A review by rtaire
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

adventurous challenging dark 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

5.0

Wow, this book is phenomenal. I feel like I truly understand the appeal of a teenage protagonist. Jake's youth and his grappling with his identity both black and gay make sense. Maybe these types of identity issues are more relatable to me as a queer person, than the love triangles and typical, entitled rebelling of your average YA protagonists. Jack lacks adult maturity, but he's not annoyingly immature. I really loved him so much and truly appreciated his growth and struggles.

Ghosts are a great way for me to be sucked into deeper conversations and metaphors. I might not have picked up a memoir about the same identity struggles as were explored in this book, but I found myself deeply captivated by the themes of this book.

Sawyer was a fantastically complex villain. The book shows his pain and his past wounds in a sympathetic light, but his actions are never condoned. He is the villain. Sawyer being a school shooter feels very topical and relevant. This is a horror story that plays upon the fears of a modern teen. Really well done. I feel it gives me a lot of insight into the psyche of the younger generations since I was just barely too early for school shooter drills to be a living nightmare. 
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