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

jackiie's review

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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol

saurahsaurus's review against another edition

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, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Cursing, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, Police brutality, and Abandonment

brookey8888's review

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

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

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

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

Moderate: Slavery and Outing

ecn's review against another edition

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

amandalorianxo's review

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

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

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

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

nothingrhymeswithrachel's review

4.75

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Content Warnings

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