Reviews tagging 'Outing'

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

54 reviews

hagwife's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

Cemetery Boys undeniably centers on Latinx and LGBTQ+ voices and amplifies those voices in a beautifully intense and wickedly fun supernatural mystery. This book contains such warmth, such love for the people and lives it represents; Thomas masterfully navigates all of the joys, sorrows, and tensions that come with family, culture, and personal identity.
 
I actually don't want to say any more about it because I just want people to read it, to meet Yads, Jules, and Itza and share in their stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Grief

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Outing, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal death and Deportation

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I really wanted to like this book. And I had enjoyed it for the most part until the very end, which is why I think this feels so disappointing.

I thought the book had a pretty strong intro. It established the world effectively and did so in a way non-Latin readers could understand. I had a quick grasp on relationships and dynamics. I think the book ended up being a bit heavy handed in foreshadowing with this establishment of the world, but I still appreciated it and that there was foreshadowing.

I also really liked the complexity in the family dynamics. It didn’t feel like Yadriel’s family was villainised for not fully understanding him. It was upsetting, you understood Yadriel’s pain, and (at least with his father) you felt like he was TRYING. And when Yadriel revealed he had become a brujo how PROUD he was of Yadriel. It felt realistic and I appreciated that aspect. This also leant well to the story being told of Yadriel’s struggle as a trans teen, which was compelling and provided such great insight into what trans teens go through in trying to find comfort in their own body.

The biggest issue I had with the book was the romance. I had such a hard time buying into it, especially considering how short of a time the book takes place over. When it did fully turn to romance it felt sudden and like the story hadn’t properly built to it. I felt the book would have been better if it had been about forming a friendship instead of a romance. Especially considering how isolated Yadriel felt as the only noted “friends” outside his family were his cousin’s friends. This was only emphasised when in the ending there was a dramatic declaration that the Julian had feelings for Yadriel and all I could think of was the Sassy Gay Friend video for Romeo and Juliet. I had a couple other issues with the end, but they’re spoilers so I’ll refrain from sharing them.

Overall a book with a strong start that fumbled the ending.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Child death, Racism, Violence, Murder, Dysphoria, and Classism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Medical content, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

zydecovivo's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Dysphoria, and Deportation

Minor: Animal cruelty

vikosaurus's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring lighthearted 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? N/A

4.5

I just love the casual representation of queer people so much !!! It was the perfect density and weight for it to be readable even when there was a lot going on and it was still catchy enough for my adhd brain to be able to finish it. Also overall pretty comfy vibes. Love it very much <3

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Dysphoria

Minor: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Outing

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.

ageckocalledachilles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Classism

roksyreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

3.5

It's taken me a long time to read this. I have tried 3 times previously, but never got more than a few chapters in. This time, I was determined to finish. Although it didn't captivate me immediately, this book has a great cast of characters, and centres around a trans coming of age story. Yadriel, a trans queer young man, and a collecti9n of diverse Latinx and queer secondary characters are well-developed, engaging, and relatable - faults and all. The romance sub-plot is super cute, and the focus on friendship and both personal/communal growth make for a strong character-focused story. I enjoyed the cultural immersion and vicarious experience, however the details didn't always fit comfortably into the narrative. Personally, I would also have enjoyed more suspense/mystery; the direction and identity of the big-bad was obvious very early on, which did somewhat diminish my enjoyment. Overall, an impressive debut which I believe should be on all urban fantasy reading lists.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, and Death of parent

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Outing

kirstenf's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Deadnaming, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Deportation

Minor: Lesbophobia, Outing, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol

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

roseangel2's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Outing