Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
"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."
I have been looking forward to this book for so long, and it did not disappoint. Cemetery Boys has such a wonderfully rich cast of characters. It was about family, the kind you find and the kind you're born into, traditions and breaking those traditions. There was a mystery, which was pretty easy to solve, but the ending still took me by surprise. I loved seeing Yadriel slowly falling for Julian and vice versa. Their story warmed my heart. I found Julian's character so endearing. He was supposed to be a "bad boy" but I could tell a mile off that he's was really just a big softy. And Maritza! Gah! I loved Maritza's character so much. I want a best friend like her.
One of my favorite scenes is Yadriel walking through the cemetery on the first night of Dia de Muertos and seeing the richly diverse traditions contained with their community. Brujx gathered from all over and each family added their own unique touch to the evening. It was such a bright and beautiful scene of family and traditions.
“Did Julian just have zero impulse control? It was almost endearing. But only almost.”
― Aiden Thomas, Cemetery Boys
Five star reads are so hard for me to review, friends. Like seriously, just read this book. It's so good and you won't regret it.
Genre: fantasy, ya, lgbtqia+
Representation: trans, latinx, gay
Content Warnings: Character abuse (off-page), Deadnaming of a trans character, Death, Homophobia, Misgendering of a trans character, Transphobia