The Cemetery Boys

Children's Book and Media Review Volume 39 Issue 8 Article 73 2018 The Cemetery Boys Meagan Andrus Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Andrus, Meagan (2018) "The Cemetery Boys," Children's Book and Media Review: Vol. 39 : Iss. 8 , Article 73. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr/vol39/iss8/73 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Children's Book and Media Review by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact , . Andrus: The Cemetery Boys Book Review The Cemetery Boys Author Heather Brewer Illustrator Reviewer Meagan Andrus Rating Dependable Level Young Adult Pages 273 Year 2015 Publisher Harper Teen ISBN 9780062307880 Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2018 Stephen is forced to move to his grandmother’s house with his dad after his mom has a psychotic break. Stephen is not expecting to enjoy the very small town of Spencer, Michigan. However, on his first night he is invited to hang out with Devon, the charismatic leader of a band of boys. Devon is mysterious, intriguing, and a little freaky, but Stephen can’t help but feel drawn to him and his beautiful twin sister, Cara. As Stephen hangs out with Devon and the boys at the local cemetery, he begins to notice strange things happening in the town that don’t really have an explanation. He is told the small-town legend of the Winged Ones, harbingers of death and destruction on the town unless they are appeased with a sacrifice. Stephen wants to believe the legend is just that, but he slowly learns that things are not always as they seem, and that sometimes, there is no logical explanation for what goes on in a small-town cemetery. Told through Stephen’s dry and observant narration, this book has a great voice and some good characters. The relationships between Stephen and his father and between his father and his grandmother are intriguing and emotional, and the exploration of these relationships really carry the emotional weight of the book. The characters of Devon and Cara and the other cemetery boys, however, are less interesting and are more like stock horror characters. While this book is attempting to be scary and unnerving, the attempts are weak at best and juvenile at worst. Nothing about the Winged Ones or Stephen’s mom’s insanity are ever explained, and the ending features a few quick twists that are illogical and poorly executed. Readers who want to get into horror may want to try this book first, since it is really not scary or that well done, but avid horror fans will want to skip this one in favor of a better written scary story. *Contains severe language, moderate sexual content, and moderate violence. 1  (...truncated)