Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Cemetery Boys

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

153 reviews

_nutella52's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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hobbithopeful's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? No

5.0

This book was such a treat to read, I've been hearing about it forever, so to finally be able to read it after waiting A MILLION YEARS on the library waitlist was so worth it! (Seriously y'all, it was worth it!)
Cemetery Boys follows Yadriel, a young trans brujo who just wants to be seen by his parents and community. When he tries to summon a spirit, instead he ends up with a ghost who refuses to leave. Julian is loud, brash, and refuses to leave until his unfinished business is taken care of.
I loved everything about this story, it is so great to see books with queer Latinx representation. (So my review is deeply biased, apologies dear readers)
Julian really grew on me, he was so charming and full of life. I went from rolling my eyes and being annoyed at him, to chuckling and smiling whenever he was on the page. All the food descriptions had my stomach growling! I actually went to go buy some pan dulce at the store after finishing the book.

I highly recommend this book! Ghosts, gays, and romance!

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tinyjude's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted 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

4.5

So happy to exist in a time when these queer books exist and celebrate the lives of trans people from different cultures. I loved Yadriel and Julian's relationship, Maritza and Yadriel's friendship, the love and care put into making the story, characters and the representation and appreciation of their culture.

Younger me would have loved this even more 😭 it was healing to read specially in such an uncertain and terrifying time for trans lives and lgbt+ folks in general

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wellreadandhalfdead's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I really appreciated the diversity in this book. It's not often you get to see a transgender protagonist of color. I also loved that this was an urban fantasy book that used Latinx spiritual beliefs, which is a refreshing change from the usual demons/fairies/vampires. I fell in love with the characters, especially Julian. They all felt so alive! Also, the romance was adorable. I was rooting for Yadriel and Julian the whole time.

I didn't like how quickly the mystery was wrapped up. While there were plenty of hints to what was fishy, the ending only took up about thirty pages and was also confusing and unsatisfying. I'm glad there's going to be a sequel, otherwise I would have been more bothered.

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wlreed312's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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? No

3.5

This is probably a case of I'm not the target audience for this book, because while I enjoyed it I didn't love it. There was a lot about it I did love, including the way Julien consistently champions Yadriel. The representation is wonderful, the family dynamic is excellent, and there are bits that made me smile so much it made my face hurt.

But a lot of the plot was just...OK for me. The villain (I guessed very early on who it was) was underdeveloped and I felt a little underwhelmed in the end. I also wasn't a fan of the way the mystery part of the plot was just sort of abandoned for a bit. I think it makes sense in terms of teenage boys but there was a good size chunk where I was going "What about Miguel?" And there were times when the word choices used for things took me completely out of the story. Ultimately an enjoyable read, but not as great as I thought it would be.

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moniipeters's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

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davidbythebay's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

I laughed. I cried. I want more.

Fabulous! The plot is clear and measured, well-paced, and moving. The cultural aspects of this world are defined and addressed well by the author. The characters were well-formed - even those who were present for only a scene or two.

In all honesty, I pieced together some of the mystery early on. When something is mentioned more than once and its importance is stressed, it's going to be important later on. But this didn't lessen my enjoyment or annoy me at all. In fact, it spurred me on to get the full mystery solved, not just the pieces I put down... which did include a few bad predictions on my part.

The audiobook was fantastic! Really enjoyed switching between the audio while driving and the physical copy.

Now, I can't wait for the announced sequel. And did i not hear about this becoming a movie or TV series? If not. Can we get that? In the meanwhile, read this book. It's perfectly crafted entertainment.

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