Banned/Challenged Book Spotlight - Cemetery Boys
Each week we are taking a closer look at one of the more than 800 books challenged by the Texas State Legislature.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas is one of the newer books on a list of more than 800 books challenged in the state of Texas. It was published in 2020, became a NYT best seller, and is now in its 12th printing.
As with the other books we’ve featured, we’re taking a look at the content, and why it would be challenged.
The premise of Cemetery Boys reads: Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.
When his traditional Latinx family has problems accepting his 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 up some loose ends before he leaves. Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.
Cemetery Boys was, hands down, one of my favorite reads in 2020, and is still top-tier in YA contemporary fantasy (imo). It has everything a reader could want, angsty romance, cinnamon roll, himbo love interest, a really good murder mystery, and a beautifully rich cultural setting with realistic family dynamics.
So why would it be challenged? Quite simply, Yadriel is trans. And Latinx, practicing Brujeria (a Latin-American derived folk magic and religion). Those are three big no-no’s if you are trying to uphold the dominant culture of white, heterosexual, cisgender, and christian.
It is marketed, and written for the YA readers (Young Adult, ages 13-17), and includes a murder mystery plot, as well as depictions of poverty, youth homelessness, assault (off-page) mis-gendering and dead naming of trans characters. But none of these things are out of the ordinary for this age category. In fact, any triggering material is written with care and consideration for the young readers. Thomas knows his audience, and cares deeply for them, and it shows in every word on the page.
The “uncomfortable” reality is that there aren’t enough books like Cemetery Boys written for the trans kids who desperately need them.