Aiden Thomas’ 'The Sunbearer Trials' is a pantheon of queer and trans teen joy

Nov. 3 update: Aiden Thomas has canceled his book fest appearance because of illness, according to his publisher.

One of the first steps young adult author Aiden Thomas took when writing his new book “The Sunbearer Trials” was no small feat: He had to concoct a creation myth and craft a pantheon full of gods to populate his fictional world.

Inspired by indigenous mythology in Mexico, where his family is from, Thomas said he wanted to create gods that felt true to his contemporary experience of his culture.

“A lot of it was inspired by modern day Mexico,” he said. “Pantheons are representative of a culture not only where they are geographically located, but also things like what are their ideals and their morals? What do they prioritize? ... There's a lot of Easter eggs within the book that are nods to specific indigenous cultures, and also to actual cities and places.”

"The Sunbearer Trials" was one of the young adult picks for the Texas Book Festival, which is Nov. 5-6 in Austin. Thomas was scheduled to appear, but he had to cancel because of illness, according to his publisher.

More:These are the authors to see at Texas Book Festival, from food to fiction

Thomas pitched “The Sunbearer Trials” as a cross between the beloved Percy Jackson series and the Hunger Games trilogy. The book, the first in a duology, follows 10 teens with one godly and one human parent — called semidioses — who must compete in five trials with high stakes. The winner will carry light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the universe for the next 10 years.

The protagonist Teo is the son of Quetzal, one of the Jade gods that play second fiddle to the more powerful Gold deities. Teo has a chip on his shoulder about his mother’s lesser status, but at least he can rest easy knowing that a child of a Jade god has not been chosen to participate in the trials in over a century. When the day of the selection ceremony rolls around, however, Teo is chosen to compete.

Throughout the book, as the characters prepare for and compete in the five trials, they also face normal teenage challenges — crushes, rivalries, hormones and an inability to follow the rules.

Thomas said it was important to him for the book to reflect modern queer and transgender teen experiences regardless of the fantasy setting.

More:What to know about the Texas Book Fest 2022 in Austin

Despite the real-to-life trans experiences the characters talk about — from top surgery for characters removing breasts to hormone therapies — Thomas said the presence of queer and trans mortals and gods is also a nod to the different gender identities that existed in indigenous communities before colonization.

“I was like, ‘OK, I get to create this world and I get to make up the rules.’ And I decided in this world, I didn't want any bigotry. I wanted a world where my my queer characters specifically could live in comfort,” he said. “But at the same time, it was really important for me to have things like hormone replacement therapy and binders and stuff like that because I think the best kind of fantasy books are the kind where you can easily picture yourself within that world. So I really wanted to touch on actual things that trans people experience.”

Teo and several other competitors in the trials are trans or nonbinary, and so are several of the gods, including the most powerful one, Sol. Thomas said he wanted to show trans kids and adults with power and agency.

“It was very freeing to be able to kind of have all that representation without any heaviness to it and just let these characters exist and be super powerful, and not only that, but be revered,” he said. “One of the most fun ones was my god of war, Guerrero, who is non-binary, and they have top surgery scars. A god with top surgery scars. That's something that was really cool to be able to write about.”

Thomas is transgender and said he tries to write the kind of books that would have been meaningful for him to read growing up.

“It took me such a long time to figure out my identity to be happy because when you have all these parts of yourself that you don't understand, or that you're afraid of, that you're trying to hide, it does a lot to you, mentally and emotionally,” he said. “That's what is so important about having these queer stories, it’s how young adults figure out who they are, by being able to relate to someone — whether that's like a trans YouTuber, or a TV show or a book. You need to be able to see an example of what you could be in order to figure out if that's you or not.”

Thomas said there is not a publication date for the sequel — he is still writing it. For those waiting patiently for the next installment, he said all he can share is there will be new characters and the novel follows the template of a road trip adventure.

In the meantime, readers can dive into “The Sunbearer Trials” and know that although there are some dark themes, the story is ultimately lighthearted.

“For a while there, queer readers were so conditioned to be like ‘stories about us are going to be really sad and dark,’” he said. “And while a sacrifice has to happen in my book, or the world will end, there’s still lightheartedness to it. I think I just want people to know that they're safe when they read my book.”

Aiden Thomas at Texas Book Festival

The two Sunday panels that included Aiden Thomas are still happening:

Noon: Fierce Reads: YA Buzz Books, with writers Joan He ("Strike the Zither"); Judy I. Lin ("A Venom Dark and Sweet"); Anna-Marie McLemore ("Self-Made Boys: A Great Gatsby Remix"); and Goldy Moldavsky ("Lord of the Fly Fest").

2:30 p.m.: High Stakes: Big Escapes, Superpowers, and Battles of the Gods with writers Ayana Gray ("Beasts of Ruin") and Varian Johnson ("Mister Miracle: "The Great Escape").

See the full book fest schedule at www.texasbookfestival.org.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Aiden Thomas celebrates queer and trans joy in “The Sunbearer Trials”