Liam
CN: transmisia, misgendering, deadnaming (off-page), blood, death, racism What I liked: • The characters!!! Yadriel is the most relatable character I ever got to read about and I just want to give him a hug. And Julian is such a sweetheart! He is supposed to be a bad boy, but in reality, he is just a total ray of sunshine and I love him with all my heart. Maritza is so badass, and Julian’s friends and his brother are really cute in their own ways. I just can’t believe how much I adore those characters! • The worldbuilding is amazing! The book is set in our world, but there are so many little fantasy elements in it that make the story even more special than it already is. I wish I could be a brujo too… • I loved the trans representation in this book! You can really feel that it is written by a trans person. I hate the concept of “passing”, but the thing I liked the most about the trans representation in this book was that Yadriel is implied to be a non-passing trans boy. I’m a non-passing trans boy myself, and seeing someone like me being loved and accepted for who they are even though they “don’t look like a boy” meant so much to me. • The love story!!! It was so cute and emotional and beautiful! Yadriel and Julian’s dynamic was super intense yet slow-burn at the same time. I loved their conversations and the way they do cute things for each other without the other one knowing. • I can’t say much about the latinx representation, but I loved how unapologetic it was! There is a lot of Spanish dialogue without translation and (as far as I can remember) there isn’t a single non-latinx character, so the book really felt like it was written for latinx people. What I didn’t like: • I couldn’t find a single thing I disliked about this book! It’s just perfect and my new favorite book! “Cemetery Boys” left me absolutely speechless. I can’t put into words how much this story meant to me, and I hope every trans and/or latinx teen gets to read this book.
