobia, Gun violence, Racism, and Suicide attempt

marabdelmageed's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I listened to the whole audiobook in one sitting. This book was gripping from start to finish, and elicited a wide range of emotions. Such a magnificent piece of work. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape

serinalovesreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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: Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual harassment, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Blood and Vomit

bi_mermaid'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

5.0

I could definitely see this being made into a horror movie!! I thought it was very well done. Deals with a lot of heavy shit tho and I think the author delivered it very well with that in mind. Also very interesting concept of ghosts/mediums, etc. Loved the world-building and magic system involved. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Gore, Death, and Racism

Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Incest