Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Initial Thoughts:

I was excited from the moment I was able to get my grubby little hands on a copy. Mostly because…

1. Have you seen the cover?
2. LATINX representation
3. Did you know the book features a LATINX TRANS GAY CHARACTER
4. Did you know the book is WRITTEN by a Trans Author?
5. Dia de los Muertos

Synopsis:

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his 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 up 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.

(Cover Photo & Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review: 5/5

I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G words cannot describe just how much I loved this. But let’s talk about why! Ok first of all this story was absolutely amazing, and I loved that you get these kind of creepy and mysterious vibes. I mean a big chunk of what is happening takes place in a graveyard. So yeah… haha but there is an actual mystery to solve. There is a lot of different representation from the LGBTQ+ community as well as BIPOC characters or an obviously mix of the both!

I cannot speak to being trans, but IMO the representation was done so so well! Did I mention it’s also written by a trans author?! So not only is it an own voices book, it’s WRITTEN by an own voices author! How amazing is that?

This book was so amazing! It had me laughing out loud, crying (I cried so many times reading this book you can find out why on the blog), and white knuckling my kindle from anticipation. It was pretty faced paced, talks a lot about the Latinx community and what it means to be trans in a traditional Latinx family/community. There’s magic,  a slow burn love, found families, and so so so much more. You need this book in your life. NEED THIS BOOK.

Julian and Yadriel were my everything, and I ship the heck out of them. I need more stories that involve the two of them getting into some troubles. Like we can we just have an almost cozy mystery type series revolved around these two?

Own Voices Reflection (Latinx):

Every culture is different in the way certain holidays are celebrated. That is 100% true for the Latinx community especially when it comes to Dia de los Muertos. This book acknowledges that!!! It talks about the minor or big differences, and details like that are so important. The other thing to mention is most latinx families are VERY traditional. And Aiden, again, acknowledges this beautifully and heartbreakingly, for (most) traditional latinx families if you’re slightly different or don’t want to follow their traditions that were passed down from their parents, and their grandparents, etc. you’re automatically branded the black sheep or outcast. (I would know.)

For me this book had a wonderful representation of the latinx community, one that I missed out on, because my mom and I were outcast. It spoke to me on so many levels, and made me sad that I did miss out on a lot of that for most of my life, but at the same it made me feel home. I cried multiple times during this book. Both happy and sad tears, tears, and I will admit that I am tearing up now just writing this review. I loved that we saw the struggle of acceptance, but eventually got there in the end.

Okay can we talk about food now?! I 100% got a craving for pan dulce, which I immediately bought some out the same weekend I finished the book. I also bought some when my time to post about this book came about because it’s all I kept thinking about! (And now I might have to cut this post short just so I can run downstairs and eat some without having to worry about getting it all over my keyboard) Either way it’s funny and true that anytime I stayed with my grandmother growing up there was never shortage of food. Even now when I go to a very specific bakery for pan dulce I over buy, so we have pan dulce for daaaaaaaaays.

Okay, seriously though I’ll end my post here because I could probably go on for days talking about this book!

Buy a copy! Indiebound| Amazon |Barnes&Noble