Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

38 reviews

recycled_personalities's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

Genuinely such a good read. It was really comforting queer representation and that definitely made me happy. It’s a LITTLE slow at the very beginning but please don’t make the mistake of giving up on it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jfield351's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.75

I enjoyed this book especially because it was partly written in spanish, a language i understand! if i had not been able to understand it i don’t think i would have  enjoyed it as much. It did make it a tiny bit hard to read, switching between languages. Maybe if i didn’t know spanish i could have skipped over those parts with no problem. Obviously, the LGBTQ+ representation was brilliant and unlike anything i’ve ever read (especially the trans representation) as well as the representation of the Latinx culture. I learnt more about the day of the dead festival and was charmed by the decorations, the mouth watering descriptions of food and the attitudes towards the day. Blending in fantasy, my favourite genre also made it a very fun read for me. The characters were well written, especially at the start. I read this within 24 hours from 1-2 March 2022. I did guess that

the jaguar knives would have a role in the twist, because they were a seemingly insignificant detail that was mentioned in depth twice. however i had no idea it would be tío catriz (he seemed sooo nice!!) or that the sacrifices would be miguel and julian.

. I was left wondering at some plot holes, such as, if only the one family was gifted with the power to see the dead, why could the whole family see it and not just the ones who weren’t married in? I did read this fast so maybe I missed something. I was hooked though, and I felt pain when Yadriel did, particularly when he faced transphobic comments and also in chapters 22/23. The ending was good, but to me i found it strange how the epilogue was literally just an hour after the ending -

both boys were up and running without pain an hour after they had been dead. the ending felt a bit rushed

. On the whole it was a great book and I want to read more like it!! And I want to read more from Aiden Thomas!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol

mileskayden's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

This has become one of my new all-time favourites, and I don't give away that title easily. There is so much I love about this book. I felt like the characters were so whole, full and rounded - they felt like real people. The world was so immersive and atmospheric, the way Thomas describes things is so intricate and beautiful. 

This was my first ever trans-read and I have to say, I was so incredibly grateful for the representation and how being transmasc was portrayed in this book. It never felt like it was making a point, and I think that is thanks to the author being trans themselves. 

I cried, I laughed and I was angry. I don't think I will forget this book for a long, long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Transphobia, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, and Racism

Minor: Deadnaming

nicamooch's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring 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

4.0

I love loved the concept and world building  of this book. 

I also really loved the banter and relationships Yadriel has with Julian and Martiza. The love story was so adorable I really wouldn’t have been able to handle a bittersweet ending between those two 😭 

The climax had me simultaneously bawling and cursing @ Thomas for the pain! The way my gut dropped when I turned onto Chapter 24…it was narratively such a good choice but I was also pissed because it did its job of wrecking me, you know?

I found the twist/reveal upsetting, it’s like, even though I figured it out beforehand because this character was the only viable option—it’s just devastating because you don’t /want/ it to be them. But I also feel like that’s why it works 😭 yet another great narrative choice for maximum pain 😭😭!

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Abandonment

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

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

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

ace_of_spades_'s review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted sad 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? No

5.0

This book is so good holy shit. It is funny and lighthearted some times and had me in tears in others. The lgbtq rep is amazing and I can’t really speak for the latinx rep bc i’m white, but from what I can tell it was done very well. 

I loved that it dealt with difficult lgbtq issues without making it the main focus of the book and how it felt with systematic racism without it feeling forced. 


The interaction between Yadriel and Julian when they came out to each other is in my top ten scenes in this book. the contrast in someone so secure in his sexuality and Yadriel who is still filling his boots so you say. The inner monologue of Yadriel in the scene was deeply relatable and i think applies to anyone who is different. Anyways love this book and Yadriel and Julian’s relationship. 

Ok also pay attention to Yadriel and Julian’s use of nicknames, it’ll make your heart melt. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Violence

Minor: Addiction

hello_lovely13'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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Racism, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

For deadnaming, the author is never explicit by never telling the reader what anyone’s deadname is. Also, there are some topics brought up in regards to leaving home or being kicked out of a house because of abuse or transphobia or homophobia (it is touched upon, but not too explicit—though the physical abuse mention is more explicit, but not more than a couple mentions and some hinting).

booksandcat's review against another edition

emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

I found the brujx community interesting but didn't feel strongly about any of the characters: most of them felt very 2D and flat. Aspects of the final resolution didn't make sense to me either -

how was Julian's spirit able to walk about when he was still alive? Why didn't Miguel's spirit have the same ability?

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse and Death of parent

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

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

kayle39's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death and Transphobia

Minor: Deadnaming, Physical abuse, and Xenophobia