4.5 stars
This book is awesome! I don't know why I didn't read it early, seriously.
Everyone should read Cemetery Boys!

To be posted 9/2/2020 as part of a blog tour.

I got an ARC of this book.

LOOK AT THAT COVER. The colors, the people, the symbolism. I could go on for a long time about how much I love that cover and how perfect it really is, but then I couldn’t talk about how wonderful the book is.

So iam found this book for me. I got a message and all I really needed was trans ya with ghosts (it seems that gay trans ghost romances are a favorite niche genre for me). I requested a copy and didn’t get it. I tried to enter to win one. I then begged to be part of a blog tour. I was DESPERATE for this book. The publisher finally took pity on me and let me part of the blog tour. Be sure to check out the other reviews and iam’s review! If you are excited like I was there is still a giveaway available that ends on September 9th. The giveaway I entered ended on September 1st, so it is always a good idea to add a book to your shelf and to follow the author!

I went into this knowing pretty much nothing, which is the norm for me. So the first chapter just blew me away. I was HOOKED. There was a lot going on to start. Then it ebbed and flowed in a way that felt natural and kept me reading more and more. I lost more than a few hours of sleep reading too late into the night in this book. I have sent information to everyone. This book is pretty amazing.

The characters felt so real. They were varied. They were family. They were exactly what I want to see in a book. None of the characters were perfect. They all played roles in the story in a way that they could not be replaced. It was easy to tell who was speaking. I loved some characters and I hated others, but because I felt like I knew them. Maritza and her dogs are just love. The Julian’s friends immediately wormed their way into my heart. I am a sucker. I would have joined these adventures in a heartbeat. Add in that the characters were complex. The characters were battling tradition getting in the way of family. They were battling fear and lose. There was just so much perfection in the characters.

The plot was so attention grabbing. I could not put this book down. I have been in a reading slump and even when I have enjoyed a book, I have had issues focusing. This book I read almost like normal. This book fought my reading slump.

There were a few plots happening at once. There was the plot of Yads proving her was a brujo, finding a way to help Julian, trying to find the cousin, and the budding romance between Julian and Yads. I had some issues with two of the plots. The proving himself plot was just so full of transphobia and was just the basic “the MC is trans” plot of having to deal with acceptance and fighting for yourself. I am so tired of those plots. This one was very well done. It fit the story, it fit the characters, it gave some depth to characters and plots. I just wish we were beyond the basic trans plots. The rest of the plots helped. If this were the only plot in the book, I would be so let down. Instead this plot is more like flavor and context, instead of the focus. The other issue I had was Julian and Yad’s romance. Don’t get me wrong, I shipped them hardcore. I may have even sent iam and a partner a message about how I needed ghost sex to happen. My issue is I am worried about Julian’s anger. He had so much anger that he could not control. It was a huge red flag for me. So I am worried about Yads. But I also really appreciated how full of life Julian was (pun clearly intended). He was not the typical romance hero. I just worry. I want to protect Yads so badly. So I can’t even really complain about the plot there, I just wanted to whine for a second about how much I love Yads.

I could go on forever about this book. It is well written, well paced, complex characters, and the ending was pretty perfect. I started tearing up at the ending. I won’t spoil anything, just know that I loved it and it was the best ending I could have ever imaged for this story. It fit the story and the characters, it was perfectly paced, and it felt like it happened at exactly the right point.

Read this book. Seriously. This book is the YA answer to Gideon the Ninth.

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillanusa for the advance Kindle copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. I don’t know where to begin talking about how much I loved this book. Yadriel is a transgender boy in a family of brujx; due to outdated gender norms in the brujx community though, he can’t be initiated even though HE HAS BRUJO POWERS. After he and his cousin decide to just do his ceremony on their own, he discovers the soul of a (very cute) guy he recognizes from school. The plan is to give Julian closure so he can see that his friends are okay, and maybe figure out how he died (he can’t remember). Then Yadriel will release him into the afterlife. But then there this whole falling for each other thing, and an unexpected twist in the search for Julian’s murderer. So good. So, so good. It comes out next Tuesday (9.1.20), and would be great for grades 7+. #yalit #weneeddiversebooks #lgbtqreads #librarian #librariansofinstagram #middleschoollibrarian

One of the strongest points of this book was its characters. Painfully realistic and oh, so entertaining, the interactions between Yadriel and Julian had me laughing almost all the time, and swooning and crying at some others. They’re one of the cutest, softest couples I’ve read and right away I was invested in their story, both together and individually. And I LOVED to see Julian get sayings and phrases wrong and have Yadriel correct him at all times.

Yadriel is a highly relatable character. He’s moved by his desire to be accepted by his family, but stays true to who he is and won’t let anyone change that. I was so hurt by the behavior of some members of his family. He’s kind of shy and awkward (as most teens at 16) and the amount of times he blushes on this book is huge. I loved to see his growth throughout the book, discovering his own power and healing some wounds along the way.

Yadriel’s family was… something else. Each member was very different from the other but made a great full picture. We see in Lita (and also Yadriel’s dad Enrique) people that love their families and deep down have the best intentions, but were raised with such strict beliefs that it’s hard for them to open their minds and accept Yadriel as he is. To see these people’s souls grow and do better even when they’ve had their beliefs rooted in them for so long was amazing and inspiring.

Julian’s personality was a pleasant surprise. He’s a very complex character and has many layers to his person. Mischievous, funny and one of those people that just can’t stay put and always need to be doing something, so you can’t take your eyes off him for long or he’ll get in trouble. He’s also very stubborn and lets his feelings take control of his actions. But more than that, what stood out in his character was how caring he was for his loved ones, his intelligence and cleverness, and overall is maturity and inclusiveness.

We also got some side characters that added spark to the story, and my favorite was of course Yadriel’s partner-in-crime Maritza. She’s fierce and will throw hands without thinking twice if you’re hurting someone she loves. I loved her explosive personality and how she was always there for Yadriel. Julian’s friends (Omar, Flaca, Rocky, Luca…) were also amazing and I loved the family trope the author added in the book with them, they were all so protective of each other, being forced to grow up very fast and having anyone else than one another to rely on.

The story flows smoothly, packed with action that always keeps everything in motion. It was filled with funny moments, but also very serious ones. This is a story that addresses murder, grief and abandonment, along with many other hard topics mentioned in the trigger warnings above. The author made a great job with this, balancing everything so it’s not a story with an excessively intricate plot but a perfect mix of issues that need to be addressed in YA books nowadays.

The Latinx representation was amazing and very diverse, one of the best I’ve had the opportunity to read. I was SO happy when just 2% into the book, my country was mentioned along with its football team. Venezuela is almost never mentioned in the books I read and to see it right there on the page (and having la Vinotinto’s colors on the cover) filled me with joy, so I can’t be more grateful for that.

We also get Mexican, Cuban, Colombian and Puerto Rican characters, and reggaeton everywhere. We see the prejudice towards Colombian people regarding the drug dealing issues in the country, something I haven’t seen in literature until now. But the highlight of the book was the Día de Muertos and mostly Mexican traditions for that holiday, which added to the spooky vibe of the book and had me learning many new things about that particular tradition.

Overall, this is a book about transitions. Into becoming what you were always destined to be, into accepting your loved ones how they are, into letting go the ones that have to go, into a new and better future. The characters, the plot and the message of the book definitely leave their mark in the reader. Thomas did a great job and this is just a wonderful debut, and I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do next.

Okay, well this is all I want to talk about for the next MILLION YEARS.

To absolutely no one's surprise: Cemetery Boys is absolutely as good as its hype. I've been hearing about this book and anticipating it for so, so long, and it did not disappoint me! It's full of some of my favorite things in fiction: queer characters, fierce and courageous characters, witty banter and humor, and - an underrated favorite of mine - ghost boys and their romances. I always knew this would be a home run for me, but Aiden Thomas still managed to surpass my expectations and make this such an enjoyable, fun, moving read. I laughed and grinned as much as I teared up and yelled, which is the sign of a perfect book for me! Yadriel, Julian, and Maritza are all amazing, three-dimensional characters that leap off the page and quickly into the readers' heart. Each of them grow so much throughout the course of the book, and I greatly enjoyed reading their story and participating in the brujx culture and traditions.

And for those of you here for the swoon-factor: it's there. There's an incredibly joyful yet moving scene in the latter half of the book between Yadriel and Julian that was positively WONDERFUL and made my heart all warm and cozy. I can't wait to buy a copy of this book in just another couple of weeks(!) and feel very fortunate to have read an early copy of it at all!

I loved this book and can't wait to share it with students. I found myself completely invested in the characters and the story.

4.5/5 stars

Oh this was everything and more!!

This is a story about a Latinx Trans boy called Yadriel from a Brujxs family who when he came out as trans are not accepting and find it hard to come to terms with. Especially his Father who doesn’t let Yadriel take the ceremony to be come a fully fledged Part of the Brujxs community.

So Yadriel takes it into his own hands to prove to his family that he is ready and why shouldn’t he be aloud to be apart of the community while being the person he wants to be too.

So this starts the trials and tribulations of a long adventure ahead with Yadriel’s best friend Maritza where once they summon a Ghost named Julian a short tempered/caring person under his exterior things get more complicated as Julian wants Yadriel and Maritza to help him find out what happened to him to become a ghost.

This really is such a beautiful book and has some of the best trio of characters (our main three) and the bloom of such a precious friendship. There is a scene with Yadriel and Julian where they share a heart to heart and oh it’s just 😭😭🥰🥰 i can’t deal.

Everyone pick this book up on September 1st and let’s read more and more books about trans character written by Trans author and let’s celebrate and admire these beautiful stories and Authors.

I really enjoyed this book, but it did have some issues, mainly in the writing. For that reason I don't want to star it until I read the final copy.

Things I loved:
- This plot is genius. It's going to be SO easy to booktalk to teens.
- The Brujx community Thomas creates in East LA is so lovingly and creatively done.
- Love to see a paranormal romance with a Latinx trans boy at the center!
- I want to give Julian and Yadriel all the hugs. They were so precious and working through their respective pain/struggles in a way that teens will relate to so much.
- The plot moves. There wasn't a point where the story felt like it was dragging.
- TENSION. Is there better sexual tension than two characters who are clearly into each other but can't touch and also they're just delaying their inevitable separation? There is not. Also, the book is all sweet and romantic and then BAM something creepy is happening. There's a lot of dread moving into the climax.
- This librarian loves to see a book about high school sophomores! YES to younger teen protagonists!

Things I struggled with:
- Writing, especially at the sentence level. It's clunky and really repetitive. Lots of rookie moves like overuse of dialogue tags and info dumps.
- The plot is a bit predictable. But this isn't a deal-breaker for me, especially in a book for teens.
- The characters aren't as fleshed out as they could be. It feels like everyone gets their assigned traits and they never waver. At times it makes them a bit robotic.

Overall an enjoyable, quick read. I purchased for my department and am excited to pitch to my teens!

The dynamic between Yadriel and Maritza is something that I really enjoyed reading: the banter and sarcasm the two shared appealed to me. When the spirit they summoned tags along with them, the witty comments and sarcasm continues.

For those who are wondering, the romance between Yadriel and Julian is slow burning. It’s by no way insta love (thank God) and I think that Aiden Thomas has done an amazing job writing it, showing us their journey throughout the prose.

One moment I liked in particular between Yadriel and Julian is at the end of chapter five when Yadriel is explaining why his family wouldn’t even allow him to try to become a fully fledged brujo. I love how open Yadriel is open with being trans, and allow I’m guessing it took him a while to get to this stage, I’m super proud of him. Julian is also super accepting, which makes my heart warm even more for the pair.

To conclude, I really enjoyed Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas and I am looking forward to getting my hands on any books they release in the future.

This was so many things I like : Magic, queer characters, ghosts (and maybe a little ghost romance vibe), a found family, and most importantly...food. I was so hungry after all the descriptions of food and eating 😍

I was worried that I may have hyped this book up too much before I started reading and it had no chance of living up to my expectations. By about the third chapter, I knew it was going to live up to, and somehow even surpass, the hype I'd heard and built up myself.

I love Yadriel as a main character. Watching him grow in his confidence in himself over the course of the book was so much fun. At the beginning, I was worried he could be a "woe is me" type of character, but the fact that he was so determined to prove himself as a burro to his family (and himself) was wonderful. His banter with Julian and Maritza felt so realistic teenager-y.

And oh, Julian! He is my favorite type of character. The world sees him as this hard, delinquent but in reality he cares so much about the people that are important to him. His quirks (like using the wrong word) were brought up enough to see them as a charming part of him, but not so much that it was annoying. I didn't want to get too attached to him at the beginning because he was a ghost and I didn't want to lose him, but his earnestness and his outbursts of emotion made him impossible not to love.

I learned so much while reading. I kept a running list of topics I wanted to read more of, and I was so glad to be reading on my Kindle so I could translate the Spanish without having to set the book down. These additions made the world and atmosphere so much more realistic, and I love how they weren't translated in the next line, because the characters were talking to people who understood the language they were speaking so no translation was needed for those characters. It brought me immediately into the world and kept me there the whole time I was reading.

The *only* issue I had was with the pacing in some sections. A few places felt overly described or drawn out, and the only reason I noticed was because it took me out of the story for a few seconds and I just wanted to stay as immersed in the world as long as possible. I can't wait to read what Aiden Thomas has coming next!

All Yadriel wants is for his family to accept him fully, and to become the brujo he knows he is destined to be. An opportunity to show his community, father, and abuelita that he deserves to be a real brujo, when something terrible happens to a fellow brujo. In an effort to summon him, Yadriel accidentally summons the spirit of his classmate, Julian. They make an agreement to help each other out, and in the process Yadriel gains strength, self-confidence, and love.

I was not expecting to love this book, let alone be obsessed with it, this much. But between Yadriel’s absolute cinnamon roll personality, Martiza’s fiery determination, and Julian’s absolute devotion, I completely fell head over heels for this story and its characters.

It covers so many topics - grief, magic, racism, poverty, homophobia, anger management - with such care and intimacy. Each hardship, every truth is seamlessly connected to the story and the characters’ struggles… it’s just beautiful. Full of feeling and angst, but in a very relatable and gentle way. I personally am I cis-gender individual, so I can’t speak to the struggle of transitioning. But I was just so frustrated on behalf of Yadriel and wanted everyone around him to see his beautiful self. He clearly was more himself after transitioning and while working brujo magic, but it was heartbreaking to see how blind most of his family was. I can’t imagine trying to feel like you belong in your skin, and also belong with your loved ones. He had so much pressure because of “tradition” and it was messed up. It made me extremely grateful that he had Maritza in his life.

This book felt very personal, like I could tell the author’s heart was all over it. It also filled me up to read a YA book with a latinx main character, whose family was latinx and spoke SO MUCH Spanish. The mythology & history of Latinx culture played a major role in the plot and made me feel so connected to it all.

Speaking of connection, the lil cute as hell YA romance in this was just everythingggggg. I won’t talk in detail about it because I want to avoid spoilers, but y’all, it’s adorable.

I literally have nothing bad to say about it. The writing was accessible and personal, the story kept me turning the pages, and the characters were ones I wanted to scoop up and hug in real life. Please read this beautiful nugget of goodness. Seriously, there’s nothing else like it out there.

I just adored this book. First off, I was intrigued to read about a trans teen and how he approached his world. Yadriel is such an intriguing character that I fell in love with him and his struggles.

The background of the story is fantastic and marvelous, drawing from all kinds of Latinx folklore and incorporating it into a modern setting.

Julian is an awesome love interest, and I was fascinated to see how the author would reconcile developing this romance between a living person and one who has recently been murdered. Without spoiling it, I'll say there was a very clever ending, one I didn't see coming at all.

Cemetery Boys was a really refreshing read. An engaging protagonist, well crafted world-building, and just the most charming ghostly love interest. Also, I adore Maritza with all of my heart.

This is a promising debut for Aiden Thomas and I look forward to reading more from them.

Cemetery Boys is a great read about Yadriel, a trans boy from a family of brujx. Brujos are in charge of helping spirits move on, while brujas are healers. Yadriel's family is starting to accept his gender, but they just can't accept that he's a brujo. Yadriel and his cousin Maritza decide to complete the ceremony for Yadriel to become a brujo without the rest of the family knowing. Shortly after, they find out their cousin Miguel has died. In attempting to find Miguel's spirit to help him move on in time for Día de Muertos, just a few days away, Yadriel raises the spirit of Julian, a bad boy from school. The group works together to figure out what happened to Miguel and Julian.


Yadriel is such a lovable character, but Julian really stole the show for me. He's an absolute gift. His passionate nature, complete care and adoration for his loved ones, and constant misunderstanding of common sayings is hilarious. He is my favorite fictional character I've read so far this year.

The first half of this book was slow for me, but around 65% of the way through, things picked up and kept going from there. I could not put this book down after that!

The representation of Latinx, trans, and gay characters as well as youth experiencing homelessness in this YA novel is so important. I also loved that we never see anyone bully Yadriel or any of the other characters, though it's evident that they have experienced poor treatment in the past. I think the representation of Yadriel's dad and some other family members not fully understanding or embracing Yadriel and his gender/sexuality is realistic. These characters are not outright cruel to Yadriel, but have hurt him nonetheless.

Finally, I loved the author's stylistic choice in the Spanish text. Usually in a book written in English with Spanish-speaking characters, we see Spanish in italics to differentiate. A translation is often provided, too. The characters in this book are bilingual and switch in and out of Spanish (though a majority of the dialogue is in English). Even as someone whose Spanish is limited, it made for seamless reading. I don't think this should deter folks who don't speak Spanish, as contextually they should be able to figure out what characters are talking about. My favorite quote from this book was:

Hay niñas con pene, niños con vulva y transfóbicos sin dientes. / There are girls with a penis, boys with a vulva, and transphobes without teeth.

Overall, this is an excellent read - 5 stars! My thanks to Xpresso Book Tours, NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for hooking me up with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

4.5/5 Cups of coffee from me!

I'll have a full review up for the blog tour in a couple of weeks, for now, suffice to say...THIS WAS AMAZING AND ADORABLE AND EVERYTHING MY LITTLE LATINX HEART WANTED.

COCO MEETS MEDIATOR AND SURPASSES MEDIATOR. [And I love those Mediator books], I say Coco because I did love the whole emotional vibe and expected any moment to burst out crying as I did while watching Coco but other than both consisting of Day of the Dead themes, and the Abuelita trying to stuff you, which is just Latinx standard, that's where the similarities end.

Seriously, Yads was such a great MC just such an amazing character and he had such a good heart, I couldn't handle how adorable he was and then we had Jules who was equally amazing and one of those little 'tough cinnamon rolls' and Martiza was the perfect prima, I felt her Vegan Bruja vibe with all my heart.

Setting this in East L.A. gave Thomas the opportunity to mix the Latinx cultures and communities exactly as we see them in areas like East L.A. and it was nice, being from San Antonio yes many of us were Mexican descent/heritage but we had other cultures as well and it was so nice to see the accurate mix we have in real life.

Thomas also does a great job providing the different nuances to the different communities, especially in their foods for Día de Los Muertos.

Okay can't let this get too far ahead of me before the tour, but, perfection, such perfection and adorableness and I need a Purrcaso in my life.

Thank you to Swoon Reads, Xpresso Tours, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just stayed up WAY past my bedtime to finish this book - I couldn’t put it down! What an incredible story of love, the bonds of family, life & death, queerness, tradition, and race ... all set in a stunningly detailed and intricate world.

Yadriel comes from a long line of brujx - spiritual healers who tend to the souls of the living and the dead. His father is the leader of the local brujx and he has grown up on the grounds of the local cemetery, where spirits roam freely. Men in his community summon and release spirits, while the women are able to heal the living, and most are confirmed as ‘official’ brujx at the age of fifteen in a ceremony called the aquelarre.

Yadriel is sixteen and hasn’t participated in the ceremony yet - and it’s not for lack of ability. Yadriel is transgender, and his conservative family won’t let him be trained as a brujo. Without the healing skills of a bruja and with no way to convince his father that he is ready to take on the responsibilities of a brujo, he takes matters into his own hands. When his cousin Miguel dies but his body goes missing, Yadriel decides to summon him. He knows the words, he has everything needed for the ceremony, and he’s fiercely determined to prove himself to his family and his community. Sure, he has to do everything behind his family’s back, but it will be worth it when he successfully summons Miguel’s spirit.

... and then (oops) he summons the spirit of someone completely different.

He has a week until the aquelarre, and now he’s stuck with the spirit of Julian Diaz, a student from his school with a reputation for trouble. Julian doesn’t know how he died, and his body is nowhere to be found, plus he refuses to be sent to the afterlife without knowing what happened to him. Yadriel and Julian come to an agreement: in exchange for Yadriel’s help in finding Julian’s friends and figuring out how he died, he will be allowed to release Julian’s spirit to the afterlife at the end of the week. Once that happens, Yadriel knows his family will be forced to accept him as a brujo. He just has to get through the week with an obstinate spirit at his side.

Of course, nothing goes as planned, and the more time Yadriel spends with Julian, the more he realizes that he doesn’t want him to leave.

I could go on and on talking about this book, but I don’t want to spoil anything. Let’s just say that the two boys get caught in a plot and are quickly in over their heads, and lies are told, feelings are had, friendships are tested, and limits are pushed. I fell in love with the characters and had a hard time letting them go at the end. This book is so gorgeously written, with both serious and laugh-out-loud moments, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Plus: I learned so many new words in Spanish, and fell down the rabbit hole of learning about brujx and Dia de Muertos. Absolutely fascinating!

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Out September 1st (and I’m definitely buying a copy)!

Cemetery Boys, the debut novel by author Aiden Thomas, made me cry. Big time. It's a story about Yadriel, a transgender, gay, Cuban-American in a family of brujx who's only desire is to prove to his family that he, too, is a brujo.

What I love most about this book is the openness of the characters. Besides Yadriel, there are other gay and transgender characters, including Julian, a spirit Yadriel accidentally summons after he secretly gives himself the quinces ceremony his father has denied him. Along with his cousin and best friend Maritza, a vegan bruja who refuses to heal because she doesn't want to use animal blood in the process, Yadriel tries to figure out why he is unable to send Julian to the other side, as a brujo should.

An intriguing mystery follows, especially because on the night Yadriel found Julian, Yads's cousin Miguel disappeared. The story coincides with the family's preparation for the Dia de Muertos celebration at midnight on October 31.

This book is filled with wonderful cultural descriptions in addition to a story that grabs you and pulls you right in. As I mentioned in the beginning, by the end of the story I had a huge lump in my throat and tears rolling down my face.

I was very excited about this book, based on BookTube hype, the description, and the gorgeous cover, and it more than lived up to my high expectations. This was a fast-paced, often very fun read, and while it delved into hard and traumatic topics like casual familial transphobia, grief, dead-naming, and the persecution of immigrants in the US, it managed to balance the very real/very heavy stuff with exciting, funny, and soft/sweet stuff. I will admit that the first 10% of the book or so wasn't quite as exciting and immersive as the rest--the novel really got going for me once Yadriel resurrected Julian (no real spoilers, as this is included in the synopsis...). The mystery/sleuthing element wasn't the strongest (I guessed the whodunit element quite early on), but that's not really what this book is focused on (though the ride to get to the conclusion is still really fun). The dynamic between these two characters, along with Yadriel's cousin Maritza, was a freaking delight to watch develop, and these relationships anchored the book in its fundamental sweetness and joyfulness. I cried a fair amount reading this, but in a good way! Content warning for casual transphobia and violence, but the two are not connected (and every transphobic character is attempting to do better, which is awesome to see in an escapist, joyful adventure/ romance).

Cemetery Boys from Aiden Thomas was a uniquely beautiful book about overcoming obstacles and just being true to who you are even in the face of adversity, with some wonderful culturally supernatural elements and a whole lot of heart.

Yadriel is a trans boy who wants to prove to his family that he can be a real Brujo if just given the opportunity to perform the traditional sacred ritual, but his father is not too keen on the idea. While his family tries to accept that he is a boy, they still struggle with pronouns and call him by his old name, which Yadriel tires of. So, with the help of his firecracker cousin and bestie, Maritza, they sneak off to the cemetery and perform the ritual alone.

After, when they search for the ghost of their recently murdered cousin, he is NOT the spirit they encounter. In fact, that spirit is none other than a schoolmate of Yadriel’s, a bad boy named Julian. They embark on a quest to find not only how Julian died, but what happened to their cousin Miguel. Julian is all barely contained anger and dimples and the more Yadriel gets to know him, the more he does not want to have to say goodbye when Julian’s spirit eventually has to pass on.

This was a breathtakingly beautiful story, written by an own voices author and narrated by another uniquely own voices narrator and it was truly something. Being taken along by the hand as Yadriel fights so hard for who he is and what he deserves was momentous. He is such a strong individual with so much life and so much power, and he strives to make change with such bravery. The relationship that blossoms between he and Julian is so woven and organic (as organic as it can be to develop romantic feelings for a ghost). And the strong family bonds encountered in this story were just fantastic. They all band around these beliefs and these traditions.

This story was steeped in tradition and lore and I was completely entranced from beginning to end. While most of that was the incredible work of Aiden Thomas, there was a huge part due to the narrator, Avi Roque. Avi’s narrative skills leant such a broad array of emotion to this already great story. And let me tell you, that the last 30% of this story flew by and I was not ready to leave them yet. It was a truly enchanting story and I cannot wait to see what Aiden Thomas does next.