Book Review: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

 

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Content Warning: death, violence, torture, homophobia, transphobia, references to parental abuse.

Yadriel wants to prove to his family that he's a brujo. Although he's been born into a family full of magic, his loved ones struggle to accept the fact that he's transgender, leaving him on the outside looking in. When one of his cousins, Miguel, is murdered, Yadriel attempts to summon his spirit -- and gets stuck with bad boy Julian Diaz instead. With time running out, can Yadriel help Julian figure out what happened to him, and show his family who he truly is in the process?

Before I delve into this review, I want to clarify a few things. First, I'm not a huge fan of YA -- it simply isn't my cup of tea. This last year I've opened myself up to it more, though, and found a few I enjoy. I thought that Cemetery Boys sounded not only fun, but like it would also tug on my heart strings, exactly what I look for in a book. So, what happened? Why only two stars?

Well, to begin with, let's discuss the good things here. I'm personally not transgender, but I thought that the representation (and it is written by a trans man, which is awesome!) was wonderful in that regard, and I also found the discussion of Latin culture very exciting and beautiful. I loved learning about Yadriel's family's celebration of Día de Muertos -- how marigolds are the traditional flower of the dead, the connections to Aztec, Mayan and Incan beliefs, and an exploration of Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. 

One of the biggest issues here, though, is the lack of any plot. While it's pitched as being a sort of fantasy-mystery, as well as a story about Yadriel trying to find acceptance in his family, most of these points are treated as nothing but dressing on the cake. The cake being romance. The most developed aspect of the book is the relationship between Yadriel and the love interest, Julian, and even that was not properly fleshed out. Instead of them naturally beginning to fall for one another, it seems forced, happening only within a matter of essentially three days. Julian is called a bad boy, but there's nothing textually that actually shows him being anything other than a kind, slightly short-tempered rebel. 

Yadriel, too, was similarly without depth. We were constantly being told of his character traits, rather than actually witnessing them occurring. He ends up being not only boring, but sometimes unsympathetic in the way he jumps to conclusions and judges other characters for pretty much anything and everything. Maritza is a shining light, the only one who managed to get a smile out of me and who comes across as authentically interesting. 

But before this already lengthy reviews becomes way, way too long, let's discuss what really ended up making me dislike this story: sexism. This book is, weirdly enough, rife with misogyny -- for example, brujos (the men of the family) get special magic knives, care for the cemetery and the spirits, and take active part in investigating the presumed death of Yadriel's cousin. What do the women do? They get rosaries or necklaces (basically any piece of jewelry) to do their magic with, have to stay home and take care of the family, cook, clean up after others, and while men are allowed to summon and free spirits, women's magic is limited to healing. Stereotypical, much?

While some of these probably have to do with traditions, and it is addressed in text that Yadriel's family is traditional, it left me confused and a little angry. This is already too long, so I'll end it here, but something that really summed up the sexism in this novel for me is when Yadriel basically says -- pretty much verbatim -- that his grandmother has nothing better to do than clean up after the boys' and organize their rooms. 

Come on.