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sirzena's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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
4.0
yaboylevi'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? No
5.0
I've never been more in love, Aurelio is the love of my life
pommcaramel_'s review
adventurous
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
4.5
purplepickle's review
adventurous
dark
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
5.0
ghostgem's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-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? Yes
5.0
thehal's review against another edition
5.0
I was very sus of a certain character on more on one occasion but always thought and hoped I was wrong. Well, turns out I was right to be suspicious of that certain character. My only question is HOW?? Man, I can't wait for the next book!
effiegeecee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
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
4.0
asreadbykat's review against another edition
4.0
True Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Content/Trigger Warnings: mentions of dysphoria, mentions/nongraphic descriptions of ritual sacrifice, mentions of child abuse/neglect
After reading Aiden Thomas's Cemetary Boys last year and absolutely loving it, I was thrilled when I saw this book in stores. I had enjoyed that first book so much that my hopes were up almost as high as they could go. And while I personally think Cemetary Boys is my favorite of the author's novels so far, The Sunbearer Trials still carries so much of what I love about the author's writing.
What I Liked:
Themes: One thing I appreciate about Aiden Thomas and their writing is that the story never revolves around the trans main character fighting the world to be accepted for who they are. In Cemetary Boys, it's about Yadriel's ability to accept himself. In The Sunbearer Trials, it's about Teo trying to find where he fits in with the people around him. He's fully accepted his transness, and gender isn't a problem in this world. Instead, Teo has to battle being seen as not enough because he's a Jade semidios, and not a Gold. He's not only battling the opinions the Golds have of Jades, but also his own prejudices against the Golds themselves. While the trials are a big part of the novel, it's the mental battles being fought that are the true center of the trials and something Teo, and everyone, has to confront.
Continuing off that, the finale of the trials is a constant contention. On the surface, everyone participating knows that one of them has to be the sacrifice. But it's one thing to know it in your mind, and another thing to know it personally. Teo's trials are forcing him and the others to confront a system that, while supposedly protecting the world, also requires an unwilling sacrifice. A system that has been skewed to help one particular group more than the others, and has served to exacerbate the prejudice and bullying going on. While obviously in a fantasy setting, it's something that can easily be seen reflected in real life.
Teo: In a novel like this, it would be so easy to have Teo be a perfect Arthurian-esque hero. But he's not. Teo is messy, and flawed, making mistakes and hurting others even when all he wants is to do the right thing. He has good intentions, but sometimes his plans end up going against those intentions and he loses track of what he should really care about. His growth throughout the novel really is the backbone of the story; something a lesser character wouldn't make work. He's completely relatable to anyone, and that's what makes him so great.
The World: I absolutely love that Aiden Thomas always leans heavily into their Latinx heritage. It's still seen in this novel, with traditional candies or clothing mentioned reflecting the different cultures, the naming of certain social medias (I choked laughing at tutube), and the gods mentioned. The author isn't trying to cater to a white audience, and it's something I've always appreciated.
The Problems
The Pacing: My only real issue with the novel is the pacing in the intercharacter relationships, as well as the actual end of the novel. The cast of characters for the trials is huge when you think about how we're supposed to show all ten of the trial participants and their personalities and changes through five different trials -all in one book. Thankfully, the trials themselves aren't the main points, so the fast pace of going through them is fine. What's not so fine is that knowing the other characters and their personalities, seeing them grow and change, IS important, and because there's so many it's hard to actually see it. This means when a change does happen, it throws the reader for a loop. Cutting the cast from ten to a smaller number would have helped.
The final scene also went far too quickly. Personally, I feel it should have been saved for the second novel, to give more time for the gods properly interacting with and equipping the semidioses. But, honestly, these pacing issues are small enough that I only took away half a star.
TL;DR Great story and characters, worldbuilding and lore; the main issue is just a small pacing problem that's easily overlooked.
Content/Trigger Warnings: mentions of dysphoria, mentions/nongraphic descriptions of ritual sacrifice, mentions of child abuse/neglect
After reading Aiden Thomas's Cemetary Boys last year and absolutely loving it, I was thrilled when I saw this book in stores. I had enjoyed that first book so much that my hopes were up almost as high as they could go. And while I personally think Cemetary Boys is my favorite of the author's novels so far, The Sunbearer Trials still carries so much of what I love about the author's writing.
What I Liked:
Themes: One thing I appreciate about Aiden Thomas and their writing is that the story never revolves around the trans main character fighting the world to be accepted for who they are. In Cemetary Boys, it's about Yadriel's ability to accept himself. In The Sunbearer Trials, it's about Teo trying to find where he fits in with the people around him. He's fully accepted his transness, and gender isn't a problem in this world. Instead, Teo has to battle being seen as not enough because he's a Jade semidios, and not a Gold. He's not only battling the opinions the Golds have of Jades, but also his own prejudices against the Golds themselves. While the trials are a big part of the novel, it's the mental battles being fought that are the true center of the trials and something Teo, and everyone, has to confront.
Continuing off that, the finale of the trials is a constant contention. On the surface, everyone participating knows that one of them has to be the sacrifice. But it's one thing to know it in your mind, and another thing to know it personally. Teo's trials are forcing him and the others to confront a system that, while supposedly protecting the world, also requires an unwilling sacrifice. A system that has been skewed to help one particular group more than the others, and has served to exacerbate the prejudice and bullying going on. While obviously in a fantasy setting, it's something that can easily be seen reflected in real life.
Teo: In a novel like this, it would be so easy to have Teo be a perfect Arthurian-esque hero. But he's not. Teo is messy, and flawed, making mistakes and hurting others even when all he wants is to do the right thing. He has good intentions, but sometimes his plans end up going against those intentions and he loses track of what he should really care about. His growth throughout the novel really is the backbone of the story; something a lesser character wouldn't make work. He's completely relatable to anyone, and that's what makes him so great.
The World: I absolutely love that Aiden Thomas always leans heavily into their Latinx heritage. It's still seen in this novel, with traditional candies or clothing mentioned reflecting the different cultures, the naming of certain social medias (I choked laughing at tutube), and the gods mentioned. The author isn't trying to cater to a white audience, and it's something I've always appreciated.
The Problems
The Pacing: My only real issue with the novel is the pacing in the intercharacter relationships, as well as the actual end of the novel. The cast of characters for the trials is huge when you think about how we're supposed to show all ten of the trial participants and their personalities and changes through five different trials -all in one book. Thankfully, the trials themselves aren't the main points, so the fast pace of going through them is fine. What's not so fine is that knowing the other characters and their personalities, seeing them grow and change, IS important, and because there's so many it's hard to actually see it. This means when a change does happen, it throws the reader for a loop. Cutting the cast from ten to a smaller number would have helped.
The final scene also went far too quickly. Personally, I feel it should have been saved for the second novel, to give more time for the gods properly interacting with and equipping the semidioses. But, honestly, these pacing issues are small enough that I only took away half a star.
TL;DR Great story and characters, worldbuilding and lore; the main issue is just a small pacing problem that's easily overlooked.
evelync's review against another edition
I’ve been in such a slump this month but I WILL be back to this book in like a month or two