Cemetery Boys
Ratings143
Average rating4.1
I've heard all good things about this book and all good things were spot on. There is romance, there is queer rep, there is intensity and importance and everything you could hope for in a book. Falling in love with a ghost is added in as well, which I didn't know I needed until now. Really just a gushingly wonderful book. I am gushing. The book is gushing. Loved every bit.
3.5/5 stars
When it came to the plot and the characters and the representation, I adored this book. It was so, so good. But the writing and me never really connected.
First time narrator Avi Roque, a Latinx/Trans/Non-Binary artist, does a great job differentiating the voices and emobdying the 2 main characters, Yadriel (Yads) and Julian (Jules). I went into this book expecting more of a supernatural thriller, but the supernatural element, though grounding and well-explained, is more of a device to propel the burgeoning romance of the leads. As their relationship gets stronger, so does the book. A great job by debut author Aiden Thomas (also queer, trans, & Latinx) bringing so much representation and their love and joy into this work. I know what kids I'll be handing this to immediately and I will be booktalking this for sure.
i'm sobbing like a baby oh my goodness what a beautiful book with a beautiful story
i fell in love with yadriel and maritza from page one. coming from latinx communities were tradition is everything, they each had their own share of uniqueness that set them apart from the pack, but that doesn't mean they should be barred from enjoying and helping the community as they come. it was so difficult for me (cis) to read rejections to yadriel and his identity, and i struggled between frustration and pure sadness for him during these times. but i was so happy to know that he once had his mami, and now he has maritza and julian, and others, who see him for who he is, and love him unconditionally. (the epilogue? just stab me with la garra instead ok)
i would be lying if i was a little sad that the villain and their deed was really clear from the beginning, but that cleared space in my mind to focus on the beautiful atmosphere and rich world that aiden thomas built. my only complaint was having predicted... just about everything but otherwise? this book is going to stay with me for a really long time. i love their writing style, and i was so delighted to see that they're already signed on for another book. catch me preordering it soon!!!
I loved reading a story of another culture for once, although I wish I understood more Spanish it definitely wasn't necessary to understand the book. The book went very in-depth into the trans experience and it was really the main focus of the book, which I wasn't expected but really enjoyed.
I didn't really like the climax tho. The focus was very shifty and I felt like it was mainly a shock value situation and not really a tense description of the final showdown, which it tried to be. Nonetheless enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading more queer SFF.
I'm not sure if a book can be perfect, but to me, Cemetery Boys is. It's radical, beautiful, hilarious and heartbreaking.
The twist revelation was obvious from the middle of the book but that wasn't what made the heart of this story. And I loved the characters so much that I can't rate this less than 4 stars.
4/5 stars
Read for the Perfectly Queer Bookclub and Crimeathon 2020: POC Author, A Book with a Disappearance
Liveshow for the Perfectly Queer Bookclub for thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaeIl0XyqhA
There is no eloquent way for me to say how much I loved this book. We had a perfect trio dynamic, ghosts but soft, and the pinnacle of yearning. If you want to read an awesome review I would check out Adri's!
Didn't even make it to the end of the first chapter; I'd heard so many rave reviews but blood magic and ghosts are not my jam. Especially currently.
DID I FINISH THIS BOOK OR DID IT FINISH ME?
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(spoiler free review. tw list at the bottom. this is a Latinx ownvoices review)
I really experienced so many different emotions while reading this book, and most of them were just some form of happiness. Happiness for Yadriel, whenever something good happened to him, and happiness for myself, because I was blessed with this ARC. (Thank you to MacMillan, Swoon Reads, and Netgalley for providing me with an eARC!)
It's difficult to put my feelings for this book into words. My feelings toward it fall under my own special category of “I loved it for so many reasons but most of those are personal”. In other words, this book had a lot of things that I personally love, but I'm not sure they are things other people would love as well.
First of all, the characters! I loved the characters. As a character-based reader, these bright characters really made the whole experience for me. I loved how the interacted with each other, and I loved how different they were from each other. As a Latina, I also appreciated the Latinx representation in this book. Many Latinx books feel stiff and stereotypical, but this one was bright and lively, and it made me proud to know a lot about Yadriel's culture already. I could tell this was personal to the author, and I really appreciated that.
Another thing I admire about the writing is the amount of times I related to the events in this book, or the times I really believed what the characters were doing. There were times when Yadriel did something and I felt in my soul that I related so much, that I would also do the same thing if I was in his situation. And there were times when Yadriel's Lita did something frustrating, and I believed it because I have an abuelita and she would 100% do the same thing.
Something I noticed and liked, but also recognized that not everyone would feel the same way about, was the fact that these characters were sometimes a bit too exaggerated. At times, it was just characteristic, but other times, their action were a bit too fast-paced or their dialogue was a bit too loud. (For example, if a character yelled about something in all caps, italics, and with an exclamation point, rather than just italics.)
There were a few scenes which were kind of messy, in a way which made the dialogue flow a little bit difficult to follow, but I think that's common when it comes to debut books. (Although, I think this is technically Thomas' second book.) But this was easy to overlook and understand for me. Also, according to Aiden Thomas' twitter, they've made a lot of edits since the ARCs were sent out, so hopefully a lot of these issues have been resolved.
Character like-ability: 4.5
Character development: 3.5
Plot development: 4
Writing style: 3
Dialogue: 3.5
Personal emotions: 5
3.9 ≈ 4 stars
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tw: transphobia, death, misgendering and deadnaming, gender dysphoria, parental death, some references to blood magic.
Traditions shouldn't be static. This need of Yadriel is strong. Gaining his magic is a hearts desire but his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his 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. Aaai, Yadriel summons a dead boy's ghost by accident. And he knows him, it's Julien Diaz. The rumored bad boy of the school. How the heck will they solve this?
This story is colorful it it's characters, scenery and culture. It has a charming cinnamon roll of a lead, Yadriel; a witty best friend more than a cousin Maritza, infused w love to the Latinx culture and a slow burn of a romance. This book about dead gods, ghosts, passing on and dealing with grief breathes life on every page. It does acknowledge the realities of queer pain and queer trauma but it is clearly written from a place of love and joy. You feel that Aiden Thomas had joy writing this, writing about a gay trans guy fitting in the world and falling in love.
The romance is magical. You feel the slow growing tension, see both Yadriel and Julian opening up and becoming familiar with each other. Nothing is forced. Talking about magic, how it is written feels fresh. I had to re read passages again, even the scary high tension ones. Animation is the only medium that can adapt Thomas scenery and how it feels reading his words. A truly warmth glow. Cartoon Saloon is the right choice w latinx creatives heading it of course.
I'm hope that trans people, trans boys and guys will see that they are loved. That they deserve love. This is a joyous book and I can't wait to see people enjoying that same warmth the characters, especially Yadriel and Julian have for each other.
It started getting some good action around the last 100 pages. I enjoyed this book but I didn't find it ‘groundbreaking' like it says on the cover.
Liked it less then I thought I would, but that is most likely because I am not a big romance fan and the main thing about this book is....well the ‘romance', to how they grow toghether
Loved the world this book is placed in and the characters, so I will definitely read the second book!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was SO FANTASTIC!!!!!! The trans rep was BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! The writing was AMAZING!!!!!! And the BANTER!!!!! I so SO dearly loved this!!!!! And that PLOT TWIST!!!!! AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH THAT HURT MY HEART!!!!!!! Highly HIGHLY recommend if you are looking for a Well written diverse fantasy with Wonderful trans rep!!!!!! This is DEFINITELY an Absolute FAV!!!!!!!
One of the best love stories EVER!
I love this book! It managed to keep me interested, wanting to know what happens all the time, and the final boss was scary! Dang! And I was scared of that something would happen that wasn't supposed to happen...
The yearbook scene... _ Oh <3<3<3
“Is he your friend?” _ Oh <3<3<3
And Maritza “And I did it without blood!” Er... Yeah... sure... no blood... X-D
I have to say the last chapter was a bit... hurried. But it was still good.
_ Oh <3<3<3
:-D
Also, in the acknowledgements. “I never thought anyone would be interested in a transgendered MC, and then someone said “You know you CAN write about your own culture...” :-D
That spoke to me. I mean, my Finnishness is self-evident to me, so obvious, I forget, 99% of the world population know NOTHING about Finnishness.
3.5 omg it took me two months to read this teehee. Anyway this feels like a Disney movie, it's kinda simple but in a good way! Also this would be an amazing Disney movie as long as they literally didn't change it at all
[4.5 stars]
Loved this so so much!! The characters were great and I really enjoyed Yadriel and Julian's friendship and then romance. While the tone did feel a bit off at times, as Julian seemed waaay too chill about being literally dead, it was mostly fine. Yadriel's struggles with his family and them not really understanding his trans identity, but still loving him so much and him still loving them despite the difficulty hit pretty close to home and it was great to see a depiction of this sort of complicated family relationship with the trans main character.
(Also ahhh the pain when Julian misgenders Yadriel without realising it was so relatable ouch!)
My main problem with the book is near the ending, when it's revealed that Yadriel's uncle is evil and is the one who murdered Miguel and Julian. I feel like the story didn't benefit from this in any way, it just felt like a way to explain the mystery, and the fact that he became evil because of the way he was ostracised just left a sour taste in my mouth. However, that part of the story was quite brief so didn't bother me too much.
This book was honestly just a delight. Reading about Yadriel and Julian's shenanigans as they tried to solve the mysteries and see Julian's friends again (who were also all stellar characters) was just so fun! I really really enjoyed reading this book and it's definitely one of my favourites now.