The Taking of Jake Livingston
Jul 2021 · Sold by Penguin
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23 reviews
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About this ebook
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Survival is not a guarantee in this chilling horror novel where a teenage medium doesn’t know which is worse . . . confronting a school-shooter-turned-vengeful-ghost or enduring his racist high school.
“Spine-chilling YA horror.”—The Boston Globe
“A teenage version of Get Out . . . Douglass looks at race and trauma and death with a comical and horror-esque twist.”—The Root
Living in two worlds is exhausting and no one knows this better than sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston. His working-class, diverse neighborhood is a far cry from the world of St. Clair Prep, where he is one of the only Black students, constantly at the mercy of racist teachers and peers who don’t understand him. But when his neighbor—a survivor of a grisly school shooting—is murdered and the bloody initials of the now-dead shooter, Sawyer Doon, are left on the entryway wall of Jake’s home, Jake is forced to confront another world he wishes he could escape—the world of the dead.
As a medium, Jake sees ghosts around him all the time. Most are harmless. Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again, they rarely interact with people. And while for most of his life Jake has avoided them, this time there is no running away. Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he’s a powerful, vengeful ghost, and he has plans for his afterlife—plans that include Jake. When Sawyer begins stalking him, high school becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.
“Spine-chilling YA horror.”—The Boston Globe
“A teenage version of Get Out . . . Douglass looks at race and trauma and death with a comical and horror-esque twist.”—The Root
Living in two worlds is exhausting and no one knows this better than sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston. His working-class, diverse neighborhood is a far cry from the world of St. Clair Prep, where he is one of the only Black students, constantly at the mercy of racist teachers and peers who don’t understand him. But when his neighbor—a survivor of a grisly school shooting—is murdered and the bloody initials of the now-dead shooter, Sawyer Doon, are left on the entryway wall of Jake’s home, Jake is forced to confront another world he wishes he could escape—the world of the dead.
As a medium, Jake sees ghosts around him all the time. Most are harmless. Stuck in their death loops as they relive their deaths over and over again, they rarely interact with people. And while for most of his life Jake has avoided them, this time there is no running away. Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he’s a powerful, vengeful ghost, and he has plans for his afterlife—plans that include Jake. When Sawyer begins stalking him, high school becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Survival is not a guarantee in this chilling horror novel where a teenage medium doesn’t know which is worse . . . confronting a school-shooter-turned-vengeful-ghost or enduring his racist high school.
“Spine-chilling YA horror.”—The Boston Globe
“A teenage v...
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Ratings and reviews
23 reviews
Devin Drennen
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July 13, 2021
Jake Livingston sees dead people. However, he can't decide what is worse, being one of the few black students at a school filled with racist teachers & students or having to witness over and over again how the ghosts he sees die. He feels like he's living his own nightmare when another black student comes to school. This one an attractive and charming young man. Jake feels that things maybe could be looking up. However, one of his ghosts is out for vengeance. Sawyer Doon killed multiple people when he brought a gun to school before turning the gun on himself. All of the other ghosts that Jake deals with are harmless and can't touch him, but Sawyer seems to be a different kind of ghost and things start to go south for Jake. I like horror movies and ghost stories so I figured I would enjoy this one. Overall, it was okay but I felt there was too much cheesy paranormal aspects to it.
4 people found this review helpful
goldie twelve
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June 3, 2021
The Taking of Jake Livingston was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. The second I saw its glorious cover, I knew I had to read it as soon as I possibly could. Thankfully, I got the opportunity to read it early! While I definitely enjoyed the overall story, especially the representation for black, queer teen boys, I couldn't help but feel a tad disappointed. While Jake is at the center of this story, it felt like he wasn't necessarily developed at all. In fact, more characterization and development was given to the story's villain, an actual school shooter and all around psychopath, which felt like an odd choice. Additionally, certain plot choices felt very out of left field and distracted from the main story rather than help add to it. While I believe that trauma was represented well and is definitely a great attribute to the overall message of the book, it was especially effected by such choices. Overall, while I may have had some issues with it, The Taking of Jake Livingston is a solid debut novel. I look forward to reading more from Ryan Douglass!
10 people found this review helpful
Aalia Davies
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August 17, 2026
okay so this is going to come across as really rude but I found the book absolutely atrocious my least favorite page was page 3 just because of personal reasons that I don't want to discuss at this time but for this I'm giving it one star I am sorry I would give it zero if I could
About the author
Ryan Douglass is a queer horror author and freelance writer from Atlanta, Georgia. His work on media representation has appeared in HuffPost, Atlanta Black Star, LGBTQ Nation, and the National Council of Teachers of English, among others. He received his BA in theater studies from Hofstra University and is currently a nomad floating across the United States. The Taking of Jake Livingston is his first novel.
Ryan Douglass is a queer horror author and freelance writer from Atlanta, Georgia. His work on media representation has appeared in HuffPost, Atlanta Black Star, LGBTQ Nation, and the National Council of Teachers of English, among others. He received his BA in theater studies from Hofstra Univers...
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