Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

106 reviews

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: Death, Racism, Transphobia, and Blood

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

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

christinereads1823's review

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: Death and Blood

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

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

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

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

scrb_oodle's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Animal cruelty and Deadnaming

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

3.25

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

mle11's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Deportation

roksyreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.5

It's taken me a long time to read this. I have tried 3 times previously, but never got more than a few chapters in. This time, I was determined to finish. Although it didn't captivate me immediately, this book has a great cast of characters, and centres around a trans coming of age story. Yadriel, a trans queer young man, and a collecti9n of diverse Latinx and queer secondary characters are well-developed, engaging, and relatable - faults and all. The romance sub-plot is super cute, and the focus on friendship and both personal/communal growth make for a strong character-focused story. I enjoyed the cultural immersion and vicarious experience, however the details didn't always fit comfortably into the narrative. Personally, I would also have enjoyed more suspense/mystery; the direction and identity of the big-bad was obvious very early on, which did somewhat diminish my enjoyment. Overall, an impressive debut which I believe should be on all urban fantasy reading lists.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Outing

njh_books's review

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

A bunch of friends recommended this one and I'm glad I read it. It was thoughtful, sweet, adventurous, heartwarming, a bit spooky, a bit historical, and a bit dramatic all rolled into one.

Reading this story also over the dates they happened added a bit of extra magic to it. Finishing the story in the early morning/late night hours of Dia de Muertos was like being in the story.

 

I will say I saw Tio Catriz as the murderer pretty quickly. I had my suspicions earlier on, but my red flags went up when Lita told the legend of Bahlam. By the time we got the half heard argument between Catriz and Enrique (which Yadriel thought was about him), it sealed the confirmation for me...and that was 100+ pages before we actually found out Catriz was the murderer.

I enjoyed all the friendship shown in the story and the interactions the characters had. It felt so realistic and also just kids being kids in the circumstances they find themselves in. Maritza was wonderful and I enjoyed the scenes with her dogs.

Julian and Yadriel are quite cute and the playful teasing is fun. The slowly blooming relationship was reminiscent of teenage years and I loved that Yadriel's mom, Camila, got to meet him in the epilogue. The reunion with his mom was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. 

 

Apparently the book should have sequel in 2024, so looking forward to that! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Deadnaming, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Car accident and Alcohol

aerietta's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Bullying, Transphobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

scoodle42's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-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? N/A

5.0

Yadriel is a trans boy and a brujo, struggling to be accepted by his family as a boy and as a witch. He comes from a long line of gifted brux but since the death of his mother, cannot be acknowledged as a brujo because his father refuses to accept his identity. So he decides to conduct the ceremony himself, with the help of his cousin Maritza. In an abandoned church, they complete the ceremony and Yadriel is official. And then he promptly meets a ghost--Julian. Another teenage boy that needs to know what happened to him before he'll let Yadriel cross him over. So now Yads and Maritza (along with ghost Julian) are on a mission to find out how Julian died, and make sure that his friends are okay.

Okay, so this was one of my faves on the year. The cultural elements of the book are very intricate and detailed, so the book is a bit top heavy with information but as it went along, I felt better having that understanding. And the moment I met Julian I was riveted. I didn't put the book down until it was finished. Yadriel's courage and bravery, Maritza's spunk and fire, and Julian's humor and daring were a great combination. Watching Yads and Julian push and pull, discover themselves, and fall in love took me on a wonderful ride. This book was a beautiful, magical, emotional thing. I loved the fantasy of the cemetery, the mystery of ghosts living among us, and the wonder of the humans who can not only see and communicate with them, but have a responsibility to them. Julian was every exciting and frustrating thing a teenage boy gone too soon should be, and his personality paired well with Yad's. His friends were wonderful extensions of him and I loved the representation. Yad's family and their important work was a great backdrop and it was an emotional tug to see him try so desperately to fit in.

The end had me on the edge of my seat and my heart was in my throat the entire time. I loved seeing these kids come into the power they'd always had and Julian get the answers he needed. And at the end, it was a love story and a family story and I felt the pull of both. Beautiful.  

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Death of parent