Review: cemetery Boys By Aiden Thomas

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. ~ Goodreads

Source: Library - audiobook

Cemetery Boys was surprisingly sweet and funny, Surprisingly, because I had been expecting a much darker tale.

Yadriel, a trans boy, is on a quest to prove to his very traditional Latinx family that he is ready to be a Brujo (a person that guides spirits into the afterlife). This leads him on a path of testing his powers, finding love, trying to vanquish evil, save the world, and get his family to understand him. No big.

I listened to this on audio and it worked so well because Yadriel starts out confident in who he is but also tired and wary of the constant dismissiveness by his family. Thanks to his new (annoying) ghost sidekick and blossoming crush – Julian (a boy Yadriel summoned from the dead, has to send back and who does NOT want to go back!), that confidence and surety grows. The narration of Avi Roque was able to capture the subtle changes in Yadriel’s personality as the book progresses and the brashness/vulnerability of Julian.

 

💕Super cute romance and friendships! Julian is boisterous and outgoing and charges into every situation but he accepts Yadriel’s transness immediately and unconditionally and they balance each other out. Yadriel’s vegetarian Bruja cousin Maritza was a hoot, Julian’s underground and forgotten friends, even Yadriel's often misguided family round out the cast.

💀Warning! There is some transphobia in here such as deadnaming, misgendering. Not to discount it, but it’s portrayed less as transphobia and more as a loving family trying to understand and not getting it right. Even so, it was hard listening to Yadriel keep having to correct them. It shouldn’t have kept being his job to forgive them rather than for them to learn to do better. On the plus side there is a very rewarding ending in that regard.

🙌Own Voices – both the author and the audiobook narrator are trans, Latinx and it shines through in both big and subtle ways. Multiple LGBQT characters, the vibrant Latinx culture and traditions of Dia de Muertos are lovingly portrayed. Details like Yadriel wearing his binder, using a boys bathroom for the first time were ways that his transness was casually represented.

👎So this definitely wasn’t the scary book I was expecting but there is a mystery and a few rituals of the dead that *might* be scary for some readers. Not to give too much away but it starts with Yadriel’s murdered cousin and then Latinx, often transient, teens going missing. Honestly, this was the weakest part of the book for me. It wasn’t balanced very well with the romance aspect and considering the subject matter I would have liked it to carry more weight. 

👍Overall, not quite what I was expecting, but a fun story with the sweetest of romances, a nuanced portrayal of culture, family and acceptance with a dash of danger and a surprising - and welcome - touch of humor.