Cemetery Boys

By: Aiden Thomas

Narrated by: Avi Roque

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

A trans boy determined to prove his gender to his traditional Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave in Aiden Thomas' paranormal YA debut Cemetery Boys, described by Entertainment Weekly as "groundbreaking".

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can't get rid of him.

When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his true gender, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend, Maritza, he performs the ritual himself and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is actually Julian Diaz, the school's resident bad boy, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He's determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian so they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

Bram Stoker Awards - Nominee - 2020
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year - 2020
School Library Best Books of the Year - 2020
An NPR Best Book of the Year - 2020
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year - 2020
Barnes & Noble Best New Books of the Year - 2020

A Macmillan Audio production from Swoon Reads

"The novel perfectly balances the vibrant, energetic Latinx culture while delving into heavy topics like LGBTQ+ acceptance, deportation, colonization, and racism within authoritative establishments." (TeenVogue.com)

"This stunning debut novel from Thomas is detailed, heart-rending, and immensely romantic. I was bawling by the end of it, but not from sadness: I just felt so incredibly happy that this queer Latinx adventure will get to be read by other kids. Cemetery Boys is necessary: For trans kids, for queer kids, for those in the Latinx community who need to see themselves on the page. Don’t miss this book." (Mark Oshiro, author of Anger Is a Gift)

©2020 Aiden Thomas (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Perfection

The book is wonderful and magical and heartbreaking and hopeful and everything in between. The narration is the cherry on top; could not have been better. Bravo to you both!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I haven't listened to a book that brought me so much joy in along time. The characters were so real and inspirational. I laughed, cried, and I made new friends or at least it felt like it. Aiden Thomas you brought me back in time because I grew up 3 miles from east Los Angeles and my great-grandmother and grandmother lived there and are buried at Rose Hill only a mile or so from east Los Angeles. Aiden Thomas I can't wait to see what's the future holds for you.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING

Listening to this book brought me to tears. It is not only a wonderfully engaging tale of the magic and the paranormal, but a beautiful coming of age of a Latinx, queer, transgender main character. I absolutely loved all the culture packed into this book, and Avi Roque did such a fantastic job narrating. (I was also so excited to listen to them because I already knew them as a voice actor on The Owl House!) As a young queer, trans person, hearing a story about a young, gay, trans boy was more representation than I ever get. I found myself relating to Yadriel’s binder struggles and the way people avoid him completely out of fear of misgendering him. I found myself crying when his family embraced him and when his father called him “my son” I’m front of the entire community. It also made me so happy to see a cisgender gay boy fall in love with a transgender boy. People need to realize that trans people are the gender that they are, no ifs ands or buts about it, and sexuality is about attraction to gender, not sex. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good ghost story (whoops, I mean spirit ;)) with a beautiful coming of age and romance arc. I especially recommend it to anyone who is feeling in need of Latinx, queer, and trans representation. Aiden Thomas wrote an exceptional book and Avi Roque read it fantastically. I thank them both for giving a young, queer, trans kid something to smile about.

AMAZING BOOK

I absolutely loved this book. the character development was exceptional. Aiden Thomas did a wonderful job with bringing various Latinx cultures together to really represent the fullness of Latinidad. The main three characters were Greta and you really got invested in their journies. as for the Narrator....Avi killed it! His unique character voices bring all the dynamic characters to life in a way I rarely hear in audio books. Probably one of my new favorite narrators!

Best book ever!

I loved this book from start to finish. It kept my attention the entire time. I felt extremely connected to the characters. It was so interesting! Even if you know nothing about what a brujo is or anything about the trans community, the book is accesible and hooks you. I could not wait to find out what happened at every turn. This book would make THE BEST MOVIE. The narration and writing were incredible. I can tell it is one of those rare books I will read a second time. The author said he may write more stories for these characters and I truly hope so.

so freaking good!!

There are no words. This made me feel ALL THE THINGS! I want to listen again immediately!

loved the characters

I fell in love with the young adults in this book. The storyline was exciting, super creepy at times and kept me engaged. Love, respect and honor, through challenges surrounding faith and individual identity. The narrator was brilliant.

A vibrant world and a fun story

I enjoyed exploring the world in this book with these characters. In my opinion, there are some frustrating bits with the plot in the middle where the actions of the characters don’t really make sense based on how they’ve acted before or the timeline doesn’t quite make sense. Still the overall arc works, these things having more to do with filling the time as the characters get to know each other while attempting and ultimately failing to make any progress on solving a mystery; more or less stumbling into the resolution by accident.

The performance is well acted, if somewhat halting, with big pauses between almost every line. Not my preferred style, but still okay.

An Absolute Stunner!

I loved truly every single beat of this story. The author weaves a web of relationships so sacred and precious all with incredible stakes and detail!!

One of my favorite books of all time!

I absolutely love this book! Cannot gosh about it enough! Aiden Thomas is an amazing writer and I cannot wait to buy all of their future books!

The narrator did a great job bringing this book to life! I’m not sure anyone could have done a better job!