Cemetery Boys delightfully surprised me! I was wary about how this book would treat Día de los Muertos since it is my favorite holiday, but I have to say that I am quite happy about how we got to see multiple latinx cultures represented in this celebration.
This book is set in East LA in a world where a group of people from Latinx cultures have acquired magical powers from Lady Death, La Santa Muerte. As time has gone on, they have slowly lost the intensity of their power, before it was said that they could bring people back to life, while now they do more basic healing and just help spirits pass to the afterlife. Their power is defined by their gender so women are healers while men help the spirits.
Our main character is Yadriel, a boy who is struggling to be recognized as a brujo because his family is having a hard time accepting his gender identity. He decides to go on a path to get that recognition with the help of his cousin and best friend, Maritza. Maritza is a bruja but she’s vegan and since to use magic they need to use animal blood, she refuses to actually use her powers. In the process of trying to prove himself a brujo, Yadriel summons the spirit of Julian Diaz and now he has to find a way to fix everything before things become dangerous for everyone (including Julian!)
I loved the use of Spanish throughout the book as well as all the references to food (omg I’m hungry thinking about pan de muerto and Gansitos ::drool::). Yadriel’s abuela reminded me a lot of my aunts who basically don’t let you out of their sight until they are satisfied that you’ve eaten properly. I thought that the traditional thoughts of gender were pretty spot on but I loved that Thomas was able to give it more empathy and compassion. While Yadriel is scared and disappointed about how his family is not getting it right 100% of the time, his dad and abuela obviously love him very much and are able to recognize their shortcomings when it counts.
I highly recommend this if you’re looking for something to read that includes the Día de los Muertos celebration as well as a book with trans representation. I now need to go plan out my ofrenda for this year!
September is here! August was a great reading month, you can read all about it in my wrap up. For September I have planned the new books around the Magical Readathon: Orilium – The Novice Path (art in header and in journal by Lisa and Logan).
But first, let’s take a look at what I’m currently reading:
The Stand by Stephen King: Yep, still buddy reading this, nearing 75% now and I’m so ready to see how this all wraps up!
Todos los Cuentos by Gabriel García Márquez: I am nearing the end of this book and I just love how Márquez manages to envelop me in beautiful writing and just all the atmosphere of his stories.
Emma by Jane Austen: I was not expecting this one to be so funny! I absolutely love Emma’s dad, he’s ridiculous in the most endearing way ever.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon: I barely started this one and it will unfortunately go into the backburner for a bit since I’ll be putting other books as priority for the first half of September. However, I’m super enjoying the writing so far, I need to know what is going to happen!
Temporada de Huracanes by Fernanda Melchor: This is the new pick for the book club with my friends and wow it’s so good! It is about brujas in a town in Veracruz, Mexico. A woman, known to be a witch in her town, is found murdered and so far we see how her origin is full of rumors, mythology, and violence. Excellent writing, absolutely love it.
And now, let’s look at what I will read for the Novice path for the Magical Readathon that I mentioned above!
Character Development (in progress)
For my character I’ve chosen to create Anukis Atali who lives in the urban center of Kerador and who is of Skaimorn heritage. She is a reader who has always been super curious about the magic that might be within her but which she has never been able to harness except in moments of intense pressure. She was raised by her great-uncle who is all about searching for the origins of his ancestors, genealogy is his passion. As such, Anukis knows that she comes from a line of powerful magic, which makes her inability to harness her own quite frustrating. The three books seen (Fight Club, Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, and Club Dumas) will be read before April 2022 so I will talk about them in future TBRs.
TBR Spread in my Readathon Journal
So the idea for September is that my character will be embarking on the journey to Orilium Academy in order to learn how to harness her magical abilities. As such she must travel through various landmarks, each marking a trial that she must endure and pass in order to make it to the Academy. She’s not alone but she’s also super shy so hopefully she’ll be able to overcome that shyness in order to get to her goal.
The Novice Path Entrance — Read a book with a map: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo: No, I haven’t read the Shadow and Bone series but I absolutely love heist movies and I’ve never read a heist book so I really wanted to check this out. I don’t know much more about this book other than the heist element and I am pretty sure that’s all I need!
Ashtorn Tree — A book on top of your TBR: Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell: This is the pick for this month’s Feminist Book club so of course it’s at the top of my TBR! This book takes a look at words that have often been used against women, labeling women as less than, and tracks their origins in order to take away that negative connotation and allow the reader to take back the word into a different kind of use.
The Mist of Solitude — Read a Standalone: In the Wild Light by Jeff Zentner: I am SO excited to read this book. I’ve loved all of Zentner’s books so far and I don’t expect this one to be any different. I don’t even know what this book is about!
Ruin of the Skye — Read a book featuring ghosts/supernatural elements: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas: This book follows Yadriel, a Latinx brujx, who has managed to summon the ghost of the school’s resident bad boy, Julian Diaz. Now they are forced to work together in order to set things right for both of them. Ghosts, romance, LGBTQ+ and Latinx representation, can’t wait!
Obsidian Falls — Read a thriller or mystery book: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix: I am a big fan of horror movies and one of the tropes in many of them is that final girl who manages to survive. So this book follows a group of final girls who have survived their respective serial killers and who now come together to help each other deal with the aftermath. But apparently their horror story is not over….
Tower of Rumination — Read a five star prediction: Sabrina & Corina by Kali Fajardo-Anstine: This is a series of short stories centered around Latinas of indigenous ancestry. There’s friendship, motherhood, sisterhood, and heritage. I’m pretty sure I’ll love this.
Orilium Academy Arc — Book with a school setting: A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer: A middle-grade book about Brystal, a 14-year-old girl who is whisked away to a magical school where she’ll learn that maybe her life is not as boring as she thought! I loved The Land of Stories series so I expect that this will be no different.
And that’s it for the Novice Path TBR! IF there’s time at all, I will also be starting All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which came up in my last Want To Read List Cleanup post. As it stands, it might be pushed into October but that’s quite alright since there’s no hurry. Who knows, I might be in the mood and start it even while working on the books for the Orilium journey, we’ll see!
Bites of Books 