Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

143 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.

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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

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

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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

vikosaurus's review

adventurous inspiring lighthearted 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? N/A

4.5

I just love the casual representation of queer people so much !!! It was the perfect density and weight for it to be readable even when there was a lot going on and it was still catchy enough for my adhd brain to be able to finish it. Also overall pretty comfy vibes. Love it very much <3

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Bullying, Death, Transphobia, Deadnaming, Murder, Grief, and Dysphoria

Minor: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Outing

kestrelfire's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Violence, Racism, and Transphobia

birdieex's review

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted 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? Yes

5.0

I cannot begin to explain how many tears I shed from this book! Our main character is a gay, trans, Latino boy. The rep is absolutely incredible. The language and culture interwoven is beautiful. I found myself using an online translator for some words and phrases simply to get the direct meaning, but the author makes it possible to use context clues to figure it out if you don't speak Spanish and sometimes straight up tells you in text.

I fell in love with Yadriel and Julian a soon as they appeared on the page and I highlighted so many quotes the made me laugh. The characters are so strong and I was so absorbed in the world that I had trouble wanting to put the book down.

As a trans adult who was that trans teen fighting for their identity to be seen, that aspect affected me deeply. It was hard to see Yadriel's struggle since I related so much, but it was so beautifully written.

One of my favorite books by far! Can't wait to read more!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Outing, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Deportation, Police brutality, Violence, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Cursing

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Car accident, Sexism, Mental illness, and Misogyny

Women are discouraged from a certain job in the community.

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

astralfeline's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I tried starting this book multiple times throughout the past couple yrs and for some reason was never hooked in the first couple chapters. But I was determined to make it happen this time since I'd heard so many good things about this book and I have to say I wish I'd read it earlier 😭 This is the sweetest story. I love the lgbt (especially trans) rep in this story. I love the characters and how they feel like real people with their own motivations and interests. I loved the added details about Día de Muertos while also adding in the extra magical elements making it a bit more fantasy feeling.  The character interactions and relationships amongst each other are so well done. And I think the plot and overall storyline is just perfect. It didn't feel like it dragged at any point, but it wasn't too short either. I loved listening to the audiobook and reading along at the same time so I could see the spelling of any Spanish words or phrases and easily translate them if needed. Also

the chemistry and interactions between Julian and Yadriel definitely had me giggling and kicking my feet, it was just so cute. I'm so glad this book had a happy ending because towards the end it definitely had me in tears

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death, and Blood

Minor: Death of parent, Transphobia, and Dysphoria

psitstorrie's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The premise and characters are fantastic. The pacing is very inconsistent though. It starts off so, so slow, but right at the end it is full steam ahead, with little built in between. I enjoyed the book a lot though, and it was really nice seeing the family dynamics play out how they did. It’s fun and dark at the same time

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Death, Abandonment, Murder, Transphobia, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death and Car accident