Originally Published: July 13, 2021

By: Ryan Douglass

While The Taking of Jake Livingston fantastically features a queer black character in the lead, outside of the main conflict, the heavy themes aren’t challenged enough.

Jake Livingston is a teenage medium whose neighbor is killed by Sawyer Doon, the ghost of a school shooter. Sawyer’s ghost continually threatens Jake’s life making Jake realize that he’s going to have to banish the spirit or risk more people getting hurt.

Author Ryan Douglass takes on volatile storylines, including racism, homophobia and a school shooting, but none feel developed enough. By continually switching between the three, none get enough time to make a significant impact. Even something as simple as Jake telling his friends he can see ghosts goes over simply without questions where a real-life situation would have significant follow-up to that reveal.

Final say: Interesting read but a soft blow. ★★☆☆☆