The Cemetery Boys

by Heather Brewer

Part Hitchcock, part Hinton, this first-ever stand-alone novel from Heather Brewer, New York Times bestselling author of the acclaimed Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, uses classic horror elements to tell a darkly funny coming-of-age story about the dangerous power of belief and the cost of blind loyalty that Kirkus Reviews called "a slick, spooky, chilling mystery."

When Stephen's dad says they're moving, Stephen knows it's pointless to argue. They're broke from paying Mom's hospital bills, and now the only option left is to live with Stephen's grandmother in Spencer, a backward small town that's like something out of The Twilight Zone. Population: 814.

Stephen's summer starts looking up when he meets punk girl Cara and her charismatic twin brother, Devon. With Cara, he feels safe and understood--and yeah, okay, she's totally hot. In Devon and his group, he sees a chance at making real friends. Only, as the summer presses on, and harmless nights hanging out in the cemetery take a darker turn, Stephen starts to suspect that Devon is less a friend than a leader. And he might be leading them to a very sinister end. . . .

--Kirkus Reviews

• ISBN10: 0606387412
• ISBN13: 9780606387415
• Publish Date: 3 May 2016 (first published 31 March 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 April 2021
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Edition: Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[leahrosereads]

2.5 Stars

The story sounded like it had the potential to be a phenomenal read to me, but it wasn’t. I guessed the twist pretty early on, and I wasn’t ever truly invested in Stephen or any of the other characters. Maybe it was because the book is under 300 pages, and there wasn’t enough time to build up a connection with the characters, or maybe the writing didn’t allow for a connection to be made.

Or maybe I wasn’t in the mood to read a book like this. I thought I was, until I started reading it, and then…

Whatever the case may be, the characters weren’t what kept me reading. The romance aspect of the story definitely didn’t make me keep reading. If anything, and if there was much more of the romance, I probably would have DNF’d the book.

The romance was just an eye-rolling annoyance to me. It felt forced and unnecesary, even when applying is as part of the twist for the story.


What did keep me reading was my own curiosity. I had to know what the Winged Ones were. If they were real, and if handling the “bad times” like the days of the town’s past, worked. I was a little disappointed with the outcome, but I was happy to find the answers(ish) to my questions.

This definitely wasn’t my favorite YA novel, but I’d be willing to try Heather Brewer’s other works. THE CEMETERY BOYS fell a little flat to me.

[celinenyx]

The Cemetery Boys is my first experience with the writings of Heather Brewer, author of the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series. Although the story didn't hold any surprises for me, I'm interested enough to pick up her other books.

When Stephen's dad loses his job, they are forced to move back to his dad's home town, some weird small town called Spencer. Here he meets Cara, a cute girl, and her brother Devon. Devon and his friends love to hang out at the cemetery. After a while Stephen discovers that not everything in Spencer is what it seems.

Ms Brewer writes boys extremely well; I enjoyed the inner monologue and sarcastic remarks of Stephen. It was also refreshing to see a young-adult romance through the eyes of a boy, without that romance being a projection of what a female would like a boy to think about his crush. Stephen's thoughts are destinctly teen-boy, with him wondering what it would be like to kiss those kissable lips, instead of thinking how he must love and protect her for ever and ever. Yay for realism!

Having years of experience with detective and crime fiction (especially on television), I have a knack of guessing endings. I always expect the unexpected - the person least likely of being the killer usually is. Whether it's the kindly butler or the loving mother, I have a nose for finding the bad apple. Yet again this nose worked, and I knew what the final twist would be. It was still a good twist, it was just a shame that I found it out beforehand.

The Cemetery Boys is well-written, and has a lovely dark atmosphere. I enjoyed how some questions aren't fully answered, because answering would have diminished the magic of the story. I would recommend this for fans of Darren Shan, Madeleine Roux, and Charles Gilman.