At the start of every decade, ten teenage semidioses are selected by Sol to compete in a series of challenges, known as The Sunbearer Trials. The winner of these challenges will become the Sunbearer, carrying light and life to all temples of Reino del Sol to replenish the Sun’s power. The loser of the trials will be sacrificed to fuel the Sun Stones, which will protect the people of Reino del Sol until the next Sunbearer’s Trials.
Since Gold semidioses are typically considered stronger and more powerful than Jade semidioses, Teo, a 17 year old Jade semidiós, is not worried for himself in the trials, but rather for Niya, his best friend and daughter of the god of earth, and Aureliio, a childhood frenemy and a powerful fire semidiós… Until he is chosen with another Jade semidiós, Xio, the 13-year-old child of Mala Suerte, god of bad luck. Teo knows he has to stick with his friend Niya and the only other Jade in the trials, Xio, but the stakes only get higher as the trials go on.
As a huge fan of Cemetery Boys, I went into The Sunbeaer Trials with high expectations and I was not let down! Like in Cemetery Boys, the characters were all so complex and interesting and loveable (even the ones that started off as hateable) that even if the setting and scenarios didn’t seem real, the characters did. The setting is more entrenched in the fantasy than in Thomas’s first novel, taking place in Reino del Sol instead of a more real-world setting. While this felt like a major difference from Cemetery Boys, it really allowed for the lore and mythology to be described and expanded on more thoroughly.
Because of the rich mythology in The Sunbearer’s Trials, the first couple of chapters require a significant amount of set-up, however once the trials start, it’s a quick paced read. The trials themselves are action-packed and had me rushing to finish the chapters and see how each semidiós was ranked. Between the chapters, the teenage characters were stuck on a ship with one another as they traveled through Reino del Sol- where they contemplated the incredibly high stakes of the trials while dealing with tumultuous adolescent relationships, which are even further complicated by the circumstances. Even with such high stakes, it still manages to be funny and sweet and charming, largely thanks to Teo’s perspective and personality.
The ending is a bit of a cliff hanger, but it left me incredibly excited for the follow up in the duology. Unfortunately, the sequel hasn’t been released yet. A quick paced, intricately plotted, and fun read with a great cast of characters- The Sunbearer Trials was a great teen fantasy filled with twists and turns.
