*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Oh wow, did I love this book! The romance was incredibly sweet and fluffy, the magic system was very interesting, and it had all sorts of different forms of representation! I loved how Yadriel's relationship with his family changed. Aiden Thomas is now an insta-read author for me!

This book is entertaining, yet important, because it covers so many key topics about sexuality, acceptance, and finding your voice.

Firstly, the author covers SO many topics simultaneously that that there is never a dull moment. What I really loved about the story is the subject of identity. Yadriel is a gay trans Latinx boy who wants to be a Brujo, but his family is not supportive due to his orientation. Being accepted is one of the challenges many of us face, and I could really relate to Yadriel in terms of being accepted.

Moreover, I loved Yadriel’s relationship with Julian. I am not a fan of slow-burn romance, but I really enjoyed it in this story. Yadriel has low self-esteem because of the way his family and society treat him. Hence, it was so amazing to see him open up and become confident under Julian’s influence. Similarly, Julian is this fireball of energy, where he is hilarious and all over the place, and doesn’t care what people think. They complement each other and are so dynamic together. On a side note, I also loved Maritza and thought she was an amazing supporting character!

At the same time, the entire story takes place with the backdrop of a cemetery close to the Dia De Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival. This makes the book atmospheric, yet lively and engrossing. There is also this mystery element as Yadriel investigates what happened to Miguel. I enjoyed the mystery element as well and could not guess the reason behind it.

Overall, I don’t think I have ever read a book that emphasizes culture, diversity, sexuality, acceptance on top of a mystery, set in a cemetery ever! This book was very entertaining and I enjoyed reading it.

This felt a little bit like Coco, a little bit like Witch Boy, and a little bit like Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows, but older and directly queer. Using the magic and culture as representative of gender is really smart. I think I would have liked it more without the big bad because to me, that felt tacked on at the end, but it was sweet and I'll read another book by Aiden Thomas.

I loved this book! Incredibly vivid and dreamy. It's got all the elements of my favorite stories: accurate queer and trans representation, lush imagery, with a spooky factor. I'm nonbinary and it was a rare pleasure to find a book with representation that was authentic and didn't feel forced. The descriptions of the food and scenery were so engaging- I ended up baking some conchas to eat while reading.

Cemetery Boys was a beautiful debut! The story, characters, and culture were all richly developed. I sincerely hope there’s a sequel. I will definitely recommend this to my 8th graders.

Oh. My. GOSH. I loved this book! I am disappointed it did not make it as a National Book Award finalist. This is the first book club book I featured in my classroom with a transgender main character. The day of our final book club meeting when we convened to discuss the resolution, one of my 8th-grade students eagerly rushed into the classroom to inform me that she has never been so excited for a book club meeting in her life. The enthusiasm was well-placed; this book was lush, rich, awash with fascinating fantasy and lore, all woven together with an engagingly-written mystery. I cannot understate enough how much I (and my students!) loved this book.

Cemetery Boys is amazing right from the start. Yadriel is a sweet, young boy that offers such a great look at what it is like to be transgender in the latinx community. The representation in this book is so perfect. I loved the plot and the fantasy, but the representation was my favorite part of the book.

When Yadriel sets out to complete a ritual and become a brujo like most of the other men in his family, he runs into a series of unlikely hurtles, including falling for the spirit that he must release on Dia de Muertos - Julian. This book is exciting and fun, humorous and sad. The ending will shock you, but it comes together in the best way.

So glad to start the year off with a bang! This has got to be one of the most original and refreshing books I've read in a long time. I couldn't put it down and was very surprised (and impressed) by the ending. It had some (wonderful) social justice themes, but honestly the book wouldn't have worked at all if they weren't in there so they weren't thrown in to "preach" - they were warranted, worked, and justified. I cannot say how much I was amazed at how pretty much every emotion was brought to life at some point during this read - I laughed, cringed, hopped up and down, cried...you get it. It was pretty much an all around great book.

I went out and bought my own copy of this book because it's that special.

Cemetery Boys is the *perfect* spooky season read - we've got ghosts, magic, and a plot that culminates on Halloween! What more could you want? I want to protect Yadriel, Julian (and all of his found family), and Maritza at all costs... though they have totally proven through this adventure that they can take care of themselves.

This is a magically fun adventure with the sweetest, realistically rendered first love. Plus, Aiden Thomas tackles so much as part of Yadriel's experience as a trans teen in a traditional Latinx family (of bujas and brujos) in LA including heavy topics like abuse and deportation. This book makes my heart so full and draws out tears over how wonderful it is.

As he writes in his letter for illumicrate : "I hope you enjoy Cemetery Boys and go on to help bring its magic into our world by seeing, supporting, and loving people for who they are, as they are."

"Julian was achingly beautiful, but in the way a thunderstorm was beautiful—wild, rough, electric. And bound to leave devastation in his wake."

Cemetery Boys was one of my most anticipated reads this year. I tried reading it in September and wasn't enjoying it as much as I feel I should have so I put it down for a couple months. Well let me tell you I am glad I picked it back up! Yadriel and Julian are everything, and this story grew my heart 3 sizes.

Between the dive into Latinx culture, the romance, the humor, and the discussion of transphobia, this book had everything. The writing itself was so good, and the twist in the story completely shook me. Yadriel's selflessness was so beautiful, and I cannot get enough of him and Julian.

This novel was not perfect by any means. There were aspects of it that I really enjoyed and some things that I felt fell flat. Overall, it was a great and exciting read and I can’t wait to see what this author has in store going forward.

2020 has been a difficult year for many reasons, but one of the outcomes of that was that my reading was erratic and slow. It took me a few months to read this book, but that was nothing to do with the actual content of the book. Every time I felt like I was able to read and had some time for it, Cemetery Boys gave me so much joy.

Yadriel is a trans teen in a traditional Latinx family who are also members of the brujx community. His family hasn't allowed him to become a brujo because they don't fully understand him, but Yadriel defies them and proves himself. And along the way, he might fall for an unexpected ghostly "bad boy".

I absolutely loved this book. Seeing trans and queer representation in YA contemporary fantasy is awesome! There's also Latinx rep that shows the diversity within that community. The worldbuilding is excellent. The characters are interesting. You'll laugh, cry, and gasp at this book.

I give this book a 5/5. You may be seeing it on a lot of Best Of 2020 lists and it is well deserving. I'm so excited to read more books from Aiden Thomas.

This book absolutely destroyed me in the best possible way. I feel so incredibly deeply for Yadriel and Julian. I did think some of the writing was a bit basic but I don't even care because this story and representation is SO needed and SO appreciated.

Title: Cemetery Boys
Author: Aiden Thomas
Pub Date: 9/1/2020

Cemetery Boys began with a tumblr writing prompt. What would you do if you had a ghost that just wouldn't leave? From there, Aiden Thomas wove a story about Yadriel, a trans Latinx boy who is trying to prove himself to his traditional Latinx family of brujos. There is family, there is friendship, there is identity and community and growth and acceptance.

What I liked:
Yadriel was my favorite part about this book. He was such a deep and well developed character who felt so raw and genuine and was so easy to love. His journey of self-love and family acceptance was beautiful and touched my heart.

One thing I didn't love:
I adored the parts of the plot that surrounded Yadriel and seeking acceptance from his family, but I just wasn't as interested in the mystery part of the book. It was still incredibly enjoyable, as the family and identity plotlines were the most present and important.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for this giveaway copy of the book!

Love this book and love this plot. I am so happy that this book is released in the world so I can read it, haha. I can't wait to see what else Aiden writes!

Magic, the power of friendship, romance, celebrations of queer identity—Cemetery Boys is made up of so many elements that make my reader heart happy. This YA debut follows Yadriel, a Latinx trans brujo, who accidentally summons a ghost, Julian, and needs to send him back. Thomas perfectly balances humor and tenderness as these two grow closer during their journey to solving the mystery of what happened to Julian. I particularly loved the way they explored the expectations of forgiveness that queer people can be burdened with and the importance of upholding cultural traditions, while showing that growth and change are necessary to truly honor all members of a community. The writing was really visual, and I’d love to see this one adapted into a graphic novel. Thomas is a writer to watch, and I cannot wait to read their next book!

This book is everything younger me wanted: a queer story of Brown teens, trans representation and a celebration of Latinx traditions (I say Latinx because, while the protagonist is Mexican American, in the story we see how different LatAm countries and cultures have different ways of celebrating the same).
I wish I could give a million stars to this book, but I’ll have to make do with five.

WHAT A HECKING GREAT BOOK
I want to cuddle Yadriel and Julian and Marizita and protect them from the world.
Gods.
I love this book so much!!

Cemetery Boys by Aidan Thomas
For queer paranormal romance lovers.

Yadriel is determined to prove himself as a brujo—even though his family hasn’t accepted him as a boy. But when he raises the wrong spirit while trying to solve the mystery of his cousin’s death, everything gets more complicated. In our review, we praised the book for its groundbreaking depiction of trans identity in Latinx culture and called it “a riveting, romantic read filled with paranormal wonder.” Fans who loved the queer romance reveal in She-Ra won’t be able to stop turning pages.

This book does a lot for visibility for non-gender-conforming Latinx kids. They magic system was intriguing and the mystery kept the story moving, but the focus was clearly on representation, something this book did very well.