Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

72 reviews

noxtins's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

i liked this a lot! i struggled with the -x suffix on the spanish because im used to -e neutrally and the x popped me out of the energy. brujx is pronounced verrry similarly to bruje anyway :p 
i didnt expect the twist at the end, i was wondering how things would work out. i related a lot to yandriel as a hispanic trans guy myself

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Classism

Moderate: Blood and Abandonment

erika_winters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

4.5

I’ve never read a book about brujx before or ghosts, so this was a wildly adventurous and engaging story! Yadriel, Maritza, and Julian were the best group of teens to follow in this story as we witness their coming of age in a cemetery and being a part of a huge Latinx family who have magic given to them by their goddess, Lady Death. I thought this story was fresh and new, while also being relatable and heartbreaking. There are so many layers of grief in this story from Yadriel and Julian going through personal losses, while also exploring the idea of Julian dying at such a young age. Aiden Thomas does a great job at constructing the magic system in their book, while also tackling social issues in our own world, such as racism, classicism, and transphobia. The cast of characters were overall lovable and came from all walks of life, and I loved how the setting became its own character; the cemetery in East LA  literally brimming with energy from the spirits that inhabit it, to the general areas in SoCal that make it palpable; like the ocean community of Malibu seen later in the book. Overall, this book is meaningful to those who are queer and have fought to have their identities be seen and heard, and a love letter to the Latinx community with its lush culture and heritage.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Transphobia, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Deportation

annathechaoticreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Cemetery Boys found me at exactly the right moment and I’m in love. It’s a great romance but more than that it’s a fantastic exploration of colonialism, tradition and queer identities within a complex immigrant community/family. I laughed, I cried, I gasped, I audibly yelled ”wait…WHAT?!”while reading. The best Y/A book I’ve ever read and a new edition to my Favourite Books of All Time list. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation

amy_in_the_city's review against another edition

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

4.5

This was such an interesting premise, and I loved Yadriel! I'm not sure how I felt about Julian. While I liked how playful he was and how he protected those he loved, his anger issues were concerning. The scene where he

got upset threw a skateboard around his friends

felt like a red flag. I did appreciate that Yadriel set firm boundaries and told Julian that his violent outburst was unacceptable and wouldn't be tolerated again, but I would have felt better if we got some indication afterwards that Julian was working on his anger management skills.

The plot was very predictable. I guessed who the villain would be as soon as they appeared and by 10% into the book I had already guessed the villain's plan.

I still really enjoyed the book because I liked the side characters, Yadriel's character journey, and the main relationship overall.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Deportation

Minor: Body shaming, Child death, Hate crime, Racism, Car accident, and Classism

toastedoats42's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

Great listen on audiobook! It's a super interesting world and concept and, while I predicted some of the things that happened, there were twists ai hadn't expected and kept the whole thing fresh. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Deadnaming, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Abandonment

erikagibson126's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Medical content, Kidnapping, Outing, Abandonment, and Deportation

briannagriffin567's review against another edition

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: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Grief, Dysphoria, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Minor: Ableism, Biphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, Blood, Car accident, and Abandonment

birdieex's review against another edition

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

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

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

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: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming, Racism, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Classism, and Deportation

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: Death, Racism, Transphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, Self harm, Torture, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Classism, and Deportation