Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

41 reviews

longlost's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

man this was a GOOD book. aiden thomas has crafted such interesting characters and their writing style is enamouring

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, and Child death

Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Racism

Minor: Cultural appropriation

zumo's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Death, and Blood

Minor: Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Murder, Death, Deadnaming, Cursing, and Cultural appropriation

victoriapatella's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, and Racism

offbrandclubsoda's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Deadnaming, Death, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Cultural appropriation

abarnakwn_ourcolourfulpages's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Deadnaming, Cursing, and Transphobia

Moderate: Dysphoria, Homophobia, Murder, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol and Cultural appropriation

troisha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Transphobia

Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Body horror, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Child abuse

bookishandlegal's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I enjoyed this one. I read it with a group and it was fun discussing the characters and what we thought might happen at the end.  The first half for me was an average YA with some spooky/ghostly elements, but wasn't anything spectacular.  I liked Yadriel and was interested in his storyline of dealing with his families mostly not great reaction to his transition.  I absolutely loved Maritza and her fierce loyalty and love to Yadriel.  Julian was obvs great and I really liked learning more about him as the book developed. 

The second half/ending of this one really sealed the deal for me! I flew through the second half and was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole ending.  I loved the reveal of the bad guy and explanation of what happened to Julian/Yadriel's cousin/and the other missing kids.  I honestly didn't see any of that coming at all, but i'm notoriously bad at guessing endings/twists. In the second half it did seem like we had forgotten a little bit about the mystery and figuring out what had happened to Miguel and the other missing kids and then Yadriel just kinda stumbled into the answer.  But in the moment I was enjoying the unraveling of the ending too much to be too bothered. 

This is a solid YA book that will be enjoyed by teens and adults alike.  It has lots of fall, Halloween, Dia de los Muertes vibes and is a perfect cozy, fall read.   It also is great for a coming of age story with a gay trans male and gay love interest.  The details about transitioning and using people's correct pronouns throughout are great and honestly is a book everyone should read just for that.  Definitely recommend this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Cultural appropriation and Deadnaming

mryshells's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Transphobia

Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Drug use, Dysphoria, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, and Vomit

sarahdh's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved reading this book. I had only heard good things about it and knew very little of the plot before opening it. I am so so glad that I did though. The story is compelling and interesting while still being fun and emotional. I felt so much for both Yadriel and Julian. Thomas’ characterisation is fantastic and makes these characters so loveable. They are flawed and infallible and they feel so real. The way their culture is threaded so intensely into the story makes it so fascinating to read. I found myself so interested in the story being told and the mystery we were given. That’s all i’m going to say without spoiling any details. I would 100% recommend Cemetery Boys if you’re thinking of giving it a go, if not for the cover alone then the wonderful story within.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Blood

Minor: Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Grief

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Grief, Murder, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Xenophobia

Minor: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, and Gun violence