We discussed Aiden Thomas’s Cemetery Boys on June 15, 2023 as part of our Pride Month Special. Thomas’s 2020 YA novel follows latinx trans boy Yadriel on his journey to acceptance—by himself, his brujx community, and Lady Death—and love—with Julian who kick-starts the plot as an accidentally summoned spirit and continues to charm Yadriel and the novel’s readers alike.
PADERBORN2READ Rating for Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
3.5 out of 5
Members’ Opinions
“Fun, vibrant and enigmatic! An exciting mystery read that combines Latinx culture, LGBTQ+ issues and entertaining characters to create a charmingly haunting story!”
“I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the world building and the depiction of (magical) Latinx culture as well as Aiden Thomas’s highly visual and densely detailed writing style. What was lacking in my opinion was a well thought-out plot: Especially towards the end, Cemetery Boys falls into a very typical YA trap by making the adventure’s climax bigger than necessary and over-the-top dramatic. Not that I don’t enjoy jaguar demons! But giant demons, godly apparitions and multiple almost-deaths all at once? That, to me, seems a bit much.”
“The writing style was overall nothing to be excited about, but the story and the characters were very enjoyable. Plus, the representation was very well done and nicely set into the context of the latinx community.”
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