Cemetery Boys

Reviewed by: Brooke Faulkner - McArthur Library, Biddeford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: June 9, 2015

Review

Horror tropes abound in this story involving a small town's folklore about horrific bird monsters that periodically demand sacrifices to appease them. After his mother is institutionalized following a descent into mental illness, Stephen and his father are forced due to financial straits to move back to his father's hometown of Spencer, Michigan, where they move in with his awful, mean-spirited grandmother. They are barely in town for a day when Stephen begins to sense that all is not right in the insular, unwelcoming town. People speak of Spencer going through "a bad time" and Stephen soon meets Devin, whose gang of friends seems to know plenty about both the bad time and what they think will be the remedy. They court Stephen to be one of them, enticing him to the cemetery at night (which they call "The Playground") to drink and engage in various hijinks. Meanwhile, Stephen is busy falling hard for Devin's sister, Cara. Featuring writing that is often clunky and predictable scares, this will nevertheless appeal to fans of Brewer's Slayer Chronicles series.

Overall Book Score: fair