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A review by literaryprincess
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
AIDEN THOMAS HAS DONE IT* AGAIN
*"It" being making me laugh, cry, squeal, cry again, and fall hopelessly in love with a collection of gay superpowered teens in just over 400 pages.
The Sunbearer Trials was such a delight. I was hooked from the moment I read the premise, and its execution was everything I could have asked for and more. All of the found family, all of the exploration of gender and queerness in a fantasy world with modern-day technology and twists, all the hints of romance, all the action and awesome powers of an entirely original pantheon of gods (I mean come on!!!!) and more.
The banter of this book was top notch. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading, which is a rarity for me. And I'd so easily switch from laughter to stress to sadness and back again without missing a beat. This book somehow combines the stakes of the Trials with all the deadpan comedy you could ask from an ensemble of hormonal teenagers who never fail to remind you that they're still kids. Bonus points to Teo for pulling multiple A+ pranks in this book with zero repercussions just for the lols.
At first, the dozens of names and backgrounds of characters seemed a bit muddled, but as the world developed, it felt as natural as reading about mythologies I've been familiar with for years, which is by far one of the most impressive feats this book accomplishes. People, places, and relationships fell into place seamlessly and it was so easy to become attached to every single character, even the ones I probably shouldn't love as much as I do.
I ADORED the Latine culture that this book is brimming with. Even the fantasy lands with floating mountains and magic parting waterfalls have bodega cats. Or in some cases, bodega alebrijes. It's beautiful.
The amount of queer rep in this book ranges from blatant (having the main character talk about his top surgery, testosterone shots, exploring gender identity labels and pronouns on page, etc.) to blink and you'll miss it (the main god and multiple other characters are nonbinary and the reader is only informed of this by their pronoun use, and I managed to miss that Xochi was a trans girl) and I found that incredibly refreshing and well done.
There's also Deaf representation, and the fact that a fantasy world can have ancient murder competitions AND sign language and memes is something that can actually be so personal.
Everything about my experience reading this book was phenomenal and magical and I am utterly stoked for the second half of this duology.
*"It" being making me laugh, cry, squeal, cry again, and fall hopelessly in love with a collection of gay superpowered teens in just over 400 pages.
The Sunbearer Trials was such a delight. I was hooked from the moment I read the premise, and its execution was everything I could have asked for and more. All of the found family, all of the exploration of gender and queerness in a fantasy world with modern-day technology and twists, all the hints of romance, all the action and awesome powers of an entirely original pantheon of gods (I mean come on!!!!) and more.
The banter of this book was top notch. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading, which is a rarity for me. And I'd so easily switch from laughter to stress to sadness and back again without missing a beat. This book somehow combines the stakes of the Trials with all the deadpan comedy you could ask from an ensemble of hormonal teenagers who never fail to remind you that they're still kids. Bonus points to Teo for pulling multiple A+ pranks in this book with zero repercussions just for the lols.
At first, the dozens of names and backgrounds of characters seemed a bit muddled, but as the world developed, it felt as natural as reading about mythologies I've been familiar with for years, which is by far one of the most impressive feats this book accomplishes. People, places, and relationships fell into place seamlessly and it was so easy to become attached to every single character, even the ones I probably shouldn't love as much as I do.
I ADORED the Latine culture that this book is brimming with. Even the fantasy lands with floating mountains and magic parting waterfalls have bodega cats. Or in some cases, bodega alebrijes. It's beautiful.
The amount of queer rep in this book ranges from blatant (having the main character talk about his top surgery, testosterone shots, exploring gender identity labels and pronouns on page, etc.) to blink and you'll miss it (the main god and multiple other characters are nonbinary and the reader is only informed of this by their pronoun use, and I managed to miss that Xochi was a trans girl) and I found that incredibly refreshing and well done.
There's also Deaf representation, and the fact that a fantasy world can have ancient murder competitions AND sign language and memes is something that can actually be so personal.
Everything about my experience reading this book was phenomenal and magical and I am utterly stoked for the second half of this duology.