Reviews tagging 'Classism'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

38 reviews

chaos_sugar's review

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Racism, and Classism

briannagriffin567's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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 would give this book all the stars if I could. I rarely write a review, but want to remember how perfect I thought this book was. It was beautiful, funny, touching, and overall so much more than I thought it would be when I picked it up to read on a whim.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Dysphoria, Grief, Deadnaming, Death, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Deportation, Death of parent, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Ableism, Blood, Homophobia, Bullying, Car accident, Biphobia, and Abandonment

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.75

I really wanted to like this book. And I had enjoyed it for the most part until the very end, which is why I think this feels so disappointing.

I thought the book had a pretty strong intro. It established the world effectively and did so in a way non-Latin readers could understand. I had a quick grasp on relationships and dynamics. I think the book ended up being a bit heavy handed in foreshadowing with this establishment of the world, but I still appreciated it and that there was foreshadowing.

I also really liked the complexity in the family dynamics. It didn’t feel like Yadriel’s family was villainised for not fully understanding him. It was upsetting, you understood Yadriel’s pain, and (at least with his father) you felt like he was TRYING. And when Yadriel revealed he had become a brujo how PROUD he was of Yadriel. It felt realistic and I appreciated that aspect. This also leant well to the story being told of Yadriel’s struggle as a trans teen, which was compelling and provided such great insight into what trans teens go through in trying to find comfort in their own body.

The biggest issue I had with the book was the romance. I had such a hard time buying into it, especially considering how short of a time the book takes place over. When it did fully turn to romance it felt sudden and like the story hadn’t properly built to it. I felt the book would have been better if it had been about forming a friendship instead of a romance. Especially considering how isolated Yadriel felt as the only noted “friends” outside his family were his cousin’s friends. This was only emphasised when in the ending there was a dramatic declaration that the Julian had feelings for Yadriel and all I could think of was the Sassy Gay Friend video for Romeo and Juliet. I had a couple other issues with the end, but they’re spoilers so I’ll refrain from sharing them.

Overall a book with a strong start that fumbled the ending.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Grief, Transphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Violence, Child death, Dysphoria, Racism, Classism, and Murder

Minor: Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Deportation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Gun violence, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Outing

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

offthecarousel_'s review

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

ageckocalledachilles's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

mirandyli's review

adventurous emotional 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

4.0

An emotional, fast-paced story about a young teenage boy who is gay and trans. Beautifully written and very sweet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child death, Animal death, Transphobia, Blood, Classism, Deadnaming, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Dysphoria