Reviews tagging 'Deportation'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

88 reviews

withlivjones's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I loved the celebration of Latin American culture in this book, and I learned a lot. Yadriel is a great protagonist who is very easy to root for, and the romance between him and Julian was very sweet. I was expecting Julian to be a little more brooding and standoffish since he’s immediately described as a “bad boy”, but I ended up quite enjoying his golden retriever boy personality. I also felt like the ending was a little rushed in terms of pace, considering the first half of the book was pretty slow-paced.

I also thought that the ending was a little too tidy and happy? Idk, Yadriel being able to bring everyone back like nothing had happened and surviving doesn’t sit quite right with me.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death of parent and Violence

Minor: Deportation

birdieex's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

5.0

I cannot begin to explain how many tears I shed from this book! Our main character is a gay, trans, Latino boy. The rep is absolutely incredible. The language and culture interwoven is beautiful. I found myself using an online translator for some words and phrases simply to get the direct meaning, but the author makes it possible to use context clues to figure it out if you don't speak Spanish and sometimes straight up tells you in text.

I fell in love with Yadriel and Julian a soon as they appeared on the page and I highlighted so many quotes the made me laugh. The characters are so strong and I was so absorbed in the world that I had trouble wanting to put the book down.

As a trans adult who was that trans teen fighting for their identity to be seen, that aspect affected me deeply. It was hard to see Yadriel's struggle since I related so much, but it was so beautifully written.

One of my favorite books by far! Can't wait to read more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Outing, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Deportation, Police brutality, Violence, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Cursing

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Car accident, Sexism, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Women are discouraged from a certain job in the community.

ems_book_shelf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

WOW I LOVED THIS BOOK. I was pulled into the story immediately, the pacing was fantastic, the mystery/adventure aspect was so fun to read. I really liked Julian and Yads as characters on their own, but especially together. Their relationship was so cute, and I wasn’t sure how the book was going to end, there were definitely some tears shed, but I’m so so soooo happy with this book 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Deadnaming, Death, Child death, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Classism, Deportation, and Grief

angelfireeast24's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, and Transphobia

Moderate: Classism, Death, and Deportation

Minor: Racism

sapphic_alpaca's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Violence, Death, Gore, Body horror, Cursing, Blood, Dysphoria, Transphobia, Grief, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Deadnaming

Minor: Homophobia, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Deportation, and Sexual content

rieviolet's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

I listened to the audiobook version so this is going to colour my review/rating a bit, because I'm still trying to get used to this medium of reading, and my mind doesn't always cooperate and tends to wander a lot.

I felt like the beginning and the end of the story were stronger and more memorable, whereas the middle part was a bit slow and, to be honest, I remember very little of what happened, it all kind of blurred together.

I really liked the representation of the trans experience thorugh the character of Yadriel. We got to see the big and more evident aspects of it, but also the little and everyday details. 

I appreciated the cultural elements, as well as their more fantastical re-imagination; though I think maybe at times the author verged into overexplanation. I also liked the interspersed sentences and expressions in Spanish.

I wasn't quite sold at the beginning on the romance but, as the story progressed, it got better and I'm not ashamed to say that

when Julian said "mi querido"

I screamed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Racism, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death of parent, Sexism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Kidnapping, Gore, Child death, Religious bigotry, Murder, Dysphoria, Child abuse, Deadnaming, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Bullying, Classism, Deportation, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Self harm, and Torture

christinereads1823's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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? No

4.75

SUCH a great story. I fell in love with Yadriel and Julian as they fell in love with each other. Aiden Thomas's writing is magnetic, with gorgeously vivid descriptions of Latinx culture alongside gripping action and a clear understanding of his characters and their emotions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Death

Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia

Minor: Car accident, Deadnaming, Deportation, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Homophobia, and Child death

rustedguina's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring slow-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: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Child abuse, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Death of parent, Deportation, and Fire/Fire injury

offthecarousel_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

 I loved this a lot!!

This LGBT coming-of-age story was extremely compelling and had a good ratio of mystery mixed with character development. The romance felt gradual and believable (what feels like a rarity for stories with MCs in high school) and was very cute.

A great book for trans representation and I believe both of the main characters are neurodivergent as well (anxiety and ADHD). I'm excited for the sequel.

I described Yadriel and Julian to my friends as "an anxious grumpy/reckless sunshine vibe." They're so fun! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Deportation, Transphobia, Child death, Death, and Grief

Minor: Classism, Mental illness, Deadnaming, and Car accident

male_soley's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

I've read the book two times now and I still absolutely love it. I love the queer representation, I love the influence of Latin American culture, I love the ups and downs especially with Yadriel's family. The characters and the relationships between the characters are so adorable and I really felt with them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deportation and Deadnaming