thebakersbooks's reviews
281 reviews

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

5/5 stars — a poignant, heart-stopping story culminating in tragedy and joy

When I say I want more representation of marginalized groups in science fiction and fantasy, Cemetery Boys is case in point. Main character Yadriel is a gay, trans, Latinx boy, and the cast includes mostly other people of color, several of whom are also queer. The characters’ ethnicities, religions, genders, and sexualities play into the story, but they’re not all the story’s about. It’s hard to discuss this without seeming dismissive of the need for a range of good representation across genres, but there’s a place for both books that center the real-world struggles and triumphs of marginalization and books where those struggles and triumphs happen alongside ghost stories and magic. But what I appreciated most about Cemetery Boys was that while the difficulties of existing at the crux of several marginalized identities cropped up in the story, the main sources of pain/drama/angst came from fantasy sources that weren’t identity-centered.

Cemetery Boys also drives home a point that critics of fanfiction—and of fanfic writers, both past and current—repeatedly fail to understand. The point is this: it doesn’t matter if you know how the story’s going to turn out; even if you’ve seen it play out similarly a hundred times before and you see where it’s going, the author can deliver that conclusion in an emotionally satisfying way. I don’t know if Aiden Thomas has written fanfic (my money says yes), but even though I guessed the antagonist and some elements of the climax around halfway through the book, the ending contained plenty of surprises in its execution. It’s why we say “trope” isn’t a bad word—tropes exist for a reason, and they don’t always have to be used in surprising ways to bring a story to a brilliant end.

Frankly, the fact that the antagonist and end twist were guessable pretty early in the book might be my only critique of Cemetery Boys. This is one of my favorite books ever, nearly perfect from the standpoints of craft and pure enjoyment value. Like his protagonist, Thomas is trans, gay, and Latinx, so his understanding of the nuance of the ways those identities intersect shines through in Yadriel. Only part of that identity applies to me, but the realness of Yadriel’s moments of joy, pain, and awkwardness were validating—particularly to a younger and more confused version of me. Despite everything this book puts its characters through, it left me feeling hopeful.

So, the story: What starts out as Yadriel’s quest to prove to his family and community that he’s a brujo with all the abilities that implies becomes the perilous search for a killer who’s disappearing young Latinx people—among them, a boy named Julian. When Yadriel’s friend Maritza and Julian’s friend Luca volunteer to help in the search for Julian, things get even more complicated. Friendships form an enduring theme in Cemetery Boys—it’s clear when an author thinks romance is more important than friendship, and that definitely wasn’t the case here. Maritza and Luca are very different kinds of friends (one snarky, one soft) but both are ride or die when the safety of their loved ones is at stake. Similarly, family is both a source of strength and conflict in the story, but it’s never pushed aside by the writing or framed as second to *relationship drama* or anything else.

In fact, the romance in Cemetery Boys is, for all its angst and potential for tragedy, not a huge part of the book. In parts where it was the focus, I never found it overpowering compared to other plot events. Also, I thought the romantic relationship did a great job of avoiding insta-love territory. Yadriel initially finds Julian inconvenient and annoying and only slowly decides that he’s attractive. It takes even longer before any kind of rapport develops between them and that turns into romance. (Although, as romantic gestures go, scribbling out your crush’s deadname in his yearbook and writing his real name over it is up there.)

Thomas’ knack for creating real-feeling characters and gradually picking them apart leads to some absolutely gutting moments. Even though you can see the heartbreak coming, that doesn’t make it hurt any less when it actually happens! And I mean that as a compliment. Characterization may be one of the author’s strong suits, but certainly not the only one. The book is full of stunningly descriptive imagery, especially describing angry teenagers, churches, and Día de Muertos details like sugar skulls and marigolds. Although—or maybe because —it makes time to show detail and build elaborate character relationships, the pacing never lags in the second act, nor does anything feel rushed in the third. The emotional beats fall where they should, embellished by brutally raw dialogue and more of that gorgeous descriptive prose.

Let’s talk about gender-affirming worldbuilding for a second. The magic system in Cemetery Boys is described as being built around a gender binary: brujas heal living people who suffer; brujos guide spirits who are lost. The magic itself correctly identifies Yadriel as male, so when he tries to perform a female-only ability, it backfires, whereas the male-only one works. (Also, the binary-ness turns out to be partially a product of Yadriel as a narrator with a narrow scope of history: as Julian later points out, there must have been nonbinary brujx and others who didn’t conform to the narrow binary system in the past.) On this subject, the brujx’ knives or rosaries are used to indicate things about their characters—the style, whether they’re adorned with extra charms, etc., which is the kind of fun yet functional worldbuilding I love to see. Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention how the world and its magic are based on various Latinx cultures. I’m not Latinx, so I’m sure I missed some of the references/details, but I enjoyed the way traditions from various places mixed during Día de Muertos and among the brujx in general. And I liked how if there was a long or complex passage in Spanish, it's translated into English, but individual words—even those that weren’t obvious cognates, like sobrino—weren’t translated. People can Google that stuff if they don't know it and can't infer the meaning!


Random good parts that may not all make sense out of context but that I would be remiss not to point out
- an immediate, first-chapter indication that Yadriel is trans (I think he mentions his binder or something) without spelling it out super obviously
- the MC is a SHORT trans boy! Yadriel bemoans that he’s only “a little over five feet”
- “His dead name slipped from her mouth,” instead of actually using the old name is an excellent way of dealing with trans names.
- Julian’s intro is really cool! Definitely one of the most unique ways to introduce a love interest I’ve ever read.
- so nice that Julian, despite being introduced as an archetypical ‘bad boy,’ accepts that Yadriel is trans without any big deal, and thinks it’s messed up that others don’t treat Yadriel (in his own words) like a “real boy.
- “My tacos!” - Julian, finding moldy food on the ground.
- Tito, the spirit gardener who tended flowers all his life and continues to grow them in death—especially flowers for Día de los Muertas, which are his pride and joy.
- Maritza’s family’s pitbulls, Michelangelo and Donatello
- cempasúchil! Every instance where they were described sounded so pretty.
- the romance: “How could he possibly recover from falling for Julian Diaz?” and “Yadriel would happily let himself be consumed by Julian’s fire.”
- an actual non-forced, naturally incorporated meme: “I’ve been—dude, stop screaming—”

This book ripped my heart out and glued it back together wrong way out. That is to say: I give it my highest recommendation, particularly to young people likely to relate to Yadriel and/or Julian. The writing is stellar, the audiobook narration is excellent, and the overall package is absolutely worth your time. (I’d like to mention here that Avi Roque, a trans Latinx narrator, was a great choice for the storytelling and really made the characters come alive. This was apparently their first audiobook narration, too!)

Content notes: death of a loved one; repeated mention of death, dying, and grief; graphic depiction of death on-page; mention of shooting and stabbing; gangs; parental/familial abuse; youth homelessness; transphobia including misgendering and mentioned deadnaming, police profiling based on race

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Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

4.5/5 stars — an action- and emotion-filled quest for justice

As a kid fascinated by superheros, I would've loved this book! As an adult who likes the Hulk specifically, I enjoyed sharing that with main character Nnamdi, and enjoyed even more when he acquired his own Hulk-like form via a magical ikenga given to him by his dead father.

In Ikenga, Nnamdi, his mother, and his best friend mourn the death of Nnamdi's father, an upstanding police chief who cared for his community and never accepted bribes. Nnamdi suspects local criminal elements are behind his father's murder; he sets out to solve the mystery, sleuthing as his usual twelve-year-old self and punching out bad guys as his massive, shadowy alter ego. He grapples with grief and anger as he learns to control "The Man." One of my favorite aspects of the book was the baked-in message that boys can and should feel a full range of emotions. I also liked Nnamdi's friend Chioma—their rapport felt like a throwback to childhood, and I think/hope it'll read as equally genuine to kids today. 

My only quibbles with the book were a bit of classism at the beginning (Nnamdi thinking his mother is better than the other people selling goods at the market because they’d once had more money and status) and the way the whodunit turned out at the end.
It felt to me like Nnamdi should've been right with his second accusation (of the new, corrupt police chief). Having the guy who published the newsletters be the murderer felt a bit far-fetched, in my opinion.
Overall, though, it was a really entertaining read/listen with an excellent narrator and a plot that held my attention. I'd definitely recommend it to middle-grade readers (8-12) and the lower end of the YA range as well! 

Content notes: death of a parent, some violence

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The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher

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dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

4/5 stars — well-written, unobjectionable horror, but didn't knock my socks off

I'm far from a horror aficionado (I'm a huge wimp, if we're being honest), so I didn't have the context to understand how this book was situated within the legacy of the genre. I only found out in the end matter that the author had drawn on previous famous works, so I'm sure I missed lots of interesting lampshading and twists on horror tropes. That said, I really liked this book! I really appreciate horror where nothing (too) awful happens to women just because they're women
and the dog doesn't die
.

Oddly, my quibble was that I didn't actually find <i>The Twisted Ones</i> scary. Really at all. There were a few chilling moments and at least one well-timed "jump scare" (is it still called that outside of movies/TV?) but either this wasn't the kind of horror I find scary or it was aiming for a low shiver factor. Regardless, I don't need to sleep with the lights on...but I'm also glad I wasn't planning to walk in the woods anytime soon. 

Aside from being a minor letdown on the fear scale, this was a solid, fun read. I liked all the characters, was captivated by the subtleties of the plot, and found the measured escalation of mystery and horror impressive. I recommend this book to horror fans and fellow wimps alike!

Content notes: implied forced impregnation of a minor character (no rape or antagonistic person involved); mention of miscarriages; implied child death; a range of body horror throughout

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The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

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dark emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Never given something .75 of a star before but this deserved better than 3.5. If not for the main character's egregious fatphobia (I stopped counting after four instances in the first chapter), this would've been 4.75 stars for me. Hope this author has no fat friends.
All about Me: My Remarkable Life in Show Business by Mel Brooks

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

3.5

To Boldly Grow: Finding Joy, Adventure, and Dinner in Your Own Backyard by Tamar Haspel

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adventurous informative slow-paced

3.0

As nice as it is to see more fellow Jewish people getting in on the homesteading trend, this is very much a 'billionaire teaches you how to become a billionaire' type book. Sure you can find joy, adventure, and dinner in your own backyard...if you can afford to move out of a city, buy land in Cape Cod, several boats, a truck, etc. Frustrated to say the 'how to have a happy marriage' tips sprinkled in are very much in the same vein: "find your soulmate in your forties, then—" 

I also knew nothing about this author going in and if I'd been aware she was a nutrition writer who would drop the (now medically outdated, besides being fatphobic) term 'obesity' right and left, I would not have picked it up. One can happily do all the activities in this book while "obese," heath as an end goal is ableist even outside that framework, and none of that needed to be included in this book! Just teach us how to pluck a damn turkey.

That said, the tips are forthright, the honesty often hilarious at the author's own expense in a way I appreciate, and I learned two gardening things I actually CAN use in my postage-stamp backyard and am excited to try come spring. 

I do not recommend this book.
Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Not for me, and I'm not sure why this author comes so highly recommended. 
When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of those stories that's like a sigh of relief. From the bottom of my queer Jewish heart, thank you to the folks who brought this book into the world. As happy as I've been to see queer Jewish novels popping up in the YA sphere, it means even more to know there's stuff like this for adults too. I don't write "real" reviews anymore but I'm saving my notes from this book in case I get around to it—this work deserves a full review of its literary merits as well as my fan[redacted]ing over how it feels like coming home.
The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis

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adventurous mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

such a solid concept, but the pacing really drags in the middle because of the multiple POVs
The Invited by Jennifer McMahon

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slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

  Why is it that whenever white women try to do feminism, even as entertainment, they do it by leaving everyone else out in the cold? I kept expecting the other shoe to drop and the 'thriller' side of the story to come from the fact that a couple who all but go around singing "this land is my land" is building a house on indigenous land while venerating the settlers who stole it and having no concept of the actual history. But no, of course *witchcraft* is all that matters. 

Terrible book (and full of ableist language, never challenged, up to and including the r slur from a child character meant to be sympathetic). Plus of course the awkward fat kid character received no positive *anything* in this story until he underwent a physical transformation in the last ten pages, at which point people liked him and good things happened to him.

Not reading anything else by this author.

Oh, and great call making the only queer-coded character the bad guy. Well done. And this from a fellow queer person, too.