Review: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Cemetery Boys

Aiden Thomas

Publication Date: September 1, 2020

Hardcover, 352 pages, Swoon Reads

Genres: YA, Paranormal, LGBT+

Goodreads

A trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave in Aiden Thomas's paranormal YA debut Cemetery Boys, described by Entertainment Weekly as "groundbreaking."

 

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.

My Review

Ghosts and boys? Brujos and Latinx family feels? Heck yes! Cemetery Boys is such a fun, wholesome urban fantasy romp that gave me major Meg Cabot Mediator series and Supernatural vibes. I truly wish I had read it during spooky season and not right after the winter holidays. Major fail on my part.

Yadriel, our main character, just wants to be accepted by his family as a real brujo. And oh my, is Yadriel such a cinnamon roll. But he's a cinnamon roll with a purpose. He knows what he wants and he goes after it with the help of his cousin, Maritza, who was also super fun. She's very protective and fierce. It was nice to see her so supportive of her cousin and watch her get roped into all of his schemes.

Our other main character is Julian, and, despite being a ghost, Julian is such a full-of-life character. He made me smile continuously. His friends were fun too, though they didn't get a lot of page time.

As for the plot, it had its ups and downs. The family dynamics and interactions provided all the family drama feels, and Yadriel's conversations with Julian just gave me all the warm fuzzies. However, the antagonist was, unfortunately, pretty easy to spot on their first introduction. I didn't know exactly how everything would resolve, but the sequence of events lined up pretty closely to my original guess. It was still an entertaining journey though, and I don't regret taking it.

All in all, Cemetery Boys is a book not just for trans kids. It's for everyone who feels out of place in their family, school, or even career path. Though, for trans and any other teens, this book might be a great way to find a story that gets them sucked into reading. It's pretty addicting.

*Note: I received a copy of this book as a gift from a friend. This in no way affected my opinion/review.