نقدها
3.5 starsYou don't need anyone's permission to be you, Yads.Cemtery Boys was an enjoyabe read. I love the characters especially Yadriel. I also love the relationship between Yadriel and Julian. Martiza is also such an awesome character. I really liked reading it through a tans, gay and Latinx perspective and I liked the world-building. I think this was more of a character-driven storyline than a plot-driven one because the plot was extremely predictable. I wanted to love this book due to the hype around it but I think it's time to admit that maybe I'm just getting old for YA fiction. The book was beautifully written though and the representation was also great.
I went into this blind. I had seen so many reviews giving it 5 stars.I can understand why. It was a great book. It has a good plot, loveable characters, diverse cast, great LGBT rep and cozy vibes. However, the pace of the book really threw me. It was slow with unimportant information is patches and the last 60 pages it sped up. If it was faced paced but with more character development then probably would of been 5 stars for me. The plot was a little predictable but considering the age demographic for the book, I was okay with that.
This is a wonderful book with a transgender teen, Yadriel at the forefront of the storytelling, he’s so well-written with his issues regarding his gender and the insecurities it brings along with the more tangible problems of binders and wet bodies.. Which admittedly had me chuckling as well as sympathising because Aiden Thomas has written a character that transgender people or their loved ones can relate to. We also meet albeit briefly a transgender girl and she too is written so well that anyone who is or knows one, can relate to her, and I loved how fierce she is in the recap of her confronting hate and misgendering… It’s not just trans representation in this book which will appeal to a queer teen but also other queer representation that’s done with an authenticity that can be lacking in many LGBTQ (or not) focused media. We need books like this to exist that don’t glamourise or stereotype our existence. Moving on into the story itself, I loved the way there’s a real attention to detail in setting up Yadriel’s family and what they are all capable of, and to a degree why there’s such a controversy and inability to accept Yadriel as transgender. For them, a female is only capable of healing, and the men are the only ones who can free the souls of the dead so when the time comes; pass on. I found myself understanding those who struggled with the concept of gender but also feeling very infuriated with it too; because he couldn’t have been the only one in all their centuries of existence. I loved how Aiden Thomas blended the legend of Mictēcacihuātl who in Aztec mythology is a death deity and fiction to bring about the idea of their being a minority group even within the Latinx community who can do what Yadriel’s family can. I also loved how Thomas wove in the ideas behind Día de Muertos where loved ones return to be with the living. The idea of seeing those who have passed away again in a very real manner had me quite emotional, and I confess tears were shed…Julian and Yadriel’s relationship, and how the two grew and opened up to one another had me once again, quite emotional and I was on tenterhooks waiting to see what would go wrong for them; apart from the obvious that Julian is a spirit and there on limited time. The two of them seemed so different at first and then their similarities in personality and what they value began to align, but it’s when you see how Julian is far from the bad boy persona he likes to have or has developed to protect himself that I knew I was doomed. He’s a boy who has deserved more in life, and yet we were seeing him in death - it didn’t seem fair.The world-building of Los Angeles is vague, but the author has brought enough of it to life that you can clearly envision the home Yadirel has, and the vast graveyard that there is nearby filled with some very intriguing spirits who are waiting for their time to move on. I couldn’t help but chuckle at the gardener for example, who simply had too much to do in preparation for Día de Muertos to simply rest and how he still worked hard on his marigolds that would be pride of place for many offerings.I was intrigued by the plotline, and why Julian wouldn’t leave as he should have done, and there’s plenty of mystery throughout the book to keep your attention - because we need to know the why and the how of so much. This was a wonderful read, the romance was so well done, and felt real albeit between a spirit and a living boy, there’s wonderful background characters that add so much to the story and also acceptance that is much deserved for Yadriel. I cannot wait for the sequel to be out.
OH WOW i expected to enjoy this, but not as much as i did!!! what a beautiful story of gender and acceptance and love!!!!
