LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character is trans and gay; supporting character is gay
Content Warning: Violence, unsupportive family members
What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Transgender Yadriel wants to prove he is a real brujo, even though his family has not recognized his true gender. Along with his best friend Maritza, Yadriel performs his own quinces ritual and attempts to set the spirit of his murdered cousin free. However, Yadriel accidentally summons the spirit of (adorable!) Julian and is thrown into a murder mystery. Will Yadriel's family accept him as a true brujo, and will Julian's spirit find peace?
What I think (in 250 words or fewer): Cemetery Boys is a more light-hearted, less angsty read than I expected. Yadriel and Martiza are extremely adorable (and relatable) and Julian is so easy to fall for.
Adults in YA books often have to disappear for plot reasons so that the teenagers can save the day, and since Yadriel is close to his family, I thought it would be difficult to pull off the "adults are absent" trope. However, Yadriel wants to prove himself a brujo, does his ceremony in secret, and accidentally summons Julius, it makes perfect sense for him to do everything without adults. So bravo to Thomas for successfully conquering one of the more difficult aspects of writing YA!
Although the one adult I found the most sympathetic throughout the book is [SPOILER DELETED].
I really like Julian and was afraid for most of the book that there just couldn't be a happy ending for Yads, considering Julian is dead, but let's just say that the ending is unexpected and completely satisfying. 😍
I have to admit that all of my knowledge before this book about Día de Muertos was from Coco, and I wasn't able to find as much research on the folklore and rituals surrounding Lady Death (Santa Muerte) as I wanted to, but I did find that Santa Muerte is seen as the protector of LGBTQ+ communities in Mexico, especially among trans sex workers:
My final takeaway (in 75 words or fewer): I enjoyed the fast-paced story and the folklore elements. Highlight the blacked-out text if you want to read a couple of spoiler-y things: I thought that Yadriel connected the disappearance of Julian and Miguel a bit too quickly, but I went with it. I really wish we had seen if Julian's mother had appeared on the Day of the Dead. Aiden Thomas: please write this as a bonus short story. In conclusion, read Cemetery Boys.
Memorable quotes/passages from the book:
- "On the bright side, he had actually summoned a real-life spirit. On the not-so-bright side, he had summoned the wrong one" (pgs. 50-51).
- "Queer folk are like wolves . . . we travel in packs" (pg. 125).
- "Only the dead watched as he ran through the tombstones and back to the house, and they stayed silent as well" (pg. 180).
- "People who sang in front of other people with no sense of self-consciousness were a specific and rare breed that Yadriel was decidedly not" (pg. 276).
Other reviews: Kinzie Things and Bookshop.
If you liked this book, you should read I Wish You All the Best, Lily and Dunkin, and Jess, Chunk, and the Road Trip to Infinity.
And as a bonus, here's the related-holiday decoration that my 8-year-old daughter painted for me:
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| Picture of the book cover and skeleton decoration |
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| This book is available here: https://library.greensboro-nc.gov/ |
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| Learn more about the Rainbow Book List here: http://www.ala.org/rt/glbtrt |
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