Sponsored by Simon & Schuster, publishers of The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman.
For over three hundred years the Owens family has been cursed in love. But now the youngest member of the Owens clan—faced with disaster—is determined to break the curse by any means necessary. Tracking her across Europe, three generations of the Owens family must come together to find her before she’s lost forever. From New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes The Book of Magic, a breathtaking sequel and conclusion to the treasured Practical Magic series that ultimately stands on its own as an unforgettable tale of family, fate, and—of course—magic.
Welcome to Read This Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that should absolutely be put at the top of your TBR pile. Recommended books will vary across genre and age category and include shiny new books, older books you may have missed, and some classics I suggest finally getting around to. Make space for another pile of books on your floor because here we go (and check out our awesome limited edition gear for Book Riot’s 10th anniversary)!
I adore today’s book, which is an absolutely perfect pick for an October read.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Our protagonist, Yadriel, lives in a cemetery in Los Angeles with his whole brujx community. He is 16 and should be a full-fledged brujo by now except his community is not supportive because he is transgender and gay. The way that the brujxes think that magic works is that there is men’s magic and women’s magic. So while they’re attempting to be loving, they end up being really transphobic. The person who was his biggest support, his mom, has died but soon it will be the first Día de Muertos since she has died, and Yadriel intends to tell her that he is a brujo now after he sneaks off to do his ceremony in secret.
When a brujx turns 15 they’re presented to Santa Muerte aka Lady Death. She then gives them a blessing and ties their inherent magic to their chosen conduit. For women, it’s usually a rosary. For men, it’s usually a dagger. This conduit is called a portaje. Yadriel’s best friend, Maritza, is super supportive of Yadriel and she makes a beautiful dagger for Yadriel so he can perform his own brujx quince and show everyone that he is just as much of a brujo as any other man. So, he does his secret quince with Maritza and it seems like it works.
Meanwhile, Yadriel’s cousin Miguel dies that same night but they don’t know where his body is. So Yadriel hatches a plan to find Miguel’s portaje and free his spirit and then no one can deny he is a brujo. He and Maritza go poking around and find a necklace, which definitely feels like a spirit is tethered to it. What Yadriel doesn’t expect is that it’s actually the spirit of Julian Diaz, known troublemaker at their high school. Julian wants to make a deal. If Yadriel and Maritza help Julian find his friends and let them know he’s gone, then Julian will let Yadriel sever his tie and set him free to prove to everyone he is a brujo. Seems straightforward, but it really really isn’t. On top of that, spending all that time together, Yadriel isn’t sure he wants to let Julian go.
This book is fun and suspenseful and heartbreaking and heartwarming and I totally have a crush on this book.
That’s it for now, book-lovers!
Patricia
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