Cemetery Boys is a young adult urban fantasy novel by Aiden Thomas, published September 1, 2020 by Swoon Reads. The book's placement on the New York Times Bestseller List made history as the first book on the list by an openly transgender author featuring a transgender character.
A sequel, titled Cemetery Boys: Espíritu, was released on September 8, 2026.
Plot Yadriel is queer, trans, Latino, and a brujo (witch). Brujos are known to possess the ability to summon spirits and release them from the physical realm, whereas Brujas possess healing powers. Unfortunately, his family does not recognize him as a man, and expect him to develop healing instead of summoning abilities. Along with his cousin and best friend, Maritza, Yadriel attempts to summon the ghost of his missing cousin, who is believed to have perished. Yadriel hopes that by successfully summoning his cousin, he will prove himself a Brujo. Instead, he calls forth Julian Diaz, a boy from Yadriel's school who does not remember how he died and is not ready to move on.
Reception Before Cemetery Boys was released, it was named one of the most anticipated books of 2020 by Book Riot, Tor.com, Goodreads, Paste, and Bitch Media.
After release, book was named a best seller by the New York Times and IndieBound, and received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. It was also named best book of the year by Publishers Weekly, NPR, and Barnes & Noble. +Awards for Cemetery BoysYearAwardResult2020Bram Stoker Award for Best Young Adult NovelShortlistedGoodreads Choice Award for Young Adult Fantasy & Science FictionNomineeGoodreads Choice Award for Debut Novel NomineeNational Book AwardLonglistedSchool Library Journal (SLJ) Top 10 Audiobooks of 2020Top Ten2021ALA Amazing Audiobooks for Young AdultsTop TenALA Best Fiction for Young AdultsALA Rainbow Book ListTop TenALA Teens' Top TenTop TenLocus Award for Best First NovelNomineeLodestar AwardFinalist
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