Synopsis:
Cemetery Boys is an LGBTQIA+ ghost story about magic, acceptance and what it means to be your true self. From the instant New York Times-bestelling author Aiden Thomas.
Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
In an attempt to prove himself a true brujo and gain his family’s acceptance, Yadriel decides to summon his cousin’s ghost and help him cross to the afterlife.
But things get complicated when he accidentally summons the ghost of his high school’s resident bad boy, Julian Diaz – and Julian won’t go into death quietly.
The two boys must work together if Yadriel is to move forward with his plan.
But the more time Yadriel and Julian spend together, the harder it is to let each other go…
Review:
I wasn’t expecting to say this but I feel a little disappointed with Cemetery Boys. It took me almost three weeks to read and I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere every time I picked it up. It’s not even that the pacing was slow, I just didn’t have any interest in what I was reading and I’d only get through a few pages at a time. There were a few moments I really enjoyed and I loved the representation this book promotes, but it fell very flat for me (this could just be because of how long it took to read).
Julian was by far the best character. “Queer folks are like wolves,” Julian told him. “We travel in packs.” This is the moment that made me fall in love with Julian. He’s not at all what you expect but the more time you spend with him, the more you find yourself falling for him. Some of his other great moments include:
• “It’s a doggy-dog world out there,” Julian sighed. The corner of Yadriel’s mouth twitched. “Dog-eat-dog.” – I can’t lie, I also thought it was dog-eat-dog when I was a kid. Not as old as Julian is, but still, an easy mistake to make.
• Julian: “Why do you have to prove anything to anyone?”
Yadriel: “It’s just how it is, how it’s always been. In order for them to let me be a brujo—”
Julian: “You don’t need anyone’s permission to be you, Yads”
He goes from being funny to caring and considerate with such ease. You’d think someone that jokes around all the time could come across as ingenuine but he was the most likable character in the whole of Cemetery Boys. I did really like Yadriel and Maritza but Julian completely stole the show for me, which is very obvious from this review.
I adored Maritza’s pit bulls but I hate that they had cropped ears. There was no reason for them to have cropped ears and honestly, I’m questioning why the author felt the need to include this. This moment was great though: “Donatello, Michelangelo!” he called. Immediately, their jowls dropped, tongues happily lolling. “Like the Ninja Turtles?” Julian asked.” – This was also my instant thought, does that make me uncultured? Depending on who you ask, extremely cultured.
I do think the twist in Cemetery Boys was very well done. I never would have guessed what happened, other than one thing related to Julian – I had my doubts about his situation.
The budding relationship between Yadriel and Julian was also an absolute joy to witness. I loved seeing Yadriel start out by constantly being annoyed by Julian to then finding his energy endearing and then willing to die for him. The scenes when they’re preparing for Julian’s final day by buying all of his favourite foods and then stealing his dad’s car to go to a party on the beach were probably my favourite in the entirety of Cemetery Boys.
Once I hit a certain point in Cemetery Boys I found myself really enjoying the story. I can appreciate the world building as the world of the brujx was interesting but I found the start of the book a little too slow. The relationship between Yadriel and Julian really saved my rating of this book. I’m up for reading the sequel, which comes out soon, but I won’t rush to pick it up.
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