KnitAFett reviewed The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (The Sunbearer Duology, #1)
Ok, I love Aiden Thomas.
5 stars
Disclaimer: This is a YA book, so I did not judge it harshly in an attempt to compare it to adult book expectations.
This book was like taking The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, and Mexican culture and throwing it all into the blender. I really enjoyed a mythology book that was not centered around Greek mythology. Thomas is also amazing at incorporating diversity into his books, and this one had it in spades. A semidiós is deaf and even the bad guys have enough knowledge of sign language to be able to tell what's being said. LGBTQ+ representation is shown through the entirety of the book. Teo, the MC, is trans and still struggles with accepting himself because his feathers are still the feminine brown colors. The overall acceptance of the characters choosing to be themselves and receiving full support of everyone -even the mortals- was amazing.
I really loved …
Disclaimer: This is a YA book, so I did not judge it harshly in an attempt to compare it to adult book expectations.
This book was like taking The Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, and Mexican culture and throwing it all into the blender. I really enjoyed a mythology book that was not centered around Greek mythology. Thomas is also amazing at incorporating diversity into his books, and this one had it in spades. A semidiós is deaf and even the bad guys have enough knowledge of sign language to be able to tell what's being said. LGBTQ+ representation is shown through the entirety of the book. Teo, the MC, is trans and still struggles with accepting himself because his feathers are still the feminine brown colors. The overall acceptance of the characters choosing to be themselves and receiving full support of everyone -even the mortals- was amazing.
I really loved Cemetery Boys with Yadriel struggling with his family not accepting his gender and refusing to allow him to partake in the brujo traditions, but this book overtakes it. Both are amazing, but the amount of culture and love and respect that was shown through this was such a nice change. With Teo, you get to experience a Trans boy who is still struggling with his identity even with unwavering support from everyone. That's not a perspective that I've really seen at this point.
I would definitely recommend this one. I laughed a lot. Niya and Teo's banter was top notch and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it in the next book.
