I had high hopes for this book -- Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games, but with a unique Mexican-mythology-inspired fantasy world and prominent queer/trans representation, what's not to like? Unfortunately, it didn't quite meet my expectations.
About the first half of it, in particular, was emotionally shallow and repetitive. Despite the concept that someone must die by the end of the games as well as the interpersonal drama and personal struggles for the main character, the tone was oddly light and very little seemed to matter - for the plot or to the characters. Before the final trial, maybe final two, the trials are all low-stakes and tread the same ground each time, following the same structure, with Teo going through the same cycle of thoughts and feelings. None of these scenes fully pull their weight and I was left with the sense, for many of them, that they were only there because, well, something had to be.
I think the main reason for this was because Teo's character arc was poorly paced and flat. He has a lot he could be working through -- dysphoria, classic teen identity and self-esteem issues, social tension between Golds, Jades, and humans, tension and complex relationships with various other characters -- but those things are often more background than something the book explores in depth. It makes the story less engaging and the characters feel more shallow than they are in concept.
With all that said, there were aspects that I enjoyed about this book. It picked up in the later trials, adding more tension and making the characters a little more human. The trans representation was well done and refreshing to see done so casually. The world is intriguing and I'm interested to see it explored more. All and all, The Sunbearer Trials was a mediocre start to the duology, but it set up enough potentially good things to come that I'm still looking forward to a sequel.
About the first half of it, in particular, was emotionally shallow and repetitive. Despite the concept that someone must die by the end of the games as well as the interpersonal drama and personal struggles for the main character, the tone was oddly light and very little seemed to matter - for the plot or to the characters. Before the final trial, maybe final two, the trials are all low-stakes and tread the same ground each time, following the same structure, with Teo going through the same cycle of thoughts and feelings. None of these scenes fully pull their weight and I was left with the sense, for many of them, that they were only there because, well, something had to be.
I think the main reason for this was because Teo's character arc was poorly paced and flat. He has a lot he could be working through -- dysphoria, classic teen identity and self-esteem issues, social tension between Golds, Jades, and humans, tension and complex relationships with various other characters -- but those things are often more background than something the book explores in depth. It makes the story less engaging and the characters feel more shallow than they are in concept.
With all that said, there were aspects that I enjoyed about this book. It picked up in the later trials, adding more tension and making the characters a little more human. The trans representation was well done and refreshing to see done so casually. The world is intriguing and I'm interested to see it explored more. All and all, The Sunbearer Trials was a mediocre start to the duology, but it set up enough potentially good things to come that I'm still looking forward to a sequel.