Cemetery Boys

by Aiden Thomas

320 pages

English language

Published Oct. 29, 2020 by Feiwel & Friends.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-25051-3

(37 reviews)

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

10 editions

Jaelyn reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Storygraph'

4 stars

Well, this was very sweet, both in their relationship and Yadriel’s fight for acceptance and love. The difficulty of letting someone pass, and what we leave behind, comes from several angles as we see Julian’s friends and family, and Yadriel’s knowledge he has to eventually let Julian go. …

A YA novel set around Yadriel, a transmasc teen in a traditional latinx family who guards spirits. As his family doesn’t accept him as a boy, and by extension a burjo capable of summoning and freeing spirits, he seeks to undertake the ceremony with Lady Death alone. He ends up summoning a spirit he didn’t accept, the recently murdered Julian Diaz, who is one of several missing kids and he wants answers to his murder and the safety of his friends before he’ll agree to pass. But what neither of them don’t count on is falling for each other in the meantime.
Well, this was very sweet, both in their relationship and Yadriel’s fight for acceptance and love. The difficulty of letting someone pass, and what we leave behind, comes from several angles as we see Julian’s friends and family, and Yadriel’s knowledge he has to eventually let Julian go.
I do feel like more could have been explored in it, though it is just one YA novel so it might have overloaded it to go more. But it is something that might benefit from sequels to really get the most out of the ideas set up.
I am however sensing a pattern in trans fantasy that some form of divine intervention/approval (and being twice as good as anyone else/saving the world) is needed before the world will accept you as trans which is not something I’m looking forward to becoming a trope. Can I have a book about a trans person becoming accepted by those around them by being average and the saving the world bit being incidental to that element?

Ayxan Solongo reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.

It’s not perfect, but certainly really really good, especially for a debut novel. And I totally teared up every now and then, and then full-on cried during the epilogue.
This author definitely can write.

~

Dìa de muertos is one of my favorite versions of Halloween (very close to Samhain), but finding a book about that, is, unfortunately, very rare and even rarer to have a queer/gay one. Very happy it exists, and that it was our book club’s pick for this month. 🧡

I also loved the slow-burn romance, and although it ended rather cliche, I didn’t mind that much because everything else makes up for it. 🔥
All characters stand out, not just the MCs, have unique traits and balanced strengths & weaknesses. No character was perfect, everyone felt human.
Although some deserved more screen-time to be more fleshed out.

What I mostly loved, though, was that the Spanish isn’t translated.
Usually when characters say something in another language, it’s written in English (or the same language of the book) and then afterwards added “he/she/they said in [language]”. Not a fan of that, even when I can’t understand the mentioned language.
This finally fulfilled my wish!
I do know a bit of Spanish, so there’s also that, but I did have to google translate some words. I get that it might be a bit annoying for others, if you just want to read the book in one turn; but I’d rather translate half the book and get the full experience of the cultures, than not. 💝
So, thank you Aiden!

~

There were some small “plot-holes”, where I wished the author would’ve dwelled into more, as it focused mostly on the murder mystery and the romance; as I, personally, am more a sucker for world-building. While there still was lots, it feels like the characters simply accepted the unanswered questions, because it’s some kind of unspoken rule or such. Whereas I love protagonists who question traditions and beliefs. And, of course, as a transgender protagonist, there were lots of traditions questioned, but not enough.
For instance:
- Why can’t Maritza or the others use human blood, if they don’t want to use animal blood? You wouldn’t need to kill a human to get enough blood for the magic. It was explained why they can’t use their *own* blood, but that was it.
Why are they even using chicken blood? Can’t they get it from larger animals, who wouldn’t need to be killed, for some drops of blood?
- Why can only brujx return on Dìa de muertos? If an ofrenda is all that’s needed for the spirit to visit earth, then surely you can do that for everyone that’s passed away. Especially since they don’t need to be buried near the ofrenda. At least that works in Elena of Avalor and Coco.

~

Apart from the small plot-holes or unanswered questions regarding the world-building, it was really good and I can’t wait to see more of the author. I already ordered their new book. ✨

- 10.10.2023

Octo reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A wonderful young adult novel full of vibrant places and people. The descriptions draw you right in and the cast of characters is diverse and charming.

Books That Burn reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

Cemetery Boys is one of my most gloriously happy things I've read in a long while. It delights in its spookiness, celebrating life while giving enough space to mourn when needed. I just want to hug them all, reading this book feels like being part of their joy.

I love everything about this book. I needed to read something positive right now and this took my breath away with how reassuring and celebratory it is. The MCs are working through some very tough things (one of them is a ghost, after all) but they build each other up in a way that has this wonderful oscillation where they're almost never sad at the same time and they keep helping each other and making things better. It's the right amount of spooky, extremely affirming

And that's before the ending, the truly amazing ending that I won't spoil, I don't dare. It just wraps up everything so perfectly in a way that fits with everything that came before while still blowing me away.

Usually when I'm reading a book that comes so highly recommended there will be some moment, some turning point where something clicks and I understand what's so wonderful, why everyone's talking about it at a level beyond just being written well. In this book that happened more than once, first early on as I was getting into the book, then again towards the end (that fantastic ending). The characters are great, with distinct narrative voices and solid personalities; I love the plot, it felt like I knew what was going on, what the goals were, and where the story was taking me, while still having room to be surprised in great ways; and the setting is sketched in way that gives me a feeling of how the spaces are connected to each other without bogging the story down in exact geographic detail.

Saschi reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Fucking amazing, great story and nice representation!
(i'm not creative enough to write a real review, but pls whoever u are, read this book)

Llaverac reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

"It's a doggy-dog world out there"

4 stars

It's so nice to find stories that let you spend time with underrepresented characters and see things from their point of view, learn about their traditions etc. I only put 4 stars because there were plot twists near the end that could have been more convincing, but I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Owen Blacker reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A beautiful queer Latinx urban fantasy

While 2021 is being A Lot™, queer fiction is bringing me life. In this wonderful tale, [a:Aiden Thomas|17960047|Aiden Thomas|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1623441053p2/17960047.jpg]’s début, our trans teen protagonist is determined to prove that he's a brujo and worthy of recognition as such from his community, and his father who leads it.

This is not the cover, but such a lovely image of Julian and Yadriel (and Lady Death) that I just had to use it.

When the brujx all sense the shock of Yadriel’s cousin dying, he and best-friend Maritza know they can help — and prove his worth. Santa Muerte clearly agrees when she recognises Yadriel’s power and he summons a ghost. But it’s not his primo, it’s adorably irritating bad-boy Julian Diaz, who is deﬁnitely not ready to move on into the afterlife. And Día de Muerte is fast approaching.

Delightful, loveable characters work together to solve 2 sudden deaths, and shows us a gay trans boy proving himself, his vegan bruja bestie, a dead gay teen buzzing with wonderfully irritating energy even as a ghost, and a Latinx magical community preparing for the festival where they can share a couple days with their departed loved-ones, with the reality of America’s racism in the background.

This is another of the books I had pre-ordered and started the year with and I wept more than once. I look forward to reading more queer and trans Latinx representation from Aiden Thomas in the future.

finndr reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

1 million additional stars: This is everything you could ever wish for.

Jack 💜 reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

One of the best debut novels I’ve read. An absolute gem that kept me reading it nearly constantly. I can’t wait to see what the author puts out next!

bee reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Review of 'Cemetery Boys' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

4.5 stars

AAAAA i’m screaming. i love these boys so much. okay so i would have probably given this 5 stars had i not guessed the plot/climax a mere 3 chapters in. but still, i loved this so much

Tsundoku reviewed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Brujos and Brujas and undead fun

5 stars

I probably read this book too fast. When it came to the last few chapters, I wanted desperately to know what was going to happen, plus my dog was demanding my attention, so I rushed through. And you know what? I regret that.

Take this book slowly, and just enjoy it.

This book has a lot to say, especially on identity in a Male / Female Gendered language. Even if you don't know Spanish, I feel like you'll grasp what the Spanish parts say. Though if you do understand Spanish, it's like, Bonus Material for you!