A review by heyleigh05
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

 I haven’t posted a review in a bit but I’m back! I was in a bit of a reading slump. The latest book I’ve read has been Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas. This book has been very popular and rightfully so, it deserves all its success. I’m sure most people are familiar with the book so I’ll skip the synopsis. This is a very sweet, fun novel about acceptance, family, and culture. Yadriel, our main character, is very connected to his family and their cultural traditions. Yadriel and his cousin, Maritza, are tied at the hip, and he cares fiercely for her and his family. I liked that the novel emphasized that the brujx are a community, not bound to traditional family organizations. All the brujx across the Latin and Caribbean diaspora are family and they work together to sustain their community and cultural traditions. This is also a story about found family, the people we choose to love and protect because they are dear to us. I think an important message throughout the novel is that having a network of people, large or small, who support and uplift us is important for our survival.

I enjoyed learning about Latin/Caribbean culture in this novel. I think that was part of the fun for me and the cultural traditions are so integral to the story that everything felt important. I do think that some parts that were over explained. While I do appreciate that the author took the time to explain things to non-Latin people, I don’t mind having to do a little googling and research. Nonetheless, this is an informative novel and if you want to learn about brujx culture definitely read this book!

Overall this is a really sweet, feel-good story with compelling characters and a fun plot and I would definitely recommend. My mom saw me reading this and she read the synopsis and now she’s really curious to read it, and my mom is a 56 year old Black woman so if a YA can capture her attention it must be interesting. This is a really great debut by Aiden Thomas and I will be keeping an eye out for his future work.