October 2021

This month's pick for book club will be The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass. We will be meeting on Friday, October 8th at 7:30 pm in an online video chat! You can RSVP and get the link here. 

Ryan Douglass is an author, poet, and freelance writer from Atlanta, Georgia. His work on race, literacy, sexuality, and media representation has appeared in The Huffington Post, Atlanta Black Star, Everyday Feminism, Nerdy POC, Age of Awareness, LGBTQNation, and Medium, among others. You can find him on twitter at @ryandouglassw. 

So, what's the book about?

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 and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, 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. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game--one Jake is not sure he can win.

While this is a YA pick, there are some trigger warnings we would like you to be aware of: abuse, attempted rape of a minor, blood, bullying, gore, gun violence, homophobia, microaggressions, murder, racism, school shooting, and suicide. Not all of these are graphic or discussed in depth, but they are touched on throughout the book. 

via GIPHY

If this sounds like something you would like to read, you can get your copy of the book from the store for 15% off when you order with us: online, over the phone (828.386.1219), or via email. If you're looking for an audiobook, our partners at Libro.fm have it available for easy access on our affiliate website. You can get it here. You can also get it in e-book format, as well! We have a new e-book partner called My Must Reads & you can buy the e-book here.

We are open to the public (Mon-Sat from 11am-7pm) so you can pickup orders at the register. However, you can also pickup your book using our pickup basket at the front door or the drive thru window anytime Mon-Sat from 9am-7pm. We offer free media mail shipping for orders $30+ & local delivery if you're within Boone town limits. Getting your book to you as conveniently as possible is important to us! Please let us know how we can help you get your copy of our book club book this month!

Finally, you can RSVP on the Facebook event to get reminders & updates about any changes. Do that here! We encourage you to leave comments to let us know what you think of the book we've chosen each month or to make suggestions for future titles!

Reviews & Interviews

The Taking of Jake Livingston - Kirkus
Ryan Douglass evokes 'Get Out' in his horror debut - The Young Folks
Our Friend is Here! A Discussion with Ryan Douglass - On Why We Need Radical YA Books - The Quiet Pond
Interview with author Ryan Douglass - WOC Read

We hope to see you for the second meeting of Pride Among the Pines on October 8th at 7:30 pm! Happy reading!