njh_books's review
adventurous
dark
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? It's complicated
5.0
A bunch of friends recommended this one and I'm glad I read it. It was thoughtful, sweet, adventurous, heartwarming, a bit spooky, a bit historical, and a bit dramatic all rolled into one.
Reading this story also over the dates they happened added a bit of extra magic to it. Finishing the story in the early morning/late night hours of Dia de Muertos was like being in the story.
I enjoyed all the friendship shown in the story and the interactions the characters had. It felt so realistic and also just kids being kids in the circumstances they find themselves in. Maritza was wonderful and I enjoyed the scenes with her dogs.
Julian and Yadriel are quite cute and the playful teasing is fun. The slowly blooming relationship was reminiscent of teenage years and I loved that Yadriel's mom, Camila, got to meet him in the epilogue. The reunion with his mom was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
Apparently the book should have sequel in 2024, so looking forward to that!
Reading this story also over the dates they happened added a bit of extra magic to it. Finishing the story in the early morning/late night hours of Dia de Muertos was like being in the story.
Spoiler
I will say I saw Tio Catriz as the murderer pretty quickly. I had my suspicions earlier on, but my red flags went up when Lita told the legend of Bahlam. By the time we got the half heard argument between Catriz and Enrique (which Yadriel thought was about him), it sealed the confirmation for me...and that was 100+ pages before we actually found out Catriz was the murderer.I enjoyed all the friendship shown in the story and the interactions the characters had. It felt so realistic and also just kids being kids in the circumstances they find themselves in. Maritza was wonderful and I enjoyed the scenes with her dogs.
Julian and Yadriel are quite cute and the playful teasing is fun. The slowly blooming relationship was reminiscent of teenage years and I loved that Yadriel's mom, Camila, got to meet him in the epilogue. The reunion with his mom was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.
Apparently the book should have sequel in 2024, so looking forward to that!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Torture, Murder, Transphobia, Violence, and Child death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Deadnaming
Minor: Car accident and Alcohol
melist6's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexism, and Racism
Moderate: Deportation, Transphobia, Death, Dysphoria, Murder, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Animal death, and Deadnaming
alek_n's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
lindsayflor_95's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-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? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Transphobia, Blood, and Death
kathrynhoss's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Beautiful book. I hope many trans teens get to read it. I was confused by the lack of grief for the dead/missing Miguel at the beginning of the book, but I am an adult and emotions/lack thereof in YA novels don't always make sense to me. The first half felt slow/filler-y at times but the second half had me on the edge of my seat. Would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a spooky YA queer/trans read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dysphoria and Violence
Minor: Transphobia
mattyb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Violence, Grief, Dysphoria, and Transphobia
Minor: Medical content, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Deportation
kevin_the_intern's review
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Death, and Blood
mikaclapson's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, and Death
Minor: Transphobia
binreads's review
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
The StoryGraph account actually recommended this book to me on tiktok!!
If i could give this a 1000000000000/10, I would.
I've had this sitting on my shelf for a while and since it is spooky season, I thought it was finally the perfect time to read. I loved every second of it. The trans/latin experience and representation was so refreshing to read.
I enjoyed the characters so much, the 3 musketeers, Yadriel, Maritza and Julian. Yad was endearing, Martiza was hysterical and Julien was the heart. The pacing was perfect, never felt too slow or rushed.
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Especially when he caught sight of Yad's portaje, I knew something was up. Why wouldn't Catriz tell his own brother about Yadriel, wouldn't he be worried or concerned? If he really wanted to help Yadriel, why wouldn't he speak with him about it?
Then he was always coming and going so much throughout the book. What I DIDN'T guess, until it was literally happening, was that he had taken Miguel and Julien. That ending was WILD!!!
I saw there's a sequel in the works and I'm super excited to read it!
If i could give this a 1000000000000/10, I would.
I've had this sitting on my shelf for a while and since it is spooky season, I thought it was finally the perfect time to read. I loved every second of it. The trans/latin experience and representation was so refreshing to read.
I enjoyed the characters so much, the 3 musketeers, Yadriel, Maritza and Julian. Yad was endearing, Martiza was hysterical and Julien was the heart. The pacing was perfect, never felt too slow or rushed.
Spoilers ahead, beware!
Spoiler
I'm kinda impressed with myself because I had a feeling Tio Catriz was bad halfway through. Mostly because I was thinking, why is this dude being overly nice?Especially when he caught sight of Yad's portaje, I knew something was up. Why wouldn't Catriz tell his own brother about Yadriel, wouldn't he be worried or concerned? If he really wanted to help Yadriel, why wouldn't he speak with him about it?
Then he was always coming and going so much throughout the book. What I DIDN'T guess, until it was literally happening, was that he had taken Miguel and Julien. That ending was WILD!!!
I saw there's a sequel in the works and I'm super excited to read it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Transphobia, Grief, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Racism and Deportation
aerietta's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Transphobia, Death of parent, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Grief
Minor: Physical abuse, Car accident, Child death, Deadnaming, Medical content, Alcohol, Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, and Kidnapping