Cemetery Boys: Telling the Tale of Trans and Latinx Folks

Stories reflective of trans and Latinx experiences aren’t often represented in media and now writer Aiden Thomas has crafted a story that encompasses just that, and so much more.

The recently released book Cemetery Boys follows the character Yadriel, a young trans boy who summons the spirits from beyond to prove his identity to his tradition family.

Coming from a lineage of brujos, men who are able to summon and help dead spirits pass into the afterlife, Yadriel attempts to use his skills to summon the ghost of his murdered cousin. Yet, to his surprise, he manages to summon the wrong spirit, that of Julian Diaz who is described as the “resident bad boy” by author Thomas. Already having been summoned, Diaz asks for Yadriel’s help in tying loose ends before his forever departure. Agreeing with reluctance, Yadriel and Diaz begin spending a lot of time together and the long hours with each other eventually grows into feelings that are far away from a strictly platonic relationships.

In the traditions in which Yadriel has been raised in Cemetery Boys, the practice of brujeria is dominated by men. This makes his family believe that he could not become a true brujo. With the motivation of proving himself to his community, he sets out on a magical mission of adventure and love. 

Cemetery Boys dives deep into the celebration of Dia de los Muertos and it explores the problems caused by a lack of knowledge and understanding about the trans expreience. It divves into fantasy, brujeria, love, and identity. 

my Ghost-Story-Turned-Gay-Rom-Com, CEMETERY BOYS, is out TODAY!

it’s got:
🏳️‍⚧️a trans MC
👻a ghost LI
🌈GAY romance
🔮latinx magic
☠️set during Día de Muertos
🌎with an ENTIRELY latinx cast

read reviews, check out character art and PURCHASE YOUR COPY here! https://t.co/E82UZn0Nvc pic.twitter.com/zUEz6AY1ze

— Aiden Thomas 🌈👻 (on hiatus 😴🌴) (@aidenschmaiden) September 1, 2020

Thomas told NPR that the idea for the story came from a prompt they saw on Tumblr. It asked the question of what would happen if you summoned a ghost but were not able to get rid of it? Rather than writing about dark fantasies, Thomas instead explored the possibility of falling in love with who was summoned. 

The family aspect of the book ties into personal experience Thomas had, telling NPR, “I feel like most stories about trans kids, either their families fully support them without so much as a blink, or they completely reject them. I wanted to show how it can be more nuanced than that.”

Cemetery Boys is such a divine story. It brings to light so many issues often erased or hidden in media. The book illustrates so beautifully both the struggles and the strengths. Be sure to give it a read.