I’m demanding everyone read this immediately because omg it was so freaking good.

Aiden Thomas has such a way of showing latine culture and queerness in a cohesive way. As someone who’s latine and queer, I know that I can always find myself in one of his books.

Firstly, I'd like to say that I really enjoyed the narrator’s work. His storytelling really enhance the experience of the book.

This book is so beautiful and comes alive so naturally. I feel like this is such a fresh and unique way of presenting “the children have to compete against each other to save the world” trope. I also really liked that it took place in the modern day, so the characters had phones and the internet while also being demigods which is so fun.

I found it really easy to fall in love with the characters and really care about them, even those that were assholes. This story is about underdogs and classism and fighting for what is right even when no one agrees with you. This book even has a bit of romance that is so complicated and messy.

This may be my favorite book of the year. I found so much of myself and my family in this story that I can't help but want more of it. I'm so excited to see what happens in the next book and what Aiden Thomas has to offer after.
I truly hope that people give this book a chance.

Aiden Thomas can do no wrong. This book was AAAAAAMAZING. I wish I had words to describe just how good it was.

I felt like my heart was pounding as I read through the trials. As if I was right there with Teo! This is truest the sign of a talented author!

I knew I was going to love this book from the very first chapter where there’s an incident with talking birds and spray paint… 🦜

And my love just grew from there. This book has amazing world building, character arcs and mythical elements.

Read this if…
🛕 you loved Legends of the Hidden Temple
🐾 your favorite scene in Coco is when Dante becomes an alebrije
✋ you never lost at tag
⚓️ your dream vacation is a river cruise
🍬 candy is life
👯 you and your bestie are known for your shenanigans
💘 you have a childhood best friend that you have grown to hate but that you secretly might now have a thing for
👥 you dream of a world where gender fluidity is the norm
💀 you loved Cemetery Boys

Basically, read this book, it’s fantastic.

P.S. the audio is absolutely amazing and will probably be in my top 10 audiobooks for the year!

Thank you to Macmillian Audio for the ALC.

Truly a delight! Another wonderful book from Thomas. This definitely hits some of the trends that are coming back to YA lit and breathes fresh air into them. The cliffhanger is so real, and I'm excited to see where the book goes next.

The narrator for the audiobook was fantastic!

I was provided an Audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. The narrator was amazing and did a wonderful job with all of the characters and there were quite a few.

This was wonderful! I love mythology of any kind and this brings the mythology to life with the gods and goddesses, or Dioses being present in many scenes and their children competing in a high stakes trial. Every decade the 10 chosen demi-gods or semidioses compete in a trial to restore the power to the Sun Stones that keep the darkness and the Obsidian gods at bay. Typically only the children of the Gold Dioses compete, but this year Teo and Xio, two Jades have been chosen to compete. Teo and his best friend Niya team up to help Xio make it through the trials. As the trials go on Teo finds himself ranking very well, and being rewarded for making good choices and choosing teamwork over violence and betrayal. As the trials go on Teo begins to notice that something is off with the competition as the competitors are acting strangely, and everyone else seems to be ignoring it and accepts it as Sol's will. I won't spoil anything, but Teo's hunch is spot on and he is right to question things.

This was action packed, laced with humor, and has great commentary woven in. Thomas does a great job with the world-building, taking the time to describe all of the various mytholological figures as well as the setting. The author put so much love into making sure the culture was well represented from the clothing the competitors wore to the food they ate. I truly felt transported while reading this. The character development is also well done. Teo has to deal with some self-acceptance issues as well as questions about right and wrong, new and old friendship issues, and his issues with the trials. We also see some great development from Aurelio and I hope to see more of him in book 2. This does leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger, but knowing it was a duology from the start I expected that. I am so anxious to see where the next installment takes us.

If you liked Percy Jackson, The Hunger Games, Cemetery Boys, The Maze Runner, or any books like those I think you will love this. It has a wonderful diverse cast of characters, while being action packed and touching moments. This has some great discussions about body dysphoria, acceptance of self, loneliness, friendship, and doing what is right when things are hard. I'm so thankful to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio/Macmillan Young Listeners for allowing me to review this wonderful book. I cannot wait for book 2!!!

The narrator for this book is fantastic, I love their voice it fits perfectly with the story.

The story was good, however it did not pull me and make me love it like others have. The themes and ideas of the story were good and I did enjoy it, I just couldn’t personally get sucked into it.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this audiobook. This is my honest voluntary review.

Action packed mythology based YA fantasy, this might be one of the best YA books I've read all year!

Aiden Thomas takes the best aspects of older YA books like The Hunger Games and Percy Jackson and makes it even better. In The Sunbearer Trials, he has built a world inspired by Mexican folklore and mythology that still feels modern as there are cellphones and in-world versions of social media platforms like TikTok. He centers themes of questioning the system when you see injustice and of finding your own path and the importance of collectivism and community, which are timeless but especially relevant in today's society.

Teo is so much fun to follow as a POV character! As a Jade semidiós, he never expected to be chosen to compete in The Sunbearer Trials and watching him come to terms with what competing (and winning or losing) meant was very compelling. I also loved his friends, Niya and Xio. They were all so different but those differences made their group dynamic shine. And the trials! I love a good competition story and Thomas was able to create a series of trials that felt unique and different enough that the plot remained engaging and the stakes felt high throughout. I literally couldn't put the book down because I had to know what would happen next. And that ending!! I cannot wait for the sequel!

I also loved that queerness and gender nonconformity was so ingrained in this world. There were several small scenes like Teo giving himself his T shot or talking to Xio about coming out and pronouns that were inconsequential to the plot but meant so much representation wise. And I loved that Thomas used Teo's wings to highlight his dysphoria. I also liked that normalization allowed for trans and nonbinary characters to be nuanced so that not all of them had to be likable or "good". And I loved the casual inclusion of and accommodation for Dezi as a deaf character.

Overall, I loved this and it cemented Aiden Thomas as an auto-read author for me. I also liked the audio narration by André Santana and will definitely be on the lookout for more of his work.

If I had the skill to write a book, I hope it would be like this.

Everything I loved about The Hunger Games, but add fantasy, the culture of my grandparents that I’ve lost, and just the right amount of levity added with some comedy and general teenage smartassery.

The world building in this book is absolutely perfect, especially with the intro. Great editing. All the characters are well fleshed out, I was never confused between them. All of the gods and half gods are so cool, I can’t wait to see the fan art that comes out of this story!

I’m actually reading it a second time because my kids were in the car when I was listening to it and they loved it so much! There is explicit language (specifically fuck and douchebag - the first of which my kids have heard me say and the second did seem out of place in this book, I’m never thrilled about a word that makes female genitalia seem dirty, always feels ick, and felt particularly out of place in such a gender inclusive book) so there’s your warning for that.

I listened to this book on NetGalley. I was very excited to have been approved for it, it’s my first Aiden Thomas book and I’ll definitely be reading more.

"The Sunbearer Trials" was the first audiobook I've ever listened to, and it has set the bar very high for my future expectations! The narrator was wonderful and engaging. I found myself wanting to listen to the novel during any free moment. I'll be using this book during a First Chapter Friday lesson with my 7th graders. I think many of the students will relate to the main character and also his culture.

I really enjoyed listening to this book on audio. I thought the narrator was lovely and was able to change the voices of all the characters really well. Super fast-paced and kept me wanting to listen more to find out what happens. My new fav read of this year so far. I can't wait for the next book to see what happens. I loved the world. I love how this book feels like the hunger games but way different. More like a cross between Percy Jackson and the Hunger Games.

I love Aiden Thomas's writing and I highly recommend this book, though it was a bit too involved for my brain at this stage in the pandemic to completely follow--I attribute this to my own brain entirely and nothing to do with this book!

I always tell people that I don't really like fantasy, but the truth is, apparently, it has to be diverse fantasy for me to absolutely love it. This book was absolutely perfect. It's like a better Hunger Games, and I am desperately hoping it's a series now.

The Sunbearer Trails | Aiden Thomas

Is Aiden Thomas an Auto-Buy Author: YES

Do I Recommend this Book: Yes

Things I Loved About It:
• TODO:EVERYTHING
• Transgender Representation & LGBTQA+
• Spanish Language was interwoven into the story
• The well thought out storyline
• The Character development
• How the Author places pieces of themselves into the MC
• The Names of Characters and the significance behind them
• Representation of Non-Traditional Families
• Gorgeous Muscular Woman who have zero fucks to give
• Juymac not being whom i expected
• Orielo 🥰
• The Semi-Dioses
• The LORE
• The Climax 😮‍💨

#EARC #ReadersgunnaRead #MoodsaregunaMood #ARCS #Diversebookstagrammersread #POC #reviewer #Readingisfundamental #Trans #Latinos #Audiobooks #Macmillan #AidenThomas #Author #Trails #Diosa #Dios #Darkness #Wings #TopSurgery #Gold #Jade #Panderia #LatineCulture #Fantasy #Hungergameswho #BirdBoy #MalaSuerte #Chisme #Terra #Fantasma #Quetzal #Teo #Niya #Consent #Orielo

Aiden Thomas has an amazing way of bringing hispanic culture, and stories, into our world and hearts. I absolutely loved this book and was so fascinated from start to finish. I wouldn’t say it’s Hunger Games likes because we’ll throughout history sacrifice trials have always been a thing. Also only one child was meant to die, not all children but one, like in The Hunger Games. However I get the Percy Jackson vibes. I look forward to reading the second book and more this amazing author comes up with!

I'm in tears thinking about how incredible it is that this book with all its representation exists!! Growing up the YA section was always incredibly white cis centered so its very refreshing to see a YA book featuring a young trans boy named Teo set in Mexican inspired mythology/fantasy world. I listened to this on audio and it blew me away! I was so entranced I didn't miss a word! The narrator did a beautiful job conveying all the emotion of the characters but really nailed Teo and his sarcastic and silly tone!

This book follows Teo and his fellow semidioses (demi gods) in a competition where the next Sunbearer and sacrifice will be chosen. The writing of the competition is so thrilling and so immersive I felt like I was in it! The world building was easy to understand and it was really fun and unique. I really enjoyed all of the characters sometimes in YA the characters can come off annoying or bratty but I didn't find that here I think they all acted age appropriate and gave the normal amount of teenage sass.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and the beautiful messaging it gave and I'm absolutely going to read the next one!

In a Nutshell: A thrilling combination of Mexican-inspired mythology and The Hunger Games. I had fun with this, but it is clearly YA in its approach. Recommended only to the target age group and to those patient with the flaws of YA fiction.

Story Synopsis:
Once in every decade comes the Sunbearer Trials. These are special games dedicated to the Sun God, Sol, and are essential to replenish the power of Sol to keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. The winner carries a special honour of carrying the light of the Sun to all the temples in Reino del Sol, while the loser (the one who is placed last) is sacrificed to Sol. The competitors, all semidioses (half human half god) between thirteen to eighteen, are residents of Reino del Sol and are chosen by Sol himself based on their worthiness.
The competitors are almost always Gold semidioses, but Sol has a surprise this time. He has chosen two Jade semidioses worthy of participation, one of whom is our lead – Teo, the seventeen year old trans son of Quetzal, the goddess of birds. Teo didn’t expect to compete in the Trials, but with this unexpected selection, he is forced to ensure his survival, as he has no intention of sacrificing himself to power the Sun.
Thus begins Teo’s journey in The Sunbearer Trials, where he finds new friends and rediscovers old ones, while also making new enemies along the way. With five mysterious trials coming up against opponents who have trained for these competitions all their lives, how will Teo fare?


✔ Quite a lot of the content has parallels to that of The Hunger Games. The main difference is that the dystopian setting is changed to a mytho-inspired setting. I liked the concept of the tri-level semidioses (Gold, Jade and Obsidian) and also the fantastical weaponry.
❌ The Hunger Games concept creates a lot of déjà vu, especially as these trials are also fought in scenic natural settings, and the Gold semidioses are very clearly the equivalent of District One participants of THG.

✔ I loved the Mexican-mytho-inspired elements. While I am not sure how much of the mythology is actually Mexican and how much invented for the story, the theme was great and many fantastical elements were incorporated well. At the same time, their world seemed to be similar to ours, as the semidioses use mobile phones and social media such as “Instagraph”. It was a nice juxtaposition of fantasy and realism.
❌ The world-building could have been better. The trials had the best scene settings, but the non-trial scenes could have taken place anywhere.

✔ The journey to the title of Sunbearer is awesome. The trials are quite unique and the challenges are thrilling to read.
❌ In The Hunger Games, there was never a doubt that it would be Katniss Everdeen to snatch the title... Similarly, the story here soon shows who is to become the next Sunbearer. I wish it hadn’t been so predictable.

✔ There are a few interesting characters among the Gods and the semidioses. My favourite was Niya, Teo’s best friend who was more brawn than brain and also more heart than head. Quetzal was another interesting character. I loved Teo’s pet birds and wished there was more of them in the story.
❌ Every character is either good or bad, there’s no midway. It was too simplistic for the most part. Teo was a bit too whiny for my liking.

✔ I loved the rep! I did have high expectations about it because Aiden Thomas had nailed LGBTQ rep in their first book, “Cemetery Boys”, as well. But it is so much better in this story. There’s no judgement about any trans character; no one bats an eye at gender identities and all use pronouns of their choice without hesitation. There’s one scene where one trans character guides a shy trans about what it’s like to be out. It was one of the most empathetic scenes I have seen with trans characters. If there’s any young trans reader who reads that scene, I am sure they will find it very helpful. There is also plenty of content connected to dysphoria, not just gender dysphoria but also body dysphoria. Teo’s struggles with his wings being a natural extension of his body and his personality were so well-written!
❌ Sometimes, the content bordered on height-shaming. Kind of like ‘Tall people, good; short people, despicable’. This might not have been deliberate but there was enough to make me wave a red flag of protest on behalf of us, the innocent shorties of the world.

❌ Everything I dislike about YA fiction is present in this story. The constant talk of others’ physical appeal, the feelings of attraction rendering themselves through the character’s chest or stomach, the uni-dimensional character sketching, the rambling,… There’s also a sprinkling of cuss words. The only thing missing was outright lust, which I was grateful for.
✔ Then again, the story was advertised as a YA story, so this is all a matter of my taste than the book’s shortcoming. It is perfect for the older YA segment who love YA Fantasy. Not recommending it to younger YA readers because of the swear words, though I am sure this feedback will not dissuade them from the book.


The Audiobook experience:
The audiobook, clocking at 13.5 hours, is narrated by André Santana and he does an outstanding job. I have a strong feeling that the audiobook made the book better for me, and Santana’s narration had a major role to play in this satisfaction.
There were quite a few characters in the initial chapters and I struggled to remember who was who. Once I decided to forget about the names and go with the flow, things became quite manageable. Audio newbies might get discouraged at the extensive character list.

Is there a cliffhanger ending?
This is the first book of a planned duology, so the above question is pertinent if you are a reader like me. So, just know: There is a cliffhanger but it is not that major and doesn’t leave you frustrated in limbo. The ending made me very keen to know what happens next, so I can say it stopped at the right point for me. I am looking forward to the sequel.

All in all, no regrets reading this YA read. It was a fun story with enough thrills and not too much rambling. At the same time, this is not one of those YA books that would work well beyond its target age group. My rating as an adult would be 3.25 stars, but the book didn’t promise anything other than a YA experience. If I were a YA, this would have been at least a 4.25. So I’ll just go with the average.

3.75 stars.


My thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Sunbearer Trials”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook.

Every ten years, ten Sol-chosen semidioses must compete in the Sunbearer Trials to keep Sol strong and the Obsidians at bay. Teo, son of the goddess of birds isn't too worried about being chosen - he's a Jade, and Jade semidioses are rarely chosen for the trials. This year however, Sol has selected two Jades: Teo and Xio, son of the god of bad luck. Teo must work with his close friends and few allies to make it through the games alive, because the person in last place is always the sacrifice to Sol.

I loved this book. Listen, I know every early reviewer enjoyed this book, and it is so well deserved. The worldbuilding is fantastic and nuanced, while still being accessible for a young adult audience. The games were interesting and had their own unique challenges, and characters had to find innovative ways to beat a very rigged system. I also love Aiden Thomas's writing style and dedication to LGBTQ+ (especially trans) representation. I very much enjoyed the narrator and thought they gave an excellent voice to Teo.

AND THE ENDING. I'm going to need to second book ASAP. 5 stars

I really enjoyed the narrator of this book! The narration made the story feel so much more engaging than if I were reading on print, and I love how energized the inflection of the narrator made it feel. I also liked the story, although the writing felt pretty stilted to me. There weren't many points where the main character had raw-ly emotional scenes which felt a bit odd to me given his circumstances. I definitely think the story would've improved with more personal, less stiff writing in places, however I was still entertained.

This was an incredible story. Aiden has really honed his writing skills and developed such a cute found family of competitors. The story is full of adventure and tension. It ended perfect and on just enough of a cliff hanger to keep me interested in the next one in the series!

The story revolved around a competition between the god, or I suppose I should say dios, chosen teenage semidioses. The semidioses, children of gods and goddesses, compete the the dubious honor of being the sunbearer. The sunbearer is ostensibly the winner, but is forced to kill the lowest ranking competitor as a sacrifice before traveling around their world spreading the sun essence.

Teo, the semidios trans son of the Goddess of Birds, never expected to be chosen to compete as he comes from a lower caste of gods and goddesses, the Jades. Very few Jades have ever competed and many who did were the sacrifice.

As expected all but two of the competitors are members of the Gold tier of gods and goddesses. These youth have an edge as they've been trained since childhood to be heroes and for the competition.

Shio is the other fellow Jade chosen for the competition and only 13.

The competition is a slightly softer version of The Hunger Games as the competitors aren't required (and often encouraged to NOT) to hurt the others, but it definitely gets cutthroat. There is also something that seems to be manipulating the teens' brains/bodies to be more vicious with each other.

Who will win? Who'll be the sacrifice? Will the mysterious thing manipulating the youth shut it all down before the end?

This story is hugely inclusive featuring two trans characters, nonbinary representation, a deaf BAMF competitor and of course the heavy influence of Mexican culture.

It's engaging, fun to read and the characters are enjoyable.