His mom championed for Yadriel to be given a brujo’s [quinceañero], to be welcomed into the community as he was — a boy. She’d taken on the task of trying to explain to his dad that he was a brujo. He was a boy. ... It’s not a choice, his mother had said, her voice calm but firm. It’s who he is. [p. 32]
Yadriel's family are mostly unable to accept that he's a boy ('you'll always be my little girl') and, with the Día de Muertos approaching, Yadriel is desperate to prove himself worthy of becoming a brujo. The close-knit Latinx community in which he's grown up has gendered roles for brujo and bruja. The men can release the spirits of the dead to the hereafter: the women are primarily healers. Yadriel is not a good healer, but he's sure he can free a ghost. With the help of his cousin Maritza (a confirmed vegetarian who won't perform blood magic), Yadriel goes in search of the spirit of another cousin, Miguel, who's disappeared, and is believed dead. Instead the two find the spirit of a boy Yadriel knows from school, extrovert rebel Julian Diaz. Yadriel has never had much time for Julian and his friends, but he finds himself warming to Julian's ghost, and determined to help Julian solve the mystery of his own murder. Though it's silly to want to kiss a dead boy...
This is a YA romance, with plenty of teenage drama, adult oppression, lack of agency and overthinking. I guessed most of the plot twists well in advance, and I found some of the characters two-dimensional. Without the trans/LGBT element, I doubt I'd have picked it up. I'm glad I did, though: Thomas' (#ownvoices) depiction of Latinx culture, and how it's evolved to fit into and around modern American life, drew me in. The relationships between Yadriel and Julian, and Yadriel and Maritza, felt solid and real, and Yadriel's grief for his recently-dead mother was poignant -- despite the fact that he fully expects to see and speak to her on Día de Muertos. (There is never any doubt that the magic is real.) There's enough spooky-shiveriness to give the story an edge, and to balance the mundane horrors of homophobia, family estrangements, poverty and lack of communication. Looking forward to more by this author.
For Shop Your Shelves Bingo, Summer 2023: purchased 01 FEB 23, prompt 'party' -- the novel's climax coincides with the Día de Muertos festival, preparations for which feature throughout.
And for The 52 Book Challenge 2023, prompt 'banned'. "Texas legislators have proposed banning this book due to drinking, drugs, profanity, sex, and violence." Or possibly ... just a thought ... because it features LGBTQ+ characters in a positive light?
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