I've tried picking this up a couple times, the second time I was finally able to complete the book. It was also the time that I knew the book wasn't for me. Ultimately what killed the book for me is the length. While Thomas made me believe a convincing friendship had formed, I wasn't invested in the alleged romance between Julien and Yadriel. Which is a shame because that was clearly the aspect of the novel that was invested in and not Jules's murder or the death of Miguel because when the narrative also remembered it needed to address that it was shoehorned into the last fifty pages of the book and took on a completely new tone that the pages that had preceded it did not have. The revelation and climax felt comically abrupt and straight out of a b level 80s flick. While enjoyable, definitely not here and definitely not after everything that I'd read before that.

Still I think that it was solid enough. I would probably pick up another book by this author, I just don't think that I'd go out of my way to recommend readers pick this up if they haven't already expressed an interest in it.

I really enjoyed all the culture woven into this story as well as the intermixing of Spanish. I think the author did a great job of making you really feel for the characters and be able to connect with them.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas is honestly so good, you guys. It’s about a trans teenager named Yadriel who, along with some help from his cousin Maritza, is determined to convince his family he’s a real Brujo. His family prevented him from performing the ritual to make him a Brujo, so he decides to do it himself. However, instead of summoning his murdered cousin, he summons the ghost of Julian Diaz, a classmate whom Yadriel barely knows. Yadriel must help Julian cross over, but not before they figure out why Julian is a ghost in the first place.

I really fell in love with all of the characters in this book, from Yadriel’s family members, to Julian, to Yadriel himself. I feel like Yadriel and I had a lot in common during our high school years…just kids trying to make it through, but all this shit keeps happening. I mean I never had to deal with ghosts and magic and stuff but you get it. I also loved the little world Aiden built, a tight knit Latinx community that seems like it would be so lovely to be a part of. Even though there is some contention between Yadriel and his father about his gender, Yadriel’s father doesn’t hate him or kick him out of the community; he just thinks that Santa Muerte won’t recognize him as a Brujo. I was sad when the story ended, because I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters. I definitely recommend this book if you love cute shit. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy!

An absolute delight of a book with wonderfully integrated storylines about family, gender, magic, culture, and sexuality. Yadriel was a fantastic narrator who I couldn't help but root for. This book reminded me a lot of the YA I read as a teenager in 2010-2014 with the magical plotline set in East LA. Highly recommend for all YA collections!

While this book is certainly gripping and revolutionary in many ways, one of the things that many reviews don't touch on is the subtle, internalized fatphobia. For that reason, I could not enjoy this book fully and give it all 5 stars.

“No me llores, porque si lloras yo peno, en cambio si tu cantas yo siempre vivo, y nunca muero.” - La Martiniana
Yadriel wants to be accepted as brujo by his very traditional family, who are still in the process of accepting his new gender. Yadriel and his friend Maritza perform a traditional quinces ceremony in secret and Yadriel pledges himself to serve Santa Muerte. Immediately after performing the ceremony, Yadriels cousin goes missing and the family instinctually know that he has been murder. In order to prove himself further to his family, he sets out to find his cousin’s ghost and help him pass on. However, he accidentally summons the ghost of one of his classmates, Julian. Yadriel is convinced to solve not one by two mysteries, all the while trying not to become attached to Julian. I loved the portrayal of brujeria culture and history behind this large community. As well as trans and queer representation throughout the novel. I am ALWAYS down for a ghost story.

I absolutely devoured this book. Great writing and wonderful characters. Will absolutely be picking this up when it comes out.

Cemetery Boys was a fun book exploring community acceptance and first love. The story follows Yadriel who is a trans boy and wants to prove himself to his community. He wants to be accepted for who he is and not who he was once was. To prove himself he performs a ceremony with his cousin Maritza and while completing it he summons the ghost of one of his classmates, Julian. There is also another mystery that involves his family and the disappearance of one of his cousins along with his ghost.
There were a few things which I enjoyed like the dialogue and the secondary characters, but the main character and the mystery were somewhat disappointing. One of the aspects of the stories I enjoyed was the dialogue. The characters had great banter and had some great discussions about being part of the LGBTQIAP+ community as well as living as a Latinx person. This was the highlight of the book for me, the character relations overall. Things I didn’t love were the main character and the world building. The main character, Yadriel, has a very one track mind and one goal. I felt that as the story went on I learned nothing about him and besides wanting acceptance. When it came to him a lot was said and not shown. The side characters like Julian and Maritza were more interesting to me. Moreover, I was expecting the book to be more mystery heavy. I expected Cemetery Boys to be spooky, but that is not what it focuses in. I didn’t let this affect my experience too much. I just wish the spookiness was more prominent in the story.
Overall, Cemetery Boys is a fast paced novel about a trans boy seeking acceptance from his community and falling in love. I look forward to reading more of the author’s work and would love a another book set in this world.

3.5 stars, bumped up to 4 since I just really, really love the concept of this book.

While the writing felt a bit awkward and the ending was quite predictable if you'd been paying attention, I still enjoyed it overall. The incorporation of Latinx culture and a trans MC was top-notch. I look forward to reading more from this author as they grow as a writer.

My transgender momma heart is full! This book is everything. My only regret is waiting so long to get to it!

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced e-reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This book was sublime, a breath of fresh air. It made me immediately pick up anything I could find by Aiden Thomas - or request galleys :) Yadriel is a beautifully crafted transgender character who struggles not only with finding acceptance for being trans but for also being a brujo - something only the men are supposed to be. This story is steeped in witchcraft, spirits, and identity (both gender and even the identity we have when living vs. dead). The characters are likeable and believable, and the twists and turns feel natural. It became clear to me early on who the bad guy probably was but I couldn't have imagined how the climax was going to play out. This is a wonderful queer Latinx LGTQBIA+ book that challenges machismo and puts the human spirit and heart in the forefront. I dare you not to root for Yadriel!

This was such a great novel. A combination of magic and mystery, it had everything I could want. The plot was incredibly unique. It was a great YA novel, would definitely recommend.

This was a very sweet supernatural romance with such authentic, raw representation that clings tightly to the reader. It skews toward a teen reader, not a young adult.

One of my favorite things about fantasy novels is how they explore societal and cultural norms that we are currently grappling with. Yadriel’s family is grappling with the idea that gender restricts who you can be and the magic that you can wield. As someone who rarely has to explain myself to others, it was also a window to see what it was like to have to defend or explain yourself. The reader sees what it’s like to have allies like Maritza who accept but don’t understand fully versus people like Julian who understand who you are without any explanation. This is a distinct difference that isn’t explored often.

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas is an outstanding addition to LGBTQ YA literature. Based in Los Angeles, the book follows Yadriel's quest to be accepted for his gender by his traditional family of brujos. Desperate to prove that his gender doesn't matter in the realm of magic, Yadriel summons a ghost who won't go away, much to his annoyance at first. Their harrowing adventures and growing love connection are exciting, sweet, and yet realistic. Come for the supernatural elements and stay for the romance!

Trigger warnings: homophobia, transphobia (on page, past), misgendering (on page), accidental violence towards an animal, racism, xenophobia, brief mention of parents being deported, mentions of past child abuse, mentions of past child neglect, mentions of past self harm, blood, violence

It should be no secret to those who’ve seen my posts all year that this was one of my most anticipated 2020 releases! So when I saw that Xpresso Tours was doing a promo, I ran to request a copy for review!!

What I Liked
•While you are bombarded with a lot of information from the get-go and onwards, the author didn’t make it feel so heavy. It was really fascinating to learn about Día de los Muertos and the diversity in how it’s practiced, as well as the brujx culture and Inca mythology!
•I absolutely fell in love with Yadriel! He is now among the characters I am stupidly protective of. His nervous energy, his worry about how others perceive him, his discomfort when attention is drawn to him, and his jumping to the worst outcomes were all very endearing and also very relatable–I was surprised by how much I related to his feelings. Through all that, he is such a reliable and kind-hearted person that you can’t help but admire him. The way his transness was depicted was really interesting, like when he was dealing with body dysphoria and how he wanted to mimic the men around him just to feel more comfortable. I felt bad for him as he was practically dragged along by Maritza and Julian, but they make an awesome trio.
•My feelings for Julian see-sawed a few times in the book; one moment, I loved his energetic and can-do personality, and in the next moment, I was annoyed by his violent temper (which gets called out) and his lack of caution around revealing himself to brujx and non-brujx, which would have put both Yads and Martiza in awkward and possibly dangerous positions. Basically, he was equal parts a lovable chaotic neutral and a not-so-lovable chaotic ass. But in the end, it was how we saw him through Yads’ eyes and the loyalty he drags from his friends and older brother that made me decide that I liked him! Especially when he showed his devotion to Yads. I also liked, just, how chill he was about being a spirit, and his dynamic with Martiza makes me wish we could get a novella about their adventures!
•The last point dovetails into how much I liked the romance! Granted, I’m not totally obsessed with it, but it was so sweet and tender. They’re opposites in nearly every way, but manage to meet in the middle. Plus, I liked how Julian asked for a kiss before he actually kissed Yads! You just hardly see that kind of level of consent in romance.
•this was pointed out in the interview but the author avoids deadnaming with a dash which is a good idea—same thing happened in confessions of a fox
•I was happy to see that an important message in the novel is that we don’t have to absolve people when they hurt us but we can also recognize they make mistakes and that it’s hard to deal with mistakes done by a family that loves you. Often, I think forgiveness is treated as something important for all people to do in order to heal, but that’s not universal; some people seek the middle ground.
•Small point, but I am utterly fascinated by Julian’s friends! They have some diverse backgrounds, being queer kids mistreated by society. There definitely wasn’t time to explore them but a sequel about them would be cool.

What I Didn’t Like
•It was very obvious who the villain was and while that doesn’t always bother me, in this case, I’m a little disappointed that the author chose that character to be the villain. I won’t do into details to avoid spoilers, but there were aspects of that character that are unfortunately historically tied to villianess that I would have liked subverted more in the text.
•The pacing is quite slow for the most part. The characters meander through the mystery, and not a whole lot of action happens, except for the beginning and ending.

Conclusion

This book was so worth the wait! It has great characters, an interesting story, and beautifully portrayed an aspect of the latinx culture and one character’s trans experience. Go pick this book up!

If I had to pick out books in my top 10 of 2021 that I had the joy to read - this one would make the cut. I know it's only April - but it's that powerful and captivating. Every once in awhile, i come across a novel or two that I ABSOLUTELY must have in my classroom and/or I have a burning desire to make a class read. This is one of those novels. With my student demographic, this novel would be relevant and magical.
What I loved most about this novel: The inclusiveness and diversity of the characters. I don't think I could have asked for more and it doesn't come across as trying too hard or cliche. Yadriel is a gay, trans Latinx brujo. Maritza is a vegan Latinx bruja. Julian is a gay, bad boy (fringe of a gang) ghost. Notable: the boys are probably my favorite characters: big, scary looking pitbulls who failed the search and rescue test and now accompany Maritza when she goes out - looking scary, but are drool buckets of adorable puppies with sloppy kisses.
I love that the interview with the author includes the origin of this story: a post about a ghost you can't get rid of. Julian is just that ghost - but he turns into the ghost that Yadriel doesn't want to get rid of.
While the ending was predictable, I still enjoyed the story.
The use of Spanish in this novel inspired me to practice mine more, but you can still understand the Spanish without being fluent.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I received a complimentary digital copy from the publisher, and I was hooked from page one. Thomas has written a beautiful love story, a cultural deep dive into Dios de los Muertos, a family drama, and a supernatural thriller, and rolled them all into one outstanding book. I was in the story so hard, I forgot what I was supposed to be doing with my life.

The characters are funny, and well thought out, and three dimensional in the best way. The settings and locations are so beautifully detailed, I could close my eyes and imagine standing there. Thomas turned gender roles on their heads, re-imagined family drama, and created a stunning work of fiction that should not be missed. One of my top 10 books of 2020, for sure.

I had heard great things about this book from other readers. I had never read a story before where the main character is trans. I decided to give it a shot and I was not disappointed. I loved the culture and folklore of the character and family.

If you're someone who might have a problem with reading a story where a character is trans then you shouldn't have a problem reading this story. The fact that he was trans came into play where his family was concerned as far as not really understanding but as for the reason the story is called Cemetery Boys that character trait helped and made him a better person.

I really loved this! Such a fun take on withces/brujx's in this book. I really liked following the main character in this story and all the challenges he has to face for his family to accept him for who really is. All of the characters in this book are vibrant and fun. I especially loved the main character's banter with his ghost love interest.
Overall, this was a really great fantasy! Definitely one I'll want to reread again during the spooky season.