The Cemetery Boys by Heather Brewer

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.

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. . . .

Reviewed by leahrosereads on

3 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 May, 2015: Finished reading
  • 5 May, 2015: Reviewed