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victoriousbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
liaer's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I liked this book overall. I felt like Julian and Yadriel's relationship was really sweet, of a bit rushed. I wish the Maritza was more involved in the later third of the book. It kind of felt like she fell off without any explanation. I feel a little conflicted on Catriz being the villain. This is because he was the only one (except for this mom) who wholeheartedly supported Yadriel's transition. Although, I did think was an interesting allegory of how even cis men are denied manhood based on normative gender roles. Overall, I liked it. I thought the relationship was cute and the mystery was just mysterious enough to keep me going. I think my biggest complaint is that I wish the side characters were more well developed (especially Julian's friends)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Car accident and Deportation
sadie_g's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I'd had this book for a while and just never read it and I'm so glad I finally did! It was so good, I loved the relationships and friendships and how deep they all were. You could tell that these characters were truly found family to each other.
The story itself was fun and the mystery had me intrigued the whole time. I'm very happy with how the book ended, even though I suspected it would end this way. I do wish the reveal at the end was a bit longer but otherwise, this book was great.
Has great representation and believable characters. The setting was so cool, and I liked the magical elements of this.
The story itself was fun and the mystery had me intrigued the whole time. I'm very happy with how the book ended, even though I suspected it would end this way. I do wish the reveal at the end was a bit longer but otherwise, this book was great.
Has great representation and believable characters. The setting was so cool, and I liked the magical elements of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Deadnaming, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Car accident
mariebrunelm's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
5.0
Yadriel is a brujo, there’s no doubt about that to him. But to his family, his transition is still difficult to process and so far he hasn’t been able to take part in the official ceremony during which he is given his portaje, the tool channelling his magic to help spirits go to the spirit world instead of lingering in the realm of the living. That doesn’t stop him, and with the help of his friend Maritza he performs the ceremony himself and Lady Death welcomes him. However, his joy is only momentary when his brother passes away suddenly and his body can’t be found. When Yadriel tries to find him by himself, he only finds another spirit who died recently — the slightly insufferable but charming Julian. Yadriel, Maritza and the ghost of Julian embark on a quest with a ticking clock. Día de Muertos is looming and they have to find Yadriel’s brother by then as well as help Julian remember the circumstances of his death.
What a page-turning, fun book ! I was longing for a truly engrossing read since it had been a long time a book had really hooked me, and this YA paranormal adventure was exactly what the doctor ordered. You have very loveable although imperfect characters, the enchanting setting of autumn in the latinx community of Los Angeles, and a fast-but-not-too-fast plot to keep you reading. I really enjoyed the psychology of characters. Each of them was flawed but good-hearted and willing to help each other. It was slightly heart-breaking to follow Yadriel’s struggles to be accepted by his family, but you can tell that was close to the author’s heart and done very sensitively. The play on bilingualism was chef’s kiss as well and led to even more moving scenes (iykyk). To top it all, and I’ll say it vaguely so as not to spoil anything, I loved that tradition was on Yadriel’s side as a trans boy. That was extremely heart-warming.
All in all, a delightful YA book that is perfect for Autumn !
Rep: latino trans MC, latino gay SC, latina vegan SC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Transphobia
disnelyse'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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Deadnaming, Violence, and Death of parent
shugentobler's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
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
4.75
This book was beautiful and rich and delectable, and a perfect spooky, not too scary read. I absolutely adored the narrator and will be reading books by this author and from this narrator again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Racism
meheehee's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Transphobia, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Deadnaming, Gore, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
quilllikesbooks's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Transphobia, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deadnaming
capriqueen's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.5
The characters jumped right into my heart, especially Julian. The romance gave me heart palpitations. I figured early on what the endgame was going to be, but it was still exciting nonetheless. Almost teared up at the end, very heartfelt
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Kidnapping and Death of parent
hannahwillacy's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Transphobia