Cemetery Boys

3.5 stars • I like this one. A sweet story about acceptance featuring a love story between a ghost and a human.

PROS
First, I read a lot of fantasy and I like the fantasy of this story. The magic system is a gendered. This is not a new concept in the genre. We have witches and wizards already. But in this world, we have the Brujx. A community who possess the power to see spirits and heal the living. And the community is built on gender. Men are brujos, protectors who help spirits cross over into the afterlife, while women are healers.

I really like how Yadriel's trans identity intertwines with the plot. The magic accepts him for who he is, but his community does not. It's very much a story of acceptance for trans people. I was rooting for Yadriel, so much. My favourite scene was where he uses the men's bathroom for the first time. As a cis guy, I've never had to experience this, but Aidan Thomas writes it in a way that gave me so much triumph. I basically yelled “Go Yadriel!!!” like it was sporting event. And felt so proud of this fictional character.

The romance is sweet. He meets a ghost called Julian. A sweet gay romance with a ghost and a magic boy. Then hijinks and romance ensure. Both characters felt developed and well-matched. I often feel in romance genres that characters blend together and are written the same, but I think Aidan has done a good job of making them strong characters on their own.


CONS
By far the weakest part for me, was the plot. It felt muddled. Some scenes dragged forever, and the writing has this way of including too much exposition. The premise of this book started so well. A ghost and a magical boy team up to solve a possible murder and find a missing person. That's awesome...except it wasn't and dragged. The romance took priority for some time, and the mystery felt boring. It was also a predictable mystery. I worked it out early on and our villain even gets a stereotypical monologue at the end.

OVERALL
I liked this one. A strong own-voices story of a trans Latinx teenager and a story of acceptance in a world where the magic is gendered. Feels like a YA book, and not in a positive way, the writing has this YA feeling that I can't describe well. But despite this, a lot of fun.