The Sunbearer Trials is my first novel by Aiden Thomas! I've always been a fan of deadly competitions, so as soon as I read that part of the synopsis, I was hooked, linked, and sunk. You never know going into YA fantasies if the details and logisitics of the world will make sense, but that was not the case for Aiden.
Besides the trials themselves, Teo was my favorite part. His deep connection to his sense of self—even the wing meaning—was simply fantastic to learn and unravel throughout the course of the book. the twins interaction with Teo was another element to Teo's character that I wasn't expecting... but throughly enjoyed. Now something that really stood out to me was Thomas's ability to create all types of queer characters. By that I mean—Ocelo. Unlikeable non-binary characters or unlikable, deceiving, morally ambiguous queer characters of any kind are necessary because they exist. Obviously, if that's the only rep queer characters are receiving, then a huge problem is going on, but since Thomas was including a lot of multi-faceted identities, that was never a problem in the first place.
I think my only issue is that I wanted more! The story flew by at an astronomical speed, so I wished we got to slow down more and experience more from Teo's perspective. The trials also were pretty short, and since they were incredible moments to behold, more time there would've been preferred too.
Besides the trials themselves, Teo was my favorite part. His deep connection to his sense of self—even the wing meaning—was simply fantastic to learn and unravel throughout the course of the book. the twins interaction with Teo was another element to Teo's character that I wasn't expecting... but throughly enjoyed. Now something that really stood out to me was Thomas's ability to create all types of queer characters. By that I mean—Ocelo. Unlikeable non-binary characters or unlikable, deceiving, morally ambiguous queer characters of any kind are necessary because they exist. Obviously, if that's the only rep queer characters are receiving, then a huge problem is going on, but since Thomas was including a lot of multi-faceted identities, that was never a problem in the first place.
I think my only issue is that I wanted more! The story flew by at an astronomical speed, so I wished we got to slow down more and experience more from Teo's perspective. The trials also were pretty short, and since they were incredible moments to behold, more time there would've been preferred too.