Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

40 reviews

johnnylyserg's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.0

I did struggle to dive into the story, mainly because the whole idea evolved around latinix culture and their very own rites and practices. As someone not familiar with either the Spanish language or their pactise of witchcraft (brujería), it was difficult following the broad use of Spanish dialogues, terms and family relations.
At some point I felt like if this story was set in Vietnam, Serbia or Namibia, there wouldn't be as much non-english dialogue as when something happens in a country with a 'popular' language.

The author described his initial thought to be 'What if you summoned that ghost and he wouldn't leave you alone anymore?', and yes, this is pretty much the perfect summary.
Yadriel, a trans-teenager, is trying to prove himself worthy to step into the family tradition and becoming a brujo (a 'male witch'). That wish alone makes him an outcast in his fathers eyes, who denies Yadriel his ceremony.
In the dark of the night, Yadriel and his best friend perform the ritual themselves - and accidentally summon the ghost of a teenager soon after, while searching for their missing cousin. What happened to the boy, and why are they unable to find their cousin?

Getting over the initial cultural and language barrier, the story is a cute, heartfelt tale of family, identity, friendship and culture.
I liked the characters, who were consistent, well structured and developed well within the setting of the plot.

Speaking Spanish is a huge plus for reading this book, but be sure that patience is rewarded no matter your language knowledge.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty

merah's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

the writing is absolutely incredible. 
I felt every single emotion while reading this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Dysphoria, and Deportation

Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Deadnaming, Terminal illness, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Classism

loads of knives, blades, cuts and stabbings

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Car accident, Outing, Abandonment, and Deportation

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Abandonment, and Deportation

kalzeb's review against another edition

funny mysterious tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Deadnaming and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Grief, Car accident, and Cultural appropriation

hannahbailey's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

Sadly I really struggled with this. The writing was very juvenile/wattpad-like in the sense that the prose was incredibly clunky and the secondary characters were underdeveloped. There were lots of filler chapters which really dragged and then conflict was resolved unrealistically quickly over a couple of pages. The plot didn’t seem well thought out and I was confused by the quick ‘twist’ and ending. Characters would mysteriously disappear during a scene only to save the day a few pages later with no explanation - there were lots of moments when I thought ‘wait, weren’t you here the whole time’?? The immaturity of the dialogue made this book feel more middle-grade to me, however I can see why it’s aimed at an older audience because of the graphic/heavy themes. Overall, I’m just surprised this got through the editing stages given how under-edited it feels 😔

TW: transphobia, death, death of parent, murder, violence, knife crime, blood, animal death, gore

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

tinyjude's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

4.5

So happy to exist in a time when these queer books exist and celebrate the lives of trans people from different cultures. I loved Yadriel and Julian's relationship, Maritza and Yadriel's friendship, the love and care put into making the story, characters and the representation and appreciation of their culture.

Younger me would have loved this even more 😭 it was healing to read specially in such an uncertain and terrifying time for trans lives and lgbt+ folks in general

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Dysphoria, and Deportation

angievansprang's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

5.0

The characters in this book were so vivid and alive, ironic considering some were ghosts. I found myself hopelessly enthralled by this YA romance and constantly trying to predict the outcome of the mystery/thriller side. A novel rich in Latine and general teen culture, I would definitely recommend giving this one a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Murder

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty and Abandonment

twistykris'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

5.0

This book gave me all the feels and I'm tearing up looking at fan art of my two sweet boys! It got me KICKIN' MAH FEET!!

I love the cast that represents diversity within the Latinx community- Yadriel is Cuban and Mexican, and Julian is Colombian- as well as the diversity in the queer community- Yadriel is trans and gay, Julian is gay.

There were so many funny, sweet moments as Yadriel and Julian got to know each other while (sort of) solving the mystery of Julian's death (to be honest, the mystery was less a part of the plot than I expected, but I'm okay with it?). The moment when

Julian crosses out Yadriel's dead name in the yearbook</spoiler had me SOBBING😭

  Also, I adore Maritza.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Avi Roque and it was wonderful to hear a Latinx, trans person narrate a book that was so important to them. There was an interview between Avi and Aiden at the end and it was great to hear how Macmillan was dedicated to finding an audiobook narrator and cover artist that was representative in the community this book was meant for, by being either POC, trans, or both.
However, it is noticeable that this is Avi's first audiobook. There are certain sentences where the emphasis would be on the "wrong" word, or awkward pauses or lack of pauses. It brought me out of the immersion at times, but overall, it wasn't super distracting. The fact Spanish phrases and names were pronounced as they should be-rather than butchered in my head- outweighs the inexperienced narrator.

Overall, a really sweet, charming story about two boys that I will never forget 💜

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Deadnaming, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty

nellienelson's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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? It's complicated

4.75

I JUST FINISHED READING IT AND I LOVED IT SO MUCH OMG. The representation was so good, so was the storyline and the story itself. I could really relate to the characters. Even though I already suspected what the plot twist would be somewhere in the middle of the book, it still had me on the edge of my seat while reading. It was so well-written and just amazing. 
I definitely recommend!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Outing

Minor: Vomit, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury