Yadriel is a transgender boy who wants nothing more than to prove to his traditional Latinx family that he is a brujo. When he accidentally summons the spirit of Julian Diaz, he has to race against time to release his spirit before Día de los Muertos, but Yadriel quickly learns just how stubborn Julian really is.
Cemetery Boys is a strong representation of what it means to be a trans boy who wants to prove himself to a family that refuses to break from tradition. For the most part, I think it’s a strong story. Even though it faltered at the end, and my rating dipped down a bit, but it didn’t make me hate it. I do wish it was done differently but as it is, I give this a strong 3.7 out of 5. It’s definitely worth the read and should be on everyone’s bookshelf if you enjoy YA fiction filled with magic and the paranormal, but more importantly, endearing characters.
I have been trying to read this book for about a year now and I finally managed to finish it. This is in no way a reflection of the book, but rather myself, who struggled to get any reading done in 2021. I reread the first 50 pages about three times which means it was a strong opening. I usually don’t torture myself so if a book isn’t grabbing my attention, I put it down. I wanted to read it, so I was very willing to read those pages again each time I attempted to finally finish a book. I kept going back to it over and over again, determined to read something. And finally, I got myself to focus and stick with the book, and I’m so glad I did.
Character is the most important thing in a novel for me and I fell in love with Yadriel, Martiza, and Julian. For the most part, there was good pacing, the writing was strong, and it was a really lovely story. The last quarter of the novel was drastically weaker though, and I’ll discuss that in the spoiler portion of the review.
Cemetery Boys centers on a Latinx family and I love the liveliness and the strong familial bonds depicted. Often times when a novel has a large cast of characters, the secondary and tertiary characters feel flat and unrealized. They often lack a substance and feel as if they’re an afterthought. Here, for the most part, I didn’t feel like any of the characters were there for the sake of being there. I got a clear sense of the large family Yadriel was a part of without needing to have them running around in every scene. There were some characters I wish we had spent more time with, but the world of Cemetery Boys felt realized and lived in.
This is the first novel about a transgender character that I’ve ever read. It’s not that I actively avoided such a topic, I just simply hadn’t found the right book that spoke to me. I’m drawn more to the fantasy and sci-fi genres than contemporary which is more often the genre that tells transgender stories. When I found Cemetery Boys, I was immediately intrigued by the premise, and I was excited to find a novel about a topic that I know very little about but want to learn more. I have met only a few openly transgender people before, none of whom I knew beyond acquaintance. I am ignorant to a lot of the issues that transgender people go through and I often felt like Yadriel’s family. Though I was speaking more from ignorance than willful refusal to acknowledge one’s gender, reading about Yadriel’s frustration showed me how frustrating and disheartening it can be for the transgender community when people like me slip up and make mistakes.
Novels like this are powerful. They allow people who are like Yadriel to see themselves portrayed and it gives them a character to bond with. It also allows people outside of the trans community to have empathy for trans people. Ignorance hinders progress and the more novels we have about the LGBTQIA+ community, the easier it is to tackle ignorance. I am so glad that I found this novel and that it was even featured on the Barnes & Noble YA Book Club, which is the gorgeous edition that I got. We need to continue highlighting these stories, not only for the youth that this book is largely targeted to, but for adults as well. I have always been an advocate for people to support media that depicts people different from them. We have far too many CIS white men and women in leading roles, and any time these roles deviate, the biggest argument is ‘I can’t relate to this character’. I am not a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, but I relate to Yadriel feeling alone in his school. Obviously not to the extent that he did, but I did struggle with bullying and feeling isolated in middle school and high school so I can empathize. But I also empathized with his struggle that I myself will never face. I don’t have to relate to every aspect of a character to be invested in their story and it seems a lot of people have yet to learn that.
Now, onto spoilers.
I absolutely love the way Yadriel describes Julian, especially as he’s falling in love with him. In the beginning, Julian’s stubbornness threatens to expose Yadriel’s secret and he has to put up with him until he finds Julian’s friends. By the end, Julian’s stubbornness becomes endearing, a trait that Yadriel falls in love with. I think that the progression of their affection for one another is well paced and feels organic. Many times, when you have a story that takes place over just a few days, the romance can feel rushed and unbelievable, but in Cemetery Boys, I can believe it.
“He didn’t see how anyone could get a clean break from Julian once they entered his orbit […] He was a bit of an ass. Headstrong, impulsive, and definitely obnoxious. But Yadriel could see how ferociously he cared about the people who were important to him.”
Cemetery Boys p. 157-158
“He was so…visceral. He was so real. Even with his blurry edges and chilling touch, he was a force of nature. He was loud, he was stubborn, he was determined, and he was reckless.”
Cemetery Boys p. 243
One of the things that Yadriel loves about Julian is how confident he is about who he is. When Yadriel assumes that Julian is straight, Julian corrects him instantly, stating that he is actually gay without any hesitation. Yadriel has struggled with his sexuality and gender identity, not having the confidence that he envies in Julian.
“He’d said it so… ’casually’ wasn’t the right word, but maybe ‘easily’ was. Whenever Yadriel came out to anyone, it was always an ordeal that he overthought and dragged out. It was nerve-racking, waiting to see someone’s reaction, whether they would reject him, or even understand what it meant when a trans boy said he was gay. But not for Julian.
He’d said it as almost a challenge. In a way that said he didn’t care what you thought.”
Cemetery Boys p. 125
We see Julian rub off on Yadriel as he becomes more and more comfortable with who he is. He gets the courage to use the boy’s restroom at school. This feels like such a small step but is actually a huge leap for Yadriel and I love seeing him become who he truly is.
“But he was a boy, and if this was what they bathrooms were like, then he’d get used to it.”
Cemetery Boys p. 209
We see why Julian is so good with helping Yadriel be truer to himself when we finally meet his friends. They are truly a band of ‘misfits’, people who are rejected by everyone else and have formed their own family. We have Luca who was abused and subsequently joined a gang, Rocky who lives in a group home, Flaca, a trans girl who was thrown out of her home, and Omar whose parents were deported. Julian lives with his older brother, Rio, as their mother abandoned them, and their dad was killed in street violence. I appreciate that Thomas touched on other subjects that the Latinx community faces, bringing these kids together in a support system that no one else shows them. When Julian is missing, none of them call the police because of their fear of deportation which is a very real and very terrifying issue that Latinx people face every day. I do wish this, and the other issues facing Julian’s friends, were touched on a little bit more since this is such a topical issue and feels like it could really add to the story.
This leads to my biggest problem with the book, the last quarter of the novel. We had been building up the mystery of what happened to Julian and finding his friends, but then we just leave them and don’t see them until a brief moment at the end. I wish we had spent more time with them and bring them in on the search. Luca helps for a brief moment but then is gone as well. I wanted to see more of Yadriel and Flaca interacting as they have that shared trait of being trans. Flaca has more confidence in who she is, using the girl’s restroom without fear, even as she gets in trouble for doing so. I wanted to see some bonding between them. They could be the friends that Yadriel desperately needs, as he seems to really have no one except for his cousin Martiza.
The final day before Yadriel releases Julian takes a sudden turn in tone and all of a sudden, Yadriel is skipping school and stealing Julian and Rio’s’ car. They go to the Halloween bonfire, and all of this adds nothing to the story. It severely weakened the pacing and all the buildup we had been leading to. I also want to know what happened to the whole day. One moment, Yadriel is buying all of Julian’s favorite foods, then they’re stealing the car, then they’re all of a sudden at the bonfire? Where did the day go? This was such a huge waste that could’ve been much better utilized.
I wish instead they had kept on track with finding Julian’s body. Maybe Yadriel skips school and finds Julian’s friends to get their help. He can still get Julian’s foods for his ofrenda, but the grand theft auto storyline needs to go. I wanted to feel the building tension as they run out of time to find Julian’s body. Maybe one of his friends is in danger of being killed like Julian or goes missing as well and they have to find them. I picked up on Tío Catriz being the villain about halfway through and I absolutely loved the potential of this. You have him being an outsider like Yadriel, as he was born without the powers of a brujo but then he chooses a very dangerous path to be acknowledged by his family. The juxtaposition of this would’ve been incredible but unfortunately, it’s rushed through. The fight between Yadriel and Catriz ends much too soon. It’s resolved almost as quickly as it’s revealed and that really weakened it. I wish that Catriz had shown some more hints to being the bad guy or that we got to see him spiraling into desperation and anger. Maybe he says something that raises Yadriel’s suspicion. His character is definitely the weakest of the cast. He needed more time to be more realized and so we could feel his anger and frustration that would lead him to such a horrid crime. I would’ve liked to see him come unhinged slowly.
I’m not sure how I feel about the end, with Yadriel bringing Julian back to life. I almost wish that Julian had died, and Yadriel released his spirit, so that we have a more unpredictable ending. Another part of me is glad they get to be together because Julian is such an endearing character. Although, I really hated how he was acting in the end. He was almost animalistic in how he held onto Yadriel, not even letting his family help him. It was excessive and eye rolling. I know we have built up Julian to be an incredibly protective person, but this just wasn’t done right to me.
I do love the ending though. Seeing Yadriel be accepted into his family, becoming a brujo with his mom there to see is so wonderful. The final line shows that not everything is resolved with a neat little bow in one day.
“No, it wasn’t the end. It was a better beginning”
Cemetery Boys p. 342
But it is progress. His family has made a huge first step in understanding who Yadriel is and accepting him. Yadriel’s father’s speech really moved me and is something that I wish so many more people understood.
“Growth isn’t a deviation from what we’ve done before, but a natural progression to honor all those who make this community strong.”
Cemetery Boys p. 339
People are so afraid of growth when it means accepting something they don’t understand. Seeing Yadriel’s incredibly traditional family accepting Yadriel’s identity is a powerful message that I truly hope that one day everyone will achieve. This novel relied on Yadriel proving himself in a literal sense, summoning a spirit which only a brujo could do, but in real life, it isn’t so simple. It is still possible, and stories like this help in educating people about trans people. As we have more and more visibility in media, one day perhaps trans stories will be more accepted and we learn to understand those who identify as a trans person.
I really did enjoy this book despite the dislike I have for the last 80 or so pages. I want to read more stories about trans characters because I have so much to learn. I love that the LGBTQIA+ community is given a stronger voice and that we are starting to listen. Cemetery Boys is a wonderful novel and I loved reading Yadriel’s journey. I know that there are a few other fantasy novels about trans characters, and I will definitely keep my eyes out for them.
Be Bold 