Cemetary Boys Aiden Thomas

Kaylin | Academy of Allied Health and Science, Grade 10

Rating: ****

Cemetery Boys follows Yadriel, a trans boy trying to prove himself as a brujo or sorcerer to his community. When his cousin Miguel is killed, he plans to use this as an opportunity to prove his worth by summoning his ghost and finding out how he died. However, he ends up summoning the ghost of a boy named Julian Diaz instead, who ends up refusing to leave.

Cemetery Boys provides the unique perspective of a traditional culture told through the eyes of a not-so-traditional character. This book taught me more about Mexican culture and Dia de los Muertos than school ever has. The emotions of the characters can really be felt through the page. One example is Yadriel's frustration at his community for not seeing him as he truly is and not recognizing his potential. When all the brujos go to search for Miguel's body, Yadriel's father tells him to stay behind with the brujas or healers, and in that moment, you can really feel Yadriel's anger because he is a brujo, not a bruja, but how can he prove himself as a brujo if he's never given the chance to? The development of Julian and Yadriel's relationship, as well as the development of their own individual characters, is well written. The middle of the book was pretty slow-paced, though. The majority of it is spent dealing with Julian's problems and building Julian and Yadriel's characters, and most of the action is reserved for the end, making it a struggle to get through. Overall, though, Cemetery Boys is a great book with realistic characters and a unique plotline that will be satisfying to finish.