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tea_coffee_sam's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Murder, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
zombiezami's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Blood, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Dysphoria, Classism, Grief, Death, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Death of parent and Child death
bookb1itch's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really had to work hard to get hold of this book on audio (it kept being reserved by other borrowers). But i am so glad i did. Love Thomas' representation of a wide range of diverse characters as a cast of gods and demigods. Love the Mexican cultural references, and occasional Spanish.Loved the story. Teo is a new fave character. And that dang cliffhanger at the end - you have me hooked, Mr Thomas. this might need a 15+ sticker in my school library (?) Human sacrifice (?).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Violence
warlocksarecool21's review
adventurous
funny
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
4.0
The Sunbearer Trials was such a fun YA fantasy. I had a great time reading this and I am really glad this book exists for young readers. Aiden Thomas is so good at creating a rich and diverse world drawing upon Mexican & Aztec mythology, culture and traditions. In this captivating modern fantasy world of Gold and Jade semidioses, Thomas explores themes of class, privilege, power and sacrifice in ways that are accessible to younger teens. This book is funny and action-packed while exploring deeper subjects all in a lush fantasy setting.
Aiden Thomas’ characters are always a delight to read and I love how their characters are always queer and trans. If you’re looking for a LGBT affirming story this is your book. Teo is a hilarious main character with a strong sense of justice and compassion. The friendships in this book are really fun and I really liked his dynamic with Niya and his blossoming relationship with Aurelio. The character development felt a little superficial at times but I still think Teo and his friends were strong and loveable characters, and I was intrigued by a lot of the side characters as well.
Overall I thought the plot was fun and easy to follow. I picked up on a lot of foreshadowing so I predicted a lot of the ending (but there were a few twists I was surprised about). Despite that, I still had a great time watching the story develop. I enjoyed reading about the trials the most. I think Aiden Thomas is good at writing action scenes and building up the suspense within each of the trials. The pacing of the chapters outside the trials was a little slow but I appreciated getting to see the characters interacting and the world-building that was done in those parts. I’m interested to see where the next book will go. I thought the ending of this book happened rather abruptly. I felt like the last chapter immediately set up for the next book instead of resolving what had happened and leaving it more open ended to wonder how it was going to be continued in the next story.I think I was just expecting Teo and his friends to have to regroup and recover more after the Obsidians escaped before they knew what to do. It seemed like the gods immediately had a plan for how to stop them (which leads me to wonder if they knew what was coming) and I would have liked to see that fleshed out more in the beginning of the next book instead of shoved in at the end.
Regardless of the minor issues I had, this book was still really fun and I am eagerly awaiting Celestial Monsters. I think anyone that’s looking for an engaging YA fantasy (especially if you’re a Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender fan) then you’ll like this.
Aiden Thomas’ characters are always a delight to read and I love how their characters are always queer and trans. If you’re looking for a LGBT affirming story this is your book. Teo is a hilarious main character with a strong sense of justice and compassion. The friendships in this book are really fun and I really liked his dynamic with Niya and his blossoming relationship with Aurelio. The character development felt a little superficial at times but I still think Teo and his friends were strong and loveable characters, and I was intrigued by a lot of the side characters as well.
Overall I thought the plot was fun and easy to follow. I picked up on a lot of foreshadowing so I predicted a lot of the ending (but there were a few twists I was surprised about). Despite that, I still had a great time watching the story develop. I enjoyed reading about the trials the most. I think Aiden Thomas is good at writing action scenes and building up the suspense within each of the trials. The pacing of the chapters outside the trials was a little slow but I appreciated getting to see the characters interacting and the world-building that was done in those parts. I’m interested to see where the next book will go. I thought the ending of this book happened rather abruptly. I felt like the last chapter immediately set up for the next book instead of resolving what had happened and leaving it more open ended to wonder how it was going to be continued in the next story.
Regardless of the minor issues I had, this book was still really fun and I am eagerly awaiting Celestial Monsters. I think anyone that’s looking for an engaging YA fantasy (especially if you’re a Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender fan) then you’ll like this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Classism
Minor: Cursing
justcallme_d's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing
brennaatmore's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Cursing, Bullying, and Injury/Injury detail
fanboyriot's review
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
The world building to this was so interesting, I loved how it all came together and how the gods were there with the humans. Think a young adult mash up of Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games—and make it queer.
It did take me a few chapters to fully get invested in this but once I did I ended up reading twenty-two chapters in one sitting.
Obviously, I’m not a fan with how this ended but luckily I waited long enough to read this to know it ended on a major cliffhanger. So it wasn’t quite as devastating.
Release Date: 06, September 2022
POV: Third Person
Rep: Trans (MC), LGBTQIA+ characters, BIPOC characters
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Bullying, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Grief, War, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, and Death
Minor: Transphobia, Child death, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
handful_of_frogs's review
adventurous
funny
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Violence, Bullying, Physical abuse, Blood, Classism, and Death
krystal_idunate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Violence and Classism
Minor: Physical abuse and Death
iamcortney's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
3.75
This feels like a YA novel although I don’t think it is. It’s a fun and interesting story, though the main character is a bit of an idiot sometimes. Spent the first half of the book pretty frequently frustrated with his choices and interpretations of what’s happening around him. I was much less annoyed for the second half, so he does turn it around.
Without spoiling the plot, it wasn’t too hard to predict the twists but they were still fun to read. I’m interested enough that I’m gonna read the second book so I know how everything turns out.
Also worth noting is that this book did a good job with LGBTQ+ inclusion and normalization. There was a lot of representation as well as positive and healthy discussions about gender dysphoria and taking time to figure it out.
Overall, a fun read I’d recommend, but nothing that blew my mind or felt overly exceptional.
Without spoiling the plot, it wasn’t too hard to predict the twists but they were still fun to read. I’m interested enough that I’m gonna read the second book so I know how everything turns out.
Also worth noting is that this book did a good job with LGBTQ+ inclusion and normalization. There was a lot of representation as well as positive and healthy discussions about gender dysphoria and taking time to figure it out.
Overall, a fun read I’d recommend, but nothing that blew my mind or felt overly exceptional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria
Moderate: Bullying, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Murder
Minor: Child death and Death