Reviews tagging 'Death'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

615 reviews

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.

---

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

ghostpuppy's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative fast-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Transphobia, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Death, Deportation, and Grief

itsash63's review

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

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.

---

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

river23's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Transphobia

livreads16's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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? N/A

4.5

This book is like a hug. The characters are well written, the plot is so interesting, pacing is almost perfect, and the end will have you crying your eyes out. I will probably re-read this at some point.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Grief, Religious bigotry, Torture, Child abuse, Deportation, and Bullying

sp00ky_girl28's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny 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? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, and Deadnaming

ahsirgverse's review

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Transphobia

zydecovivo's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Transphobia, Kidnapping, and Death

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Death of parent, Bullying, Violence, Outing, Deportation, Dysphoria, and Deadnaming

Minor: Animal cruelty

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! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death of parent and Violence

Minor: Deportation