Reviews

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

kelseybea's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

It took me a long time to finish, but once I got to the last half, I was more hooked and needed to know what happened. I loved the mix of real cultural elements and fantasy. It was a sweet love story alongside a fantasy hero journey. I think it's a really powerful story for teens and young adults to read and see those with identities that are usually on the margins at the center of a story. 
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katelyn_lasater's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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

4.5

ashintheashes's review against another edition

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5.0

I’M NOT CRYING—YOU’RE CRYING

staros757's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

sjach's review against another edition

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4.0

This book was important; it was the first thing I’ve found that actually represents multifaceted lgbtq+ minority characters at the forefront, not shunting them to the role of side character. However, I felt that this wasn’t written to its full potential. A lot of it felt like it was trying to educate outside readers - which is fine - but it seemed like this could have been done in a less heavy handed way. The characters were sweet, but I would have liked them fleshed out more. It seemed like the story was in a rush, the twists were very predictable, and some of it felt arbitrary. That being said, I still give it 4 stars because it did what it set out to do, and there’s finally a protagonist/universal character to relate to that isn’t a straight white guy.

nicksenior's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-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

2.5

whykimwhenyoucanseokjin's review against another edition

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5.0

Honestly where do I even start? I enjoyed reading every delicious piece of this tasty book.

There were some things that didn't work for me , and I saw some reviews pointing out that there was some mistreatment to women or rather, the family was set on the old ways, and I do agree but also get how it works in traditionally rooted families like this since I'm part of one, it still doesn't change the fact that it does suck. Also Yadrial was kind of judgemental and an asshole at the first half of the book so I get why people didn't like it because of that.

However, I loved the trans representation in this, and the last part of the book made me cry and my heart was warmed, even though I was still kinda pissed at the family, at least they're changing and learning I guess. Another thing is Jules, he was an adorable ball of sunshine and rainbows and made me feel so warm and fuzzy , simply my favorite character alongside Maritza. All in all I loved this book and it was such an amazing experience to read about such a beautiful and family oriented culture, makes me want to have a celebration with my family too tbh.

worthy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful tense 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

The fact that I finished the second half of this book within two days alone is a testimony to how much I fucking loved Cemetery Boys! Aiden Thomas is such a phenomenal writer and I’ve fallen in love with him as an author after reading this book! Yadriel and Julian have some of the best character writing that I have read in a good while! They’re both flawed but their flaws enforce what makes them unique and I couldn’t have imagined a better way for their story to be carried out! This book had me feeling so many emotions, I mean, tears were shed, expletives were cursed and my brain was frazzled and completely sucked into this story. Honestly, this is probably a bold statement considering it’s June but this might be my favourite book of the entire year! Cemetery Boys encompasses so much but it also balances all of those elements beautiful! The mystery, the character arcs, the twists, the horrifying descriptions, the joy, the pain and all of the culture in this book make it so so special to me and I just know that this book will be one that I will look at with the fondest of memories!

walentina's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? No

3.5

dijira's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5