I expected to like this book. I did not expect to love it, but it was great. It was the second book I picked up for the trans rights readathon, and not only is there trans representation in the book, but both the author and the cover illustrator are trans. I love that Aiden Thomas was able to represent both their gender and their Latinx culture in this debut novel that follows trans teen Yadriel. While he is not fully rejected by his family, he isn’t fully accepted either, and there’s a lot of ignorance that some of his family members need to overcome. This has prevented Yadriel from becoming a brujo. Yadriel’s family is part of a group of brujx, people who can see spirits and have been blessed by Lady Death to be able to heal people or usher spirits to the afterlife. Because it’s a gendered magic system and Yadriel was assigned female at birth, his father—also the leader of the brujx—won’t allow him to have the ceremony to be blessed by Lady Death.
Fortunately for Yadriel, he does have a couple of family members in his corner, including his cousin Maritza who helps him perform the ceremony in secret. When he tries to prove that he really is a brujo, he ends up summoning a spirit other than the one he intended. Enter Julian, recently deceased. The book blurb described him as the “resident bad boy of his high school,” but we quickly learn that’s not who he is. Julian is energetic, compassionate, and deeply loyal. He is ride or die for his friends, just as Maritza is for Yadriel. I think my favorite part is when Julian crosses out Yadriel’s deadname in his yearbook and writes in “Yadriel.” And he tried to do it sneakily. That’s who Julian is. I loved the author’s character work and felt like I really got a sense of who the characters are.
I appreciate it when YA books actually read as YA, which this one does. It at times left me wanting to shout “Tell an adult!” though I understand why Yadriel didn’t feel he could do that. It’s a really sweet book, though not without moments of tension, grief, and some violence. The relationships between the characters really stand out, with fairly realistic dialogue, and the story kept me engaged. Also, as I said in the title, there’s a cat named Purrcaso! And two vicious-looking pitbulls named Donatello and Michelangelo who just want to slobber all over people. There’s a sequel due out next year, which is exciting. I will definitely be on the lookout for it.
Pie Chart Challenge – Diversity
