Hi YouTube, it’s Kathy, and as the title
suggests, today I’m going to be reviewing
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. This was one
of my most anticipated books of the year,
and it’s also one of my favourite books
of the year.
Cemetery Boys is an adventure-filled paranormal
mystery with a side serving of sass and romance
about Yadriel, a trans brujo whose family
hasn’t let him go through his rites because
they are unconvinced Lady Death will recognize
his brujo powers. Maritiza, his vegan bruja
cousin, seems to be the only one in his corner
so they conspire to do his rites in secret
to show the family once and for all that he
is a brujo and worthy of their respect. When
he tries to summon the spirit of his recently
deceased cousin Miguel, he ends up with Julian
Diaz, who doesn’t remember how he died and
who refuses to cross over until he checks
up on his friends. What follows is an exploration
of why Julian died and whether or not Yadriel
will be able to send him to the other side
- or if he even wants to.
Right from the first page, we have atmospheric
world building. We know Yadriel lives in the
cemetery because his father is a brujo leader
and caretaker of that sacred space. Death,
healing, blood, and rituals are all a part
of their culture, and the author points out
that although many latinx cultures have rituals
around Lady Death, they are not all the same
and cannot just be lumped together indiscriminately.
Yadriel has to balance having a "normal" teenage
life in Los Angeles and being a part of this
brujx community, which has mostly been just
fine, except for a few bumps along the way
while growing up. There are flashback scenes
to pivotal points in his life that really
help us get to know this protagonist and the
different experiences that have made him who he is.
There are also a lot of fabulous characters,
each of them with their own interesting traits.
Although Maritza could use her healing magic,
she decides against it because it requires
animal blood, which goes against her vegan
ethics. This was such a fantastic character
trait to play with, because it shows her making
a choice that impacts so many aspects of her
life, and even though Yadriel would do anything
for magic, he respects her choice despite
it being personally frustrating to him.
Julian is a puppy in the best possible way;
he’s full of energy, much to the chagrin
of Yadriel when he’s trying to catch some
shut eye between rites, sneaking out of the house,
and still making it to his math test.
Julian is also incredibly loyal, because his
first concern he has upon realizing he’s
dead is wondering what happened to his friends.
He’s loud and can come off as obnoxious,
but everything he does is rooted in a passion
for the people he cares about.
Throughout this novel, there are several casual
hints as to what it’s been like to be trans
for Yadriel. We see him being deadnamed by
family members without it happening on the
page - which is a nuance I love in own voices
writing, because cis writers are far more
likely to drop a dead name on the page,
knowing it is harmful and not knowing that
you can do it without putting it on the page.
Dead names, even for fictional characters,
are none of our business.
We see him being emasculated by a parent who
wants to keep him safe to the point of ignoring
his identity. We see how he feels about his
body throughout mentions of his binders and
how they impact his day to day life. He has
control over his hair, so works really hard
to sculpt it in styles he emulates from his
older brother’s friends. Being trans is just one
part of his story, and it’s woven into the narrative so well that it could never be seamlessly removed.
I want to share some spoiler free quotes about
the three most prominent characters in this book.
Please keep in mind that this is an
Advanced Readers’ Copy and they are subject
to change in the final copy. I know, for instance,
that one of the inconsistencies that I noticed
early on in this book is cleaned up in the
final draft because a friend was nice to check
based on my curiosity.
I’m going to read directly from the page instead of memorizing because I don’t want to mess anything up.
This one has to do with our main character,
Yadriel: To be blessed by Lady Death, to have
his own portaje and to serve her was what
Yadriel wanted most in the world. He wanted
to be like the other brujos, to find lost
spirits and help them pass to the afterlife.
He wanted to stay up all night on boring graveyard
duty. Hell, he’d even spend hours pulling
weeds and painting tombs if it meant being
accepted by his people as a brujo.
Next I have a quote about Maritza, who I love:
“It took me weeks to make,” she said as
Yadriel untied the twine. “Burned myself
like eight times and nearly cut off [a] finger,
but I think my has has pretty much given up
trying to keep me out of the forge.”
Her shrug was casual, but she stood tall, a proud
grin pulling the corners of her lips.
Yadriel knew this was a big deal for her.
And then Julian, our over-excited puppy of
a love interest: Julian’s hips rolled, his
head bobbed. Eyes closed and smiling, the
firelight danced over his skin. Yadriel was
drawn to him like a moth to a flame. To his
reckless charm and striking features. Julian
was achingly beautiful, but in the way a thunderstorm
was beautiful - wild, rough, electric.
In short, this is a funny, heartfelt adventure
that tugs at your heartstrings and makes you
want to befriend and adopt the principle characters,
with a look into rituals which could have
be mistaken for dreary but are actually enacted
with reverence and love for those in the community.
This book is about being proud of who you
are and unyielding in your quest to have that
recognized, acknowledged, respected, and admired.
If you’ve read and loved this novel as much
as I have, and you're looking for comparable
titles, I have a couple to suggest.
You can find similar queer brujx vibes in the
Brooklyn Brujas series, starting with Labryinth Lost.
If you are looking for a book with a passionate,
artistic trans lead, I definitely suggest
Felix Ever After by Kacen Calendar.
I gave Cemetery Boys a well deserved 5 stars.
This book is officially out in the world on
Tuesday, September 1st, so if you haven’t
pre-ordered your copy, please do that now.
You’re going to love it.
How excited are you for Cemetery Boys? 
Let me know about it down in the comments below.
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That is liked down below, as well as the link
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you want to buy me a book.
You can like and share this as you see fit,
and I will see you very soon. Bye!
[outro music]
