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keeksreadsalot69's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia
mylynn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved the coming of age story of Yadriel, as he journeys to gain acceptance from the other brujos. Maritza was a great companion to Yadriel and I loved how she was also going against the grain in her own ways. Julian was my favorite character, I loved how he questioned Yadriel's motivations and showed Yadriel that he didn't need to prove anything to the other brujx. I love that we got to meet Julian's friends and see into his life and he had some of my favorite lines. I've said 'love' so many times in this review but it is what it is.
I listened to the audiobook and it was a great experience. I loved the emotion that Avi Roque put into his performance, and he definitely brought the characters to life. At the end of the audiobook there is a really cute interview between Aiden Thomas and Avi Roque and I could seriously listen to them talk excitedly about anything all day long.
There's a reason I can't stop reading YA and it's because it continues to deliver books like this one!
This was my first book towards the January prompts from #TheDiverseBaseline (prompt: Latine Author).
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Racism, Murder, Transphobia, Blood, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, and Homophobia
ageckocalledachilles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Homophobia, Outing, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Racism, Lesbophobia, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Medical content, and Classism
cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I'll be completely honest, and say that the first half of the book was rather uninteresting. The action didn't start until the last hundred pages of the book, but there was definitely potential for more action earlier on as well, to make it more exciting. There was a lot of identity issues and character dialogue during the first half of the book, which is by no means irrelevant to the plot, but to me it got dull.
I also wish that Yadriel had been given a more distinct personality. Julian was exceptional, Maritza was amazing, Catriz was fabulous, but Yadriel...? He deserved more than being a pretty standard protagonist-y type. Apart from being trans, he doesn't stand out as a protagonist at all, and being trans shouldn't be what makes him special. At least the trans people I know have personalities beside being trans.
However! I loved how Spanish was used in this book. Usually, non-English words will be written in cursive, alienating them, as it were. But here they're kind of just woven into the text as any other word, because of course Spanish isn't foreign at all to the narrator, and it makes it easier for me as a reader to relate as well, despite being the from the whitest of corners in Norway.
This applies to the rest of the culture references as well. It was all explained in a very nice way.
On a side note concerning the identity and language here: Why was there one line where author Thomas wrote «Latinx mom»? If the gender was unspecified, it would've made perfect sense, but if it's given that she's a mom, then wouldn't she be Latina...? As far as I know, you wouldn't really have a Latino mom? Maybe a Latino's mom, but... unless I misinterpreted, that wasn't the case.
Anyways, I've given my opinion, but I still enjoyed the read. Frankly quite predictable, but aren't all stories these days.
Graphic: Violence, Death, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Murder, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Minor: Cursing, Deportation, Deadnaming, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, and Abandonment
melist6's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Blood, Sexism, and Racism
Moderate: Deportation, Transphobia, Death, Dysphoria, Murder, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Animal death, and Deadnaming
binreads's review against another edition
- 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
If i could give this a 1000000000000/10, I would.
I've had this sitting on my shelf for a while and since it is spooky season, I thought it was finally the perfect time to read. I loved every second of it. The trans/latin experience and representation was so refreshing to read.
I enjoyed the characters so much, the 3 musketeers, Yadriel, Maritza and Julian. Yad was endearing, Martiza was hysterical and Julien was the heart. The pacing was perfect, never felt too slow or rushed.
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Especially when he caught sight of Yad's portaje, I knew something was up. Why wouldn't Catriz tell his own brother about Yadriel, wouldn't he be worried or concerned? If he really wanted to help Yadriel, why wouldn't he speak with him about it?
Then he was always coming and going so much throughout the book. What I DIDN'T guess, until it was literally happening, was that he had taken Miguel and Julien. That ending was WILD!!!
I saw there's a sequel in the works and I'm super excited to read it!
Graphic: Death of parent, Transphobia, Grief, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Racism and Deportation
merah's review against another edition
- 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 felt every single emotion while reading this book.
Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Transphobia, Body horror, Child death, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Medical content, Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body horror, Deportation, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Dysphoria
Minor: Car accident, Confinement, Alcohol, Cancer, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Classism, Cultural appropriation, and Deadnaming
loads of knives, blades, cuts and stabbingslynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Deadnaming, Self harm, Torture, Bullying, Classism, and Racism
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Deportation, Gun violence, Outing, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Racism, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Deportation, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
chaotic_corvid's review against another edition
- 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? N/A
4.75
Graphic: Medical content, Outing, Grief, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Death, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Violence, Child death, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Deadnaming, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Torture, Deportation, Racism, Cursing, Homophobia, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, and Animal death