Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Five books that mix modern teenage life with supernatural problems

Christine Lynn Herman writes books about magic, monsters, and growing up. She is the author of YA novels The Devouring Gray and The Deck of Omens.

At Tor.com she tagged five "favorite works of YA fiction where characters have to balance magical destinies and dangerous supernatural problems alongside contemporary issues real teens face every day." One title on the list:
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Yadriel is a brujo with a problem: He’s summoned a spirit who won’t leave him alone. A spirit who just so happens to be Julian Diaz, an extremely cute bad boy with some loose ends to tie up before he’s ready to move on. Set over the course of Día de Muertos in an East LA brujx community, Cemetery Boys chronicles Yadriel and Julian’s journey to try and put the latter boy’s spirit to rest.

In addition to handling the supernatural, debut author Thomas delves deeply into Yadriel’s journey of seeking acceptance as a trans boy in his brujx community. Yadriel knows exactly who he is, and his family’s ancestral magic knows, too—but convincing some members of his community is proving a bit more difficult. There is such honesty and heart on every page of this book, and readers across the world will feel affirmed and seen as they get to know Yadriel. I was lucky enough to read an ARC of Cemetery Boys and urge you to snag your own copy when it’s releases on 9/1.
Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue