The Taking of Jake Livingston review
I love a spooky, atmospheric read! Throw in some ghosts and you have a reader in me. As a seasoned horror reader, this book was so creepy that I felt spooked at times. I fell in love with Jake and I found myself rooting for him throughout the story. Jake, a queer person of color, goes to a predominantly white school and struggles with being treated with indifference and inhumane. Not only that, but Jake sees ghosts!
There is one major issue I found with the story, that I had to bump it down to 3 stars.
The school Jake goes to is on lockdown because of a school shooter and the reader is made to sympathize with the shooter. I think it will be triggering for a lot of readers and will be near impossible for readers to feel any sympathy for a person that would do something heinous.
Overall, I feel like this book had so much potential but it was difficult for me to get past the tragic part. This book is labeled teen but I definitely see this being more for a young adult audience.
There is one major issue I found with the story, that I had to bump it down to 3 stars.
The school Jake goes to is on lockdown because of a school shooter and the reader is made to sympathize with the shooter. I think it will be triggering for a lot of readers and will be near impossible for readers to feel any sympathy for a person that would do something heinous.
Overall, I feel like this book had so much potential but it was difficult for me to get past the tragic part. This book is labeled teen but I definitely see this being more for a young adult audience.