Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

143 reviews

winglesswarrior's review against another edition

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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury

pigegesy's review

3.0

I wasn't really feeling a school shooter's perspective. While Jake's comments on experiences of Black kids in predominantly white schools and how they endure so much systematic mistreatments and racial abuse from peers and teachers, bc schools are designed to oppress with what they teach, what they don't but should have, and how they just let microaggressions happen. It was well-done here (my white european arse think). Parts of it reminded me a bit of ,,Ace of Spades" how straightforward, ruthless and no-bullshit-taken it treats the subject. Those were my favourite parts, though the book was taken over by a white boy's cruel but meaningless inner thoughts. Some may say Sawyer has colonised the story that belonged to Jake. Given the ending...

does anyone else interpreted the body possession as a literal take on colonialism and imperialism?

I loved it!! Maybe because I really hate today's state of the world where Black identity is used as a prop for maintaining power structures. Where it so common to endorse systems of oppressions if they are made by diverse leaders. White supremacy is always the wrong choice, no matter which face is representing it. Maybe I just deeply hate liberals and made my own freak interpretation of what the scene meant, but isn't it what art is about? Uhh, about the book, thougg... I disliked one-dimensional characters and the love story with very boring, very forced-to-be-cool love interest, too. But good for them boys,

it actually cured Jake's anxiety

🤍 There were also super YA story devices that were too cheesy and ridiculous for my liking, like

Allister's hacking skills and the breaking in scene

, but well, am I not ridiculous myself blaming YA for being YA? Don't mind me, it's me-problem 😔 Anyway, I gave it 1.5 stars originally, but fuck it, it was actually okay. Up to 3 stars we go! This opinion has no structure and conveyed very little about the book itself, and I don't know how people stay on topic and are actually useful for potential readers. Sorry.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Mass/school shootings

robi_locksley's review

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Transphobia

sammy357's review

dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual assault

maxinekelly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Car accident

queen_bri0110's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Murder

Minor: Racism

herelieshenry's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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

3.75

This is a tough, but well-written, book. I’m a firm believer in the idea that if a child is old enough to experience something, they’re old enough to learn about it in an age-appropriate manner; that extends to the very difficult topics being dealt with here that, unfortunately, children experience every day, from mass violence to familial abuse to bullying and discrimination. On top of that, I think Douglass is genuinely very talented at writing Young Adult Horror, and these combine into a piece of art that I think is both accessible and very well-done.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Gore, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt

gellyreads's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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

4.0

Sawyer as a character is conflicting, but I liked the way this book set up the characters, powers, and world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury

kdela's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings

petite_madeline's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Jake Livingston is different from all his classmates. And not just because he's one of the few Black students at his mostly-white private school. He's also the only one who can see the ghosts that wander through campus reliving their deaths.

I initially picked up this book because I saw people tagging it as dark academia and I was excited to finally see some diverse representation in the dark academia niche! This story takes place at a private school with themes of death/mystery, and there are setting descriptions that definitely fall in line with DA vibes. However I think that this book would also be enjoyable to people who love paranormal and/or queer horror.

This book ended up being way more intense and thematically heavy than I was expecting from YA, but I loved it! These are important conversations that need to be had: Black/queer intersectionality, gun violence in schools, gender norms/toxic masculinity, family acceptance/support, ancestral connections. It's a short book but there's so much packed in these pages!

Aside from the literary themes, Douglass also included beautifully descriptive and cinematic scenes that pull readers into a thoughtfully built paranormal world. Unfortunately, I struggle with slight aphantasia, meaning I have trouble creating mental images, so I ended up a bit lost during these highly visual scenes. I am jealous of anyone with a strong "mind's eye" who can thoroughly enjoy the detailed world that Douglass created.

The trigger warnings listed below may spoil some elements of the story, but please read if you may be sensitive to some of these potential triggers.

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Heavy trigger warnings for: Racism, homophobia, mass shootings, graphic violence, suicide, incest (attempted), sexual assault (attempted), child abuse (physical and emotional), animal abuse (bugs), fire

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, and Suicide