Review; The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass

Earlier this month I read the YA horror novel The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass and today I'll post my review of the book.

Description from Goodreads

Get Out meets Holly Jackson in this YA social thriller where survival is not guaranteed.

Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can’t decide what’s worse: being a medium forced to watch the dead play out their last moments on a loop or being at the mercy of racist teachers as one of the few Black students at St Clair Prep. Both are a living nightmare he wishes he could wake up from. But things at St Clair start looking up with the arrival of another Black student – the handsome Allister – and for the first time, romance is on the horizon for Jake.

Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, 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 Jake. High school has become a different kind of survival game – one Jake is not sure he can win.

My Thoughts on the Book

The Taking of Jake Livingston is a fast-paced, short, and engaging read, and as the narrative switches between Jake and Sawyer, the tension builds up a bit more. There's also a few interesting characters, such as Jake himself, who I found somewhat relatable. Jake's relationships with friends and budding love interest could have been explored a bit more though.