Rating: 5/5
Spoiler Free Review! No spoilers this time - I just want to share this book with the world!
This is exactly the book that younger me would have obsessed over. Like, full-on writing fanfiction and drawing fanart obsessed. Now? Still pretty darn obsessed.
Aiden Thomas' debut novel Cemetery Boys follows young trans boy Yadriel as he attempts to prove to his family, once and for all, that he is a brujo. The trouble comes when he and his cousin Maritza attempt to summon the spirit of their recently departed cousin Miguel...and accidentally summon resident bad boy of their school Julian Diaz (okay, slight spoiler, but Julian is an absolute wonder!).
So, you may be thinking, what makes this book so special and not just another paranormal YA romance? I hear you, we've all had a bit too much of main characters falling for mysterious paranormal love interests.
The short answer? It's the characters.
It's Yadriels quiet passion, Julian's unstoppable energy, and Maritza's love and wit and...basically everything. I'm a little bit in love with Maritza.
It's in the way the subject is handled - family and trans identity and sexuality and growing up and death and grief and love.
Okay, let's start with the setting. Absolutely in love with Thomas' descriptions, the culture that is intrinsic to every place the characters go to. Whilst settings weren't explicitly detailed, the information we were given evoked such a feeling that I could conjure up an image of where we were. There was a real personality present in each building.
The cultural elements were also tied in to each setting - as well as the characters - that nothing ever felt like it was being "justified". I've thought about this point for a while because I am struggling to find the words to express myself; I can only summarise it as latinx traditions and values being uncompromisingly present. Even when Yadriel explains parts of his culture to Julian, it is such a judgement-free zone. I love exploring Yadriel's culture and learning more about Dia de Muertos.
Family is such a central element of Cemetery Boys, both in terms of blood family and found family. It was incredibly touching to have found family be so important, especially to Julian. Yadriel's struggle to talk to his family was brilliantly portrayed, especially in high-stress situations. The conversations felt just dramatic enough for fiction but so realistic at the same time. Oftentimes dialogue falls down in books because of the attempt to be very heightened, but Cemetery Boys manages to find that balance between real and intriguing.
Before I wrap up, I want to talk a little bit about why this book felt so important to me, why it feels like progress. When I was a teenager, fanfiction gave me the moments I didn't get to see in fiction. It satisfied a need to see more - not just of the characters we loved, but more than mainstream media would show. Think about all those relationships that you loved, the ships you couldn't shut up about, the ones that were never quite realised, all the queerbaiting that took place (and still does!). Fanfiction was a way to find the relationships we needed, to seek validation from characters we loved and worlds we wanted to be a part of...
Cemetery Boys is the published version of that.
It's the will they/won't they, high-stakes, slow burn. It's the deep talks at 2am and finding you don't know where you end and the next person begins. It's a whirlwind romance without the guarantee of a happily ever after. And yes, I am waxing lyrical about this book right now but I just really, really loved it.
It's important to remember that this is YA fiction though. Don't expect the world of it. Expect a well-written book that explores hard topics in an approachable and open way. Expect a bit of cliché and a little bit of obvious foreshadowing. But remember that Cemetery Boys finds its place amongst series such as Twilight or Divergent (I'm trying to relate it to YA books I know were big but I am no longer in touch with modern YA). They weren't literary masterpieces, but they gave something to the world, they provided teenagers with worlds to build upon. And that's what Cemetery Boys does. It creates a world where things aren't perfect, but with some hope and a hell of a lot of work, maybe one day they will be.