(3.5) Wonderful characters and important themes, let down by poor pacing and a muddled plot.

The strengths of Cemetery Boys are its three central characters. Yadriel is a trans boy who isn't fully accepted in his traditional community, nor allowed to take on the roles afforded to boys at their maturity. Maritza is his vegan cousin who refuses to use her healing powers because they require the use of animal blood. Julian is the boy whose spirit Yadriel accidentally calls while attempting to find answers to the mysterious death of his cousin. Yadriel, Julian and Maritza have a great dynamic, and they held the story together. The themes of fighting to be accepted for who you are were also very moving and powerful, and I could vividly understand how hurtful gendered language can be, as well as how a throwaway comment from an unthinking relative can cause a great deal of pain. These elements of the story were handled very well.

My main issue with Cemetery Boys was the pacing. I was surprised at how little happened with regards to what seemed like the main plotline - solving the mystery of Miguel's (and Julian's) death - until about the 70-80% mark of the story. The author seemed to want to focus more on Yadriel and Julian's developing relationship - which I would have been all for! But I think for that to be effective, there needed to be a decision that the novel would revolve around a completely different plot - probably without any of the supernatural elements. I think if this had been a contemporary romance, it would have worked far better structurally, and would have been more focused and tightly-plotted.

Still, 'Mi querido' had me sobbing. I was very pleased the author included so much Spanish, totally unapologetically. I think that should be done more often. Lovely characters with important themes, but for me it unfortunately didn't live up to its full potential.