Summary

The novel begins with Yadriel Cabrera, a sixteen year-old, gay, transgender boy living in East Los Angeles. Yadriel and Maritza, his fifteen year-old cousin, break into the cemetery where his family lives and works. His father, Enrique, is the leader of the brujx families. Brujos help spirits cross over to the afterlife and brujas can heal people and animals. His mother, Camila, passed away almost a year ago. Yadriel and Maritza enter the church to complete Yadriel’s brujo ceremony so that he can prove to his family that he is a real brujo. Maritza presents Yadriel with his portaje, a dagger. Yadriel then recites the words of the ceremony and gives a blood sacrifice to Lady Death. A terrible pain shoots through Yadriel and Maritza’s bodies and as soon as it is over, they realize that their cousin, Miguel, has died...