Cemetery Boys is exactly the book it sounds like, and also nothing like you expect. Aiden Thomas writes a ghost romance with such warmth and humor and genuine heart that by the end you are fully invested in a relationship between a living boy and the ghost of a classmate he once found insufferable. The fact that this works — that it really, genuinely works — is a testament to how well Thomas writes both his characters and their chemistry.
Yadriel and the Brujx World
Yadriel comes from a family of brujx, practitioners of a magic rooted in Latinx spiritual tradition, connected to their ancestors and to the spirits of the dead. He wants nothing more than to be recognized as a full brujo — to take his place in the tradition his family has maintained for generations. But his family is not yet ready to accept him for who he is.
Thomas writes Yadriel’s identity and his spiritual practice as genuinely intertwined. His transness is not separate from his magic or his heritage — all three are part of the same self that is seeking recognition and belonging. This integration is one of the novel’s most meaningful achievements.
Julian Diaz: The Ghost Who Overstays His Welcome (On Purpose)
Julian is something of a school legend — loud, charming, magnetically charismatic, and the last person Yadriel expected to accidentally summon while trying to locate a different missing ghost. Julian refuses to be dismissed. He has unfinished business, people he loves who need protecting, and a suspicious death that Yadriel has now been pulled into investigating.
The slow erosion of Yadriel’s irritation into something warmer is a delight to read. Thomas writes banter with genuine skill — the back-and-forth between these two has real rhythm and escalating warmth. And when the emotional register shifts, it shifts with weight, because we have spent enough time with both characters to understand what is at stake.
A Love Letter to Community
One of the things Cemetery Boys does beautifully is render Yadriel’s family and friend group as a living, breathing community. The brujx families, their traditions, their conflicts and their loyalties — it all feels inhabited and real. Thomas draws on Día de Muertos imagery and Latinx cultural detail in ways that are specific and honoring.
The mystery that drives the plot is engaging without overshadowing the character work, and the resolution delivers on the emotional promises the story has been making.
Why YA Readers Will Love This
This is a book for readers who want romance that earns its emotional payoff — the kind where every moment of connection feels like it cost something, and therefore means something. Yadriel and Julian’s dynamic is funny and sweet and eventually deeply moving.
It is also a rare book in which all of the central emotional tensions — around identity, acceptance, love, and grief — reach genuine resolution. Thomas did not write a story that leaves its protagonist still fighting for basic recognition at the end. Yadriel arrives somewhere, and the journey to get there is both the mystery plot and the love story at once. Cemetery Boys is a warm, vivid, and genuinely joyful read.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cemetery Boys about? Yadriel, a young brujo from a Latinx brujx family, accidentally summons the wrong ghost while trying to locate a missing spirit — the loud, charismatic Julian Diaz, a classmate he found insufferable when alive. Julian refuses to be dismissed, has unfinished business, people he loves who need protecting, and a suspicious death that Yadriel has been pulled into investigating. What begins as reluctant cohabitation becomes something warmer.
How does Cemetery Boys handle Yadriel’s trans identity? Thomas writes Yadriel’s transness as ‘genuinely intertwined’ with his magic and his heritage — ‘all three are part of the same self that is seeking recognition and belonging.’ His family has not yet fully accepted him, and his desire to be recognised as a full brujo is inseparable from his desire to be accepted for who he is. The review calls this integration ‘one of the novel’s most meaningful achievements.’
What awards did Cemetery Boys receive? Cemetery Boys received a Stonewall Book Award Honor designation, one of the most important recognitions in LGBTQ+ literature for young readers. The review also credits Thomas with writing brujx traditions and Día de Muertos imagery ‘in ways that are specific and honoring,’ which contributed to the book’s cultural impact.
How does the romance between Yadriel and Julian develop? The review describes ’the slow erosion of Yadriel’s irritation into something warmer’ as ‘a delight to read,’ with Thomas writing banter that has ‘real rhythm and escalating warmth.’ When the emotional register shifts, it ‘shifts with weight, because we have spent enough time with both characters to understand what is at stake.’ The review calls it a romance where ’every moment of connection feels like it cost something, and therefore means something.’
How does Cemetery Boys end in terms of its emotional resolutions? The review highlights that Cemetery Boys is ‘a rare book in which all of the central emotional tensions — around identity, acceptance, love, and grief — reach genuine resolution.’ Thomas ‘did not write a story that leaves its protagonist still fighting for basic recognition at the end.’ Yadriel arrives somewhere, and the journey is described as ‘warm, vivid, and genuinely joyful.’
Further Reading from Authoritative Sources
- Cemetery Boys — Wikipedia’s Cemetery Boys article provides publication details, award history, and cultural reception that helps readers understand the novel’s significance in LGBTQ+ YA fiction and its Stonewall Book Award recognition.
- Día de Muertos — Wikipedia’s Día de Muertos article contextualises the cultural and spiritual tradition that is central to Cemetery Boys’ world-building, helping readers understand the significance of the imagery Thomas employs throughout the novel.
