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rachel_tb'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? Yes
4.0
bookswithline's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
5.0
I loved loved loved this book. I honestly have no bad words for this. It was so interesting to see a fantasy book having very strong latinx culture along with incorporation of a trans character. I love both Yadriel and Julian and their relationship. The ending really tied everything up nicely and left no crumbs. Everyone read this book, especially with dia de los muertos coming up!
jacyjean's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
dinoflagellates's review against another edition
3.0
Had to force myself to finish it by listening to the audiobook. I couldn’t handle the teen angst and that is a me problem. Nonetheless, I think it is a really cool story and I loved the lore surrounding Latinx culture!
kaedenslibrary's review against another edition
5.0
This was a good book to be my comeback. A mix of intriguing, enjoyable and quick to read this book had me hooked. (Despite the fact that I was busy these past few weeks and read this book only three of those days.) The main aspect I want to point out is the characterization, especially Julian’s, his character had great energy and I enjoyed seeing his change in demeanor when he was faced with uneasy situations. The book stayed true to its “spooky” plotline as there was always some kind of trepidation.
dare_bear42's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
soapgrace's review against another edition
5.0
The hot sec where I thought this book wasn’t going to have a happy ending I was really ready to throw it far far away so it couldn’t hurt me
claudianhi's review against another edition
adventurous
- 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
3.25
xtinaji's review against another edition
3.0
Truthfully speaking, I wish I loved this book as much as I loved its premise:"Latinx trans teen boy, hoping to release his cousin's spirit and prove himself as a brujo, accidentally summons the wrong ghost and ends up falling in love with him." It's such an interesting and compelling concept, and I couldn't wait to join in on the hype! But I think my main problem lies with how juvenile the story and writing ended up being, with lots of info-dumping, predictable and meandering plot, and a very passive protagonist.
Let me first list the positives. To start, there is excellent representation in Cemetary Boys, and I'm sure trans youth will see themselves in Yadriel and his struggles. His insecurities, particularly those that concern a sense of belonging in his Latinx family/community, are definitely the most three-dimensional aspect of this book. In addition, his relationship with Julian is a delight to follow, with the latter being incredibly personable, goofy, and instantly likable (Julian is, by far, the book's most dynamic character). To be sure, there is excellent representation to be found here, and this review, by no means, is meant to downplay the importance and necessity of amplifying marginalized narratives.
However, this also brings me to my criticisms of the book. While I liked that the brujx world system was clearly thought out, this information was also delivered to us in chunks of straight up exposition. Much of the story is told to you directly, and that makes it so that everything feels pretty surface level. The prose of the book is also simple and often boring to follow, with repetitive phrases, slow pacing, and little narrative voice. I think it's a mix of Yadriel's passive voice, alongside the story's little plot, that didn't make the book all that engaging. The plot itself has no momentum, and also ended up being quite predictable as it hurriedly wraps up in the last couple of chapters without much fanfare. As much as I liked the characters well enough, there was barely character development for either of the main leads, and even less so for the side characters. To speak plainly: the story and its characters are static.
Moreover, while I don't believe it's Yadriel's burden to resolve the inherently sexist structure of the brujx world, I just found it odd how also he implicitly looks down on bruja work by constantly championing brujo work. Not to mention how the brujx worldbuilding itself is used as the ultimate validation for Yadriel's identity as a trans man, rather than his family/community actually accepting him for who he is. I don't want to overstep and speak too much of this point, but it just felt like an emotionless cop-out. That, and his family's transphobic actions throughout the novel are kind of just swept under the rug and never addressed. I think this all just leads back to the fact that the writing lacks maturity, so a lot of the character development is bluntly told to you rather than explored - leaving much to be desired.
Overall, I liked the book well enough. It's cute and fluffy, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for LGBTQ+ representation! Yadriel's experience and insecurities as a trans man are also a wonderful additional to the YA fantasy genre, and I credit the author for weaving in these real life elements and struggles within the context of the fantasy world. As it is, I honestly think this book would have been great if it was marketed as a middle-grade novel instead. That being said, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by what this story could have been.
Let me first list the positives. To start, there is excellent representation in Cemetary Boys, and I'm sure trans youth will see themselves in Yadriel and his struggles. His insecurities, particularly those that concern a sense of belonging in his Latinx family/community, are definitely the most three-dimensional aspect of this book. In addition, his relationship with Julian is a delight to follow, with the latter being incredibly personable, goofy, and instantly likable (Julian is, by far, the book's most dynamic character). To be sure, there is excellent representation to be found here, and this review, by no means, is meant to downplay the importance and necessity of amplifying marginalized narratives.
However, this also brings me to my criticisms of the book. While I liked that the brujx world system was clearly thought out, this information was also delivered to us in chunks of straight up exposition. Much of the story is told to you directly, and that makes it so that everything feels pretty surface level. The prose of the book is also simple and often boring to follow, with repetitive phrases, slow pacing, and little narrative voice. I think it's a mix of Yadriel's passive voice, alongside the story's little plot, that didn't make the book all that engaging. The plot itself has no momentum, and also ended up being quite predictable as it hurriedly wraps up in the last couple of chapters without much fanfare. As much as I liked the characters well enough, there was barely character development for either of the main leads, and even less so for the side characters. To speak plainly: the story and its characters are static.
Moreover, while I don't believe it's Yadriel's burden to resolve the inherently sexist structure of the brujx world, I just found it odd how also he implicitly looks down on bruja work by constantly championing brujo work. Not to mention how the brujx worldbuilding itself is used as the ultimate validation for Yadriel's identity as a trans man, rather than his family/community actually accepting him for who he is. I don't want to overstep and speak too much of this point, but it just felt like an emotionless cop-out. That, and his family's transphobic actions throughout the novel are kind of just swept under the rug and never addressed. I think this all just leads back to the fact that the writing lacks maturity, so a lot of the character development is bluntly told to you rather than explored - leaving much to be desired.
Overall, I liked the book well enough. It's cute and fluffy, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for LGBTQ+ representation! Yadriel's experience and insecurities as a trans man are also a wonderful additional to the YA fantasy genre, and I credit the author for weaving in these real life elements and struggles within the context of the fantasy world. As it is, I honestly think this book would have been great if it was marketed as a middle-grade novel instead. That being said, I can't help but feel underwhelmed by what this story could have been.