Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

106 reviews

evalynnfarkashasanbasri's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

I enjoyed my time with this book, and thought it was pretty great for a debut, though I can see where the word in this book do not flow smoothly or is not engaging for every reader. I had heard a lot of hype from teens about this one, and I see why it is loved. The characters are a treat to have as company. The physical book itself is so gorgeous, for one thing. The spooky, dark atmosphere of the book make it a good choice for November, or as a Day of the Dead read. The mystery central to the story is somewhat easy to figure out, with many clues left by the author as to what is really going on, or how it will end. The premise is still interesting though, and the Spanish language sprinkled throughout, as well as the author's clear attitude of welcoming all cultures of Spanish-speakers, is really cool. 

As an adult closer to my 30s than my 20s, it made me think: This is what happens when we give our children minimal information about something, or make them feel misunderstood, or like they cannot come to us for help, or tell the whole truth. But because it is a YA book, nothing bad really happens. Yadriel is able to overcome all obstacles. His guardians come around, apologizing for the nearly grave errors of their ways. And by now, after so much media and real people that tell us otherwise, us in the LGBTQIA+ community deserve this happy ending. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia, Blood, and Abandonment

Minor: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment

naoml'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

4.25

"Growth isn't a deviation from what we've done before, but a natural progression to honor all those who make this community strong"

I thought this was very well done. The representation of queerness and transness was not overworked, but beautifully woven into the story, which stands on it's own very well. I thought the world building and family dynamics were really well crafted. Not 5 starts because it felt a tad rushed in a few places

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deadnaming and Blood

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Deportation

singsandreads's review

adventurous dark hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

I was gonna give it a 5 star, but honestly the twist at the end was anticlimactic for me. There were definitely some elements I didn’t see coming though. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

al3xa's review

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Blood

Moderate: Child death, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

bookish_perseus's review

emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Deportation

Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Deportation

clarinetta's review

adventurous 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

4.75

I wanted so badly to give this book 5 stars. It was so good and heartwarming and I really liked that romance wasn't the main point of the book. I could just see the "plot twist" coming from a mile away and it was frustrating to have to go through half of the book to wait for it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

amy_in_the_city's review

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

This was such an interesting premise, and I loved Yadriel! I'm not sure how I felt about Julian. While I liked how playful he was and how he protected those he loved, his anger issues were concerning. The scene where he

got upset threw a skateboard around his friends

felt like a red flag. I did appreciate that Yadriel set firm boundaries and told Julian that his violent outburst was unacceptable and wouldn't be tolerated again, but I would have felt better if we got some indication afterwards that Julian was working on his anger management skills.

The plot was very predictable. I guessed who the villain would be as soon as they appeared and by 10% into the book I had already guessed the villain's plan.

I still really enjoyed the book because I liked the side characters, Yadriel's character journey, and the main relationship overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Deportation

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Hate crime, Racism, Car accident, and Classism

jei_reads_sometimes's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Dysphoria

erikagibson126's review

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Medical content, Kidnapping, Outing, Abandonment, and Deportation

nikoops's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Cemetery Boys is a mystery wrapped in a coming-of-age story. Yadriel knows who he is, but it is a bit harder to get his community and family to acknowledge these truths. It’s ever harder to focus on that when there’s the mystery of the ghost boy and other missing people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail