The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas was a fun, enjoyable read with a plethora of unique characters with different powers, backgrounds, appearances, personalities, etc. I'm particularly impressed with the worldbuilding; in addition to a wholly original pantheon of gods (dioses) with their demigod children (semidioses), Thomas created an entire fantasy society. In this book, the characters visit a variety of cities, each one memorable in its own way, as they compete in a series of trials to see who will become the Sunbearer—and, conversely, who will be the sacrifice the power their society for the next ten years. The descriptions were so vivid and colorful that I found it easy to visualize all the different places the characters go to.

My only critique of this book was that the plot was a bit predictable for me, and at times it wasn't the story itself but rather the promise of reading more about these characters that really kept me going throughout the book. It does end on a cliffhanger, but I didn't feel the urgent need to read book 2 and find out what happens next. However, the characters were compelling enough—particularly our main character Teo and his two closest friends Niya and Xio—that I still finished this book relatively quickly and will consider reading book 2 when it comes out. Overall, four out of five stars to The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas!

"you are a loud, impulsive, persistent seeker of justice, and that makes people uncomfortable, but it doesn't make you bad. it makes you very good, in fact.”

to replenish the sun’s power & keep the obsidian gods at bay, each decade 10 semidioses are chosen to compete in the sunbearer trials. the winner gets the prestige of travelling through reino del sol to replenish the sun stones. the loser, however, gets the greatest honor— a sacrifice to sol to fuel the sun stones. the children of the mighty gold gods train their whole life for this trial, unlike the children of the jade gods who historically have never been chosen. until now. until teo. what's a semidiós to do except try his hardest to survive?

(no spoilers, just me yelling about how much i loved this book & aiden thomas, so yknow, just regular things!!)

just as i did with cemetery boys & lost in the never woods, i inhaled the entirely of the sunbearer trials in under 12 hours because i have zero chill & immediately added it to the faves shelf.

simply put, i loved this so much. i laughed, cried, gasped over the gorgeous worldbuilding, sent a dozen voice messages hollering. this book was. the most fun i’ve had in a very long time. wowie what a delight.

for those who have read cemetery boys, teo embodies yadriel’s heart & julian's sunshine soul (& head empty vibes only). for those who have not (what are you waiting for!), he’s a scrappy underdog who you can’t help but root for.

its not just teo though. each character—himbos to beefcakes to kids with hearts of gold— is so strongly developed & written that its impossible not to fall in love with them.

the character cards that mmarsloud has drawn for them is an absolute thing of beauty. each so, so gorgeous & intricate with diverse abilities, identities, and appearances. i eagerly followed along as each character card got revealed & honestly? went a little feral whenever they were.

as you know my commitment issues are Strong but i’m calling it right now— prepare to see this on my end of the year countdown. that’s right i said it !!

anyway. BOOK 2 WHENST

“it was true, he wasn’t a Hero. but it wasn’t like anyone had given him a chance to be.”

every ten years, ten semidioses are chosen to compete in the sunbearer trials. some semidioses spend their whole lives training for the trials. but not kids of jade gods like teo, because they’re never chosen. until this year. the stakes are high because although one winner travels through reino del sol to replenish sun stones that keep the world safe from evil obsidian gods—one loser is the honorable sacrifice that keeps the stones lit. teo knows he isn’t a hero. he just wants to make sure he and his friends survive.

➳ more a raw reaction than a proper review! no spoilers!

if you know me, you know i don’t read a lot of high fantasy. i tend to stick to contemporary and romcoms, where the stakes are usually much lower than life or death. most fantasy i do pick up is low, grounded fantasy with ties to our world with a twist.

but if you know me, you would know i’ve made cemetery boys a personality trait. and i would do anything to be in the worlds aiden thomas creates.

the sunbearer trials is a whole rollercoaster fun. i did literally scream at my book, and i did tear up with emotion. but i also laughed out loud. sometimes all these things happened in a single page. the stakes are high, and you’re at the edge of your seat wanting the words to move faster in your mind but also needing to pause to take a deep breath before the shit hits the fan.

part of what drove me to pick up this book when i did was aiden posting character cards for the ten competitors in the book. they’re all so bold and interesting, spanning a wide variety of appearances, abilities, and identities. it’s easy to pick one of them to root for, whether based on their parent or their attitude, or how much of yourself you see in them.

personally i am a bit of a bitter underdog and dragged for my height by Some People so maybe i see myself in teo what about it.

this book isn’t even published yet and i already crave a sequel. i can’t wait for everyone to read this later this year, how am i gonna survive until 2023??

The Sunbearer Trials was absolutely everything that I hoped it would and more. Casual trans representation in YA literature (trans representation outside of narratives focused on rejection & dysphoria) is not something that I find often, and Aiden Thomas pulled it off beautifully here. The Sunbearer Trials takes place in a world where being transgender is accepted and celebrated. Our MC, Teo, has already been undergoing HRT for several years and has had top surgery. As a non-binary educator I found myself getting emotional at several points in the book as scenes featured transgender characters injecting their hormones, supporting one another, and casually chatting and joking about elements of social and physical transitioning. These scenes were not the main plot of the book, but were interwoven in realistic and important ways. Even better, with The Sunbearer Trials, Aiden Thomas has dared to create trans characters who are absolute jerks, too! The seemingly minor element of trans characters not only being portrayed as the heroes of the story was part of what made me love this book so much.

As I mentioned before, this book is not at all a story about characters coping with being trans. Instead, it is a story about a diverse group of Latine demigods participating in a competition to save the world. The pacing, folklore, and character development made The Sunbearer Trials impossible to put down. The author struck a perfect balance between competition and downtime throughout the book, and even though pretty early on I had a good idea of how things would end, Thomas still threw in a twist that truly shocked me. Honestly, I don't know how I'll survive until the second book in the duology is released.

I cannot wait to purchase this book for my high school classroom. I know my students are going to love it as much as I did.

Aiden Thomas is back at it again with one of my favorite books of the year. The Sunbearer Trials is a fun and warm read. The characters are vibrant and the world building magnificent. I was, unsurprisingly, hooked from the first page. My crops are watered. My skin is clear.

Each decade ten of the children of gods and mortals, semidioses, are chosen to compete in the Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries the light and life of Sol to the land. The loser becomes the sacrifice from which that life force comes. As of the son of Quetzal (goddess of birds), Teo never expected to compete, only to watch his peers and friends endure the trials. He is after all the child of a Jade and Sol has always selected the children of Golds for this honor. But this time is different. This time, Teo and Xio, the child of Mala Suerte (god of bad luck), are thrust into the trials along side their Gold peers. With Niya, the daughter of Tierra (god of earth) and Teo's best friend, Teo and Xio build an alliance to make their way through a system that they were never prepared for, if not to win fame and glory to survive the ordeal.

Aiden Thomas does so many things well, but the magic worlds he builds are so rich and inviting I want to wrap myself in the books and stay there for a long while. Which is not to say there are not real and heavy stakes within this book. It is impossible to forget that at the end of trials one of the competitors is meant to die. Reading this as an adult probably makes that horror more noticeable in a way that I would not have thought about as much when I was younger, in the same way that reading the Hunger Games becomes more horrifying with the context of age. Which is also to say, this is exactly the kind of book my teenage self would have been obsessed with, not that I am not now also obsessed. The premise alone is incredible, but paired with Thomas's queer cast it is everything I was desperately searching for as a child.

I love all of Aiden Thomas’ writing and this did not disappoint! I can’t wait for the sequel! I did not see the end coming at all!

This book is deeply steeped in Latin American culture and mythology, has fantastic representation for queer youth, and brings together a cast of characters who are meant to hate each other, but end up feeling compassion for each other anyway. The pacing keeps you hooked right from the beginning and doesn't let you go until the very end—the fact that we have to wait for book 2 feels unfair! Another excellent read from Aiden Thomas and one that readers will rave about just as much as Cemetery Boys.

The Sunbearer Trials is a fantastically written story about the children of Gods, and the trials they must take once every 10 years in order to protect their lands and people.

Adoring everything that Aiden Thomas writes, I can honestly say I was worried for this book. I'm not a big fan of the hunger games, I'm not a fan of characters I love dying, and I was all around worried that I wouldn't be able to get into this book. But oh boy I was wonderfully, astoundingly wrong. This book pulled me in at every second, had me loving so many characters, and had me crying at the thought of being almost done with it. I was almost unable to finish at the thought of having to wait for the release of the next book.

The characters all have distinct personalities, even those that may not show up as often as others. They have strengths and flaws, and you can tell that Aiden has developed them beyond what the reader is able to see (some of which I hope we get to see in the next book!). Even the characters designed not to be as well loved are amazingly written.

I'm in absolute aw of this book. I will be counting down the days for it's official release, and then the sequels. This story is a wild, wild ride that I am so happy I was able to be on.

I went into this apprehensive--I sometimes feel like I'm too dumb for fantasy novels like this because I can't keep track of all the characters and worldbuilding that gets thrown at you so quickly. And I was a little nervous at first at the wide cast of characters, but I think Aiden Thomas really has a gift for this genre. This is the third fantasy novel I've read of his and it just blew me away yet again. He continues to write fantasy stories that are so affirming and full of warmth with characters I would die for. There is also just such a really genuine sense of humor throughout, and this book is FUN while still maintaining very real stakes. I loved the way the romantic relationship started to develop in this and I didn't see the big twist at the end coming at all... I am already excitedly awaiting the sequel and this one isn't even out yet! I cannot wait to recommend this to teen readers looking for mythology based-fantasy, who like books/series built around competitions, and are looking for queer representation in their reads. For me, Aiden Thomas has gone from one to watch in young adult lit to someone who has really cemented themselves as one of the most exciting authors working in YA, with a unique voice and a metric TON of talent.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this eARC!!!

So first of all this is an amazing fantasy book and I will definitely recommend it to my friends. Aiden Thomas has really done an amazing job again and I'm pretty sure I'd read anything they wrote.

The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
4/5 stars

It’s very ambitious (and honestly a little risky) to describe your book as an amalgamation of two of the most celebrated YA books of all time. But Aiden Thomas manages to pull it off with The Sunbearer Trials, which, as promised, is clearly influenced by both The Hunger Games and the Percy Jackson series, but also its own thing entirely.

First of all, I adored the characters in this book. Each one was unique and compelling (although I wish we had gotten to see more of some of them) and I loved the ways they interacted with each other. In addition, the majority queer and trans cast means that we get queer and trans antagonists as well as protagonists; I find a lot of authors make their queer characters very tame and saccharine and undeniably “good” as not to feed into stereotypes or risk being accused of creating “bad representation”, and while this is (on a surface level) a good thing, it’s a double edged sword. To quote Carmen Maria Machado, “We deserve to have our wrongdoing represented as much as our heroism, because when we refuse wrongdoing as a possibility for a group of people, we refuse their humanity.”

In addition, The Sunbearer Trials is a thoroughly fun adventure through a world that I desperately wanted to spend more time in (which makes me ecstatic that this is the first in a duology). At times, I couldn’t put it down; I was on the edge of my seat after each trial to see how the rankings had changed. I will admit that the prose was not my favorite and there were some parts that I found a bit cringeworthy (some of the dialogue and nearly all of the references to social media), but the story itself makes up for it.

Now comes the part of the review where I admit that I find it very difficult to review young adult and middle grade books now that I’m an adult. While I enjoy reading books targeted towards a younger audience from time to time, I don’t typically have a lot of reactions to these books because at this point in my life, I’ve outgrown them. My point is, I don’t know if I can truly critique this book because I am not the target audience. The parts that I found a bit cringeworthy are probably the same parts that people younger than me will find enjoyable. There’s not much else to say about this book other than “I enjoyed reading it.” But I really, really enjoyed reading it.

Ultimately, the people who are meant to read this book will love this book. It’s fun and exciting and rich with good characters. There’s a reason Aiden Thomas has become such a big name in the world of YA, and The Sunbearer Trials is the latest example of his skill as a writer.

TW/CW: Language, fantasy violence

REVIEW:

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The Sunbearer Trials is the story of Teo, a young transman and demigod who is one of ten selected to compete in the Sunbearer Trials – the winner of which becomes the Sunbearer and protects their world, and the loser of which becomes a human sacrifice whose essence keeps their world going. This book is the story of those trials and what happens to Teo and his friends and enemies as they struggle to win.

This is a very fun book and a very quick read. I read it in a little more than a day, because I wanted to find out what happened!

My favorite things about this book:

1.The main character is trans! Yay representation.
2.The Latin American mythology that backs up every sentence. I love how it’s steeped so deeply in it
3.The story and the writing! It was interesting and went fast.

Things I didn’t like about this book:

1. It ended on a cliffhanger!! (Almost literally)
2.Because of 1. there was a lot left unexplained.
3. I could never really understand why Auristela hated him so very much?

All in all, though, this is a really good book that I really enjoyed and which I highly recommend.

The first book I ever read for fun was Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. Those books got me started on reading, and the Hunger Games made me fall in love with books. Stories with deadly competitions are always my favourite. I was so excited when I first heard about this. I will always be a fan of taking elements of popular YA books from the early 2010s and making them queer. I had huge expectations for the Sunbearer Trials, as whilst this was the first novel I’ve read written by Thomas, I have heard nothing but high praise from my friends.

Whenever I read a new fantasy, I love learning about the world. I appreciate world-building that fits seamlessly with the plot. It was very easy to join Teo in Quetzlan, which interestingly contained a lot of elements from our own world. I enjoyed all the references to social media and celebrity life, especially the different names given to platforms like TikTok and Instagram. I loved the little changes to common phrases like “for Sol’s sake”. This made the tone of the story feel quite modern, which I rarely see executed well in fantasy. I adored how these modern elements were combined with the beautifully described cities and buildings, particularly Reino del Sol’s temple. It was easy to picture the gleaming Sol Stones, like powerful beaming stars in the sky. I really relished how the trials were sensationalised by the media in a similar way to the Hunger Games.

The Sunbearer Trials themselves were the highlight of the story. Whenever we were between a trial, I was itching to get to the next one. I loved how the intensity of each trial increased every time, which in turn raised the stakes. I loved the character development and appreciated how the competitors grew more paranoid and stressed as they neared the final trial. My favourite trial was the fourth one. I love Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth, and trial four took me straight back to my childhood. You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out why!

However, it was the characters and their distinct abilities that allowed the trials to thrive. I am a huge mythology fanatic, and I loved how unique it was in this story. The different gods and their powers were so engaging. I would have loved to see more of the Academy and how it functioned. If I was a competitor, I would want to be the son of Tormentoso. I adored Atzi, who was one of my favourite competitors. Think Clove meets Storm, and you’ll have Atzi. I loved her powers and how she used them on the offensive. I am thrilled to announce that I have anointed myself president of the Auristela and Niya ship club. Their rivalry was my favourite, and I’d love to see that explored more in the next book. Speaking of Auristela, the twins were also a highlight. Aurelio was the strong but soft boy every YA book must have, and I loved to follow the progression of his relationship with Teo. I warmed up to him as he started to share more of his personality, and really enjoyed learning about what in his childhood had made him so stoic. Teo’s wings were wonderful, and I loved that there was a deeper meaning and storyline behind them. The fact that the birds almost acted as Teo’s familiars, I mean, could this book be more made for me? I think the fact that I loved the full cast of characters says a lot about the story.

The fluidity of gender and sexuality was lovely to see. It was normalised and started with the gods and ended with the mortals. I loved how Sol’s genderless presence was highlighted, and how that informed the gender presentation of many of the characters. I adored how non-binary characters like Ocelo were allowed to be unlikeable, as all different kinds of rep is important, particularly in YA stories. Let young queer youth see themselves as the villain!

I appreciated how the Sunbearer Trials carves its own narrative within the battle royale and popular YA market. It felt more Percy Jackson than Hunger Games. Yet, it doesn’t really need to be compared to either. The ending was intense, and I’m excited to see how the story concludes in book two. When this duology is complete, I’m going to need Thomas to give us at least ONE novel about a previous Sunbearer Trial.

Thank you to MacMillan Children’s Group and the author for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Sunbearer Trials is an amazingly built adventure with a robust world of characters and and an ending that left me salivating for the sequel! Teo is your typical teenage protagonist, slightly moody and yet wholly loveable. I so enjoyed learning how the world celebrates gender and has a very inclusive third gender and transgender society. I really appreciated the way that Teo kept the reality of the situation (a competition to the death) at the forefront and, while having clear rivals within the Gold group, kept centering their humanity and place as teens in this centuries-old battle of good and evil. The different dioses and their powers were fun to learn and see how their children, the semidioses, powers manifested. I loved that we got not one but two trans mcs and a strong-af female bestie! I was eagerly anticipating every interaction between Aurelio and Teo, the friends turned "enemies" turned rivals - they're chemistry is amazing and very realistic for their history and their life circumstances. I honestly didn't know what to expect from this novel, having enjoyed Cemetery Boys and only kind of liking Lost in the Neverwoods; but, wow was The Sunbearer Trials an amazing story that I plan to read over and over again until that sequel comes out. The plot twist at the end and the set up for the next books was AMAZINGLY done and I am so excited for the next installment.

This book was probably the best book I've read in years. In ways, it reminds me of VE Schwab's Darker Shade of Magic series, but maybe that's because it was the last time I felt changed by a book.

Teo is the (trans) son of Quetzal, a Jade (lower-ranked) goddess, and he tends to get himself into trouble more often than not. When the Sunbearer Trials arrive, there is a possibility that he, like, all of the other demigods, will be chosen by Sol, the most powerful god, to compete. The demigod who comes in first becomes the Sunbearer and will distribute Sol's light to all of the cities in the land, but the demigod who comes in last will be sacrificed to fuel Sol's light. Normally Jade demigods aren't chosen to compete in the Sunbearer Trials... but these trials will be different than any that have come before.

I fell in love with all of the demigods participating in the Sunbearer Trials. Teo is wonderful trans representation insofar that his transness is a part of him - he is still dealing with dysphoria, even after his gender confirmation ceremony - but it doesn't define him. Niya is instantly loveable, and I need a friend like her in my life. Including a deaf demigod surprised me, but the world accommodates Dezi without a second thought. Ocelo is a character I loved to hate, and I had never experienced that with a non-binary character before. Give us more Ocelos and Diose Gurerros!

One thing I've always appreciated about Thomas' writing is how he includes Latinx words and concepts but doesn't overexplain them for non-Latinx readers. I had to look up a few things, and that enhanced my experience. Sunbearer Trials is unapologetically Latinx, and I hope Thomas keeps this as a theme in both the second Sunbearer Trials book and the second Cemetery Boys book.

Overall, 5/5. I'd give this book 10/5 if I could. It was just that good.

Aiden Thomas kills it again. From lovable characters to a plot twist that had plenty of foreshadowing but that I didn’t see coming, I loved every second of this! It’s rare that I can still devour most of a book in a day, but this one sucked me in and didn’t let me go. The casual trans representation still has me grinning, and every one of these characters was incredibly memorable. I thought I had a favorite character, but now I’m at a loss - each character was given a moment to shine and a reason to be loved, and I can’t wait to reread to pinpoint some of the moments I’m sure I missed the first time through. I’m dying to find out what happens next.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my advanced copy of this book! It is amazing. Aiden Thomas has done it again. I will read whatever they write!!

Best known for Cemetary Boys, a YA standalone fantasy about gay necromancers, Aiden Thomas has stolen my heart with his latest novel. The Sunbearer Trials is the first in Thomas’ new YA duology that follows a trans boy thrust into a competition and is heavily influenced by Mexican culture. If you loved the competition aspect of The Hunger Games series and Throne of Glass, you will absolutely devour this book.

Every 10 years, the Sunbearer Trials are held to ensure that the ruthless Obsidian gods are kept locked away. The winner will bring light to all the Sun Stones while the loser will be sacrificed to provide safety for the next 10 years. Teo, son of Jade god Quetzal, planned to spend his time during the Sunbearer Trials watching from the sidelines with Gold god and best friend Niya. Jade gods haven’t been selected by Sol, the sun god, to compete in the trials for decades. When Teo is chosen to compete with Niya, another Jade, and seven other Golds, Teo is going to have to work harder to avoid ranking last in the competition. Teo and Niya team up to protect Xio, a thirteen year old Jade, from coming in last and being sacrificed. Teo reconnects with a childhood friend turned enemy during the trials and as his feelings for his friend become romantic, it becomes evident that only one can win and that the loser will be sacrificed. Things go awry when someone begins to mess with the competition by making the competitors abnormally violent.

Although this is the first book in the Sunbearer duology, The Sunbearer Trials has cemented this duology as one of the best I’ve ever read. Influenced by Mexican culture and with a mainly queer cast of characters, this book captured my attention almost immediately. Teo, the main character, is trans and the author did a great job of incorporating Two’s struggles with being trans in this fantasy world. Additionally, Xio is also trans and, while not much is known about him, there are a few points in the book where Xio is shown to have gender dysphoria and is in the process of figuring out his identity. Niya gives off strong butch lesbian vibes but also bi wife energy.

Not much is really known about the other competitors since the book is from Teo’s perspective, a Jade god who lives with mortals unlike the Golds who are separated from both Jades and mortals. From what we do see from Teo’s POV, Aurelio, the friend turned enemy and love interest, will do anything to protect his sister and only family that has stuck by him. Auristela, Aurelio’s twin, projects herself as the mean girl when, in actuality, she is really caring and wants her brother to succeed. She is also the person of Nita’s affection and attention. Ocelo, a Gold jaguar shifter, is non-binary and, although they come off as rough at first, they are secretly a cinnamon roll. I’d really love to see more of these side characters in the sequel because it seems likely all the competitors could become really good friends and that some romances could flourish between them (particularly between Teo and Aurelio, Niya, and Auristela, & Marino and Dezi).

I was really intrigued by the mashup that this novel was going to be. Percy Jackson meets Hunger Games sounds fabulous. Unfortunately, I did not find either of these series in this read. The characters did not grab my attention, though I did enjoy the setting. I really wanted more of the setting in the reading of the book, but the nuances of modern language kept bringing me out of the story. This was YA, but much of the characterization felt younger, and it was distracting to have more adult language but with MG characters. Unfortunately, in the end I just did not enjoy this book and won't continue to the sequel.

I loved Cemetery Boys and was so excited for this series and it did NOT let me down!! It’s doing something like the Hunger Games meets Percy Jackson but with Aztec lore and a trans lead (within a diverse cast, too) and it just WORKS so well! The adventure/action bits had me pacing while I was reading, I was so anxious; the characters were all so compelling and unique and interesting; the world building was beautifully done without having to hit us over the head with it too hard. I loved this and think it could really lend itself to a 9th grade ELA class (to go alongside Global 1 curriculum?)
All around, I loved and would recommend this book to any student or educator. Cannot wait for the next book!!! 😭