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theaceofpages's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
Imagine a mix between Percy Jackson (Rick Riordan), The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins) and the far lesser known Worm (J.C. McCrae) with a whole lot of extra queerness thrown in and you get The Sunbearer Trials. This is a story (of sometimes not so) superheroes, gods and their children, crazy challenges, travel and sacrifice to try prevent the return of the Obsidians - those who previously nearly destroyed the world.
I loved this book so much! At different times it reminded me more of one of the above mentioned books than the others, but it remained completely unique. I always enjoy it when fantasy worlds are based on something other than western myths (in this case it is inspired by Mexican mythology), but as someone who isn't from that part of the world I would have loved a glossary of some kind to explain what the culturally inspired things are. Another slightly lower point of the book was the inclusion of social media. Specifically in the way it was done. I don't mind this world having technology of ours alongside the magic, but it bothered me that the names were so close to the platforms in our world. I think it would have been a lot less jarring had the author made up new names - even if the platform performed the same function as the real world counterpart. I know it's very minor, but it did annoy me. Some things were also repeated a little too frequently for my taste (e.g. Teo is a Jade, not a gold. He didn't get to go to the academy. Jades never get to compete. Oh, just a reminder that Teo is a Jade and less powerful and wasn't trained). It's not too major though. Oh. And one last frustration. Spoilerish related to trans stuff.The sudden wing transformation. I wasn't a fan. Just believing doesn't make you suddenly have all the traits of your gender identity. He went through an otherwise normal transition process, so I don't see why this should be different. I don't have a problem with the wings changing, but it should rather have happened through molting as this is more consistent with how birds work - look up henopause in peacocks for a great example of what I'm talking about! .
I loved the world building and the various characters. It was all very well fleshed out. And I loved how birds were important and incorporated. (Well animals in general, but birds were the focus). And I loved how queer it is. Everything is just normalised in this world and I'd love it of things could reach that kind of level in real life. I know the author is queer, which probably helps to explain why Teo and the other representation are so authentic. I love it when LGBTQ+ can just be and are just normal characters.
The book ends on a set up for the sequel. While I did have some suspicions about what was going on, I definitely didn't see the how coming. I definitely want to know what happens next and will definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out.
Some notes on some of the content warnings:
I loved this book so much! At different times it reminded me more of one of the above mentioned books than the others, but it remained completely unique. I always enjoy it when fantasy worlds are based on something other than western myths (in this case it is inspired by Mexican mythology), but as someone who isn't from that part of the world I would have loved a glossary of some kind to explain what the culturally inspired things are. Another slightly lower point of the book was the inclusion of social media. Specifically in the way it was done. I don't mind this world having technology of ours alongside the magic, but it bothered me that the names were so close to the platforms in our world. I think it would have been a lot less jarring had the author made up new names - even if the platform performed the same function as the real world counterpart. I know it's very minor, but it did annoy me. Some things were also repeated a little too frequently for my taste (e.g. Teo is a Jade, not a gold. He didn't get to go to the academy. Jades never get to compete. Oh, just a reminder that Teo is a Jade and less powerful and wasn't trained). It's not too major though. Oh. And one last frustration. Spoilerish related to trans stuff.
I loved the world building and the various characters. It was all very well fleshed out. And I loved how birds were important and incorporated. (Well animals in general, but birds were the focus). And I loved how queer it is. Everything is just normalised in this world and I'd love it of things could reach that kind of level in real life. I know the author is queer, which probably helps to explain why Teo and the other representation are so authentic. I love it when LGBTQ+ can just be and are just normal characters.
The book ends on a set up for the sequel. While I did have some suspicions about what was going on, I definitely didn't see the how coming. I definitely want to know what happens next and will definitely be reading the sequel when it comes out.
Some notes on some of the content warnings:
- Animal cruelty:
Animals get used and no quite intentionally hurt during one of the trials - Classisim: <spolier> Jades are seen as lesser than golds
- Transphobia:
Some internalised transphobia/ enbyphobia as well as descriptions of dysphoria.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, and Classism
Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Cursing, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Transphobia, Child death, and Animal cruelty
kshertz's review
adventurous
challenging
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? No
5.0
I’ve mentioned before that if a book makes me stay up past my bedtime or I read it in just a couple days it’s definitely gonna get five stars. I absolutely loved the idea behind this book. I love the fantasy world. I love the hunger game vibes. I love the idea of having people outside of the gender spectrum as heroes. It all is amazing and I highly recommend to any young adult or adult that wants to see themselves represented in books. It was fantastic.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Transphobia, Abandonment, Violence, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Deadnaming
_teoeo's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
All in all it was an okay read. Some parts I enjoyed, some parts annoyed me. Maybe I will read the second book, because i'm interested in how the story continues.
What I liked:
What I liked:
- The diversity!!
- The different trials and cities
- Sometimes it was funny
- The mythology
What I disliked:
- There were just too many characters. They told us about one of the gods and when they were mentioned again I completely forgot who that person was and how they looked like because there were so many new characters and names in between (A character glossary would be really helpful)
- I NEED a map :((
- pop culture references in fantasy books are my new ICK!!!
- The ending was so rushed!! (And also predictable but I knew that before I bought the book so it's half as bad)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, and Child abuse
onalark's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Blood, Child death, Abandonment, Classism, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse and Violence
ree_the_owlgirl's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Violence, War, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Classism
Moderate: Abandonment, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail
dummehure's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? No
4.75
I adore the story's Aiden Thomas tells and how he seems to absolutely effortlessly create a divers cast for his books!!! He has this insane talent of being his characters come to live in a way that I rarely see in books!! And yes the description 'a mixture of Percy Jackson and The Hunger Games' is most fitting in my opinion, well only with a lot mote great queer representation! What I loved about this book was that Thomas used the fictional story to create a world in which being queer is nothing bad or a huge deal to people. It's just a part of who they are and no one ever appears to be transphobic or homophobic at all and that was a really nice thing to see as a queer reader. We have enough negativity in our own lives to deserve something like this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gaslighting, and Blood
Moderate: Dysphoria, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Murder
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I've had this book on my TBR since the moment Aiden announced it! The plot sounded so intriguing, what with the "magical games" concept being at the forefront of the story.
What I wasn't expecting was for the story to be quite so slow. Rather than focusing on the trials themselves, the primary focus was on the characters and their very chaotic relationships. While I didn't mind getting an inside look at the rivalries, I wished for a bit more detail about the magic and how it worked, the world itself, and the trials.
I found myself wishing that the story would pick up for most of the book, only for the last chapter or two to be filled with action. This sort of bummed me out a little bit. I wouldn't say I disliked it entirely, but I didn't love it either. I'll be reaching for Lost in the Never Woods or Cemetery Boys over this one for a reread.
What I wasn't expecting was for the story to be quite so slow. Rather than focusing on the trials themselves, the primary focus was on the characters and their very chaotic relationships. While I didn't mind getting an inside look at the rivalries, I wished for a bit more detail about the magic and how it worked, the world itself, and the trials.
I found myself wishing that the story would pick up for most of the book, only for the last chapter or two to be filled with action. This sort of bummed me out a little bit. I wouldn't say I disliked it entirely, but I didn't love it either. I'll be reaching for Lost in the Never Woods or Cemetery Boys over this one for a reread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Violence
Minor: Abandonment
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