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A review by river24
Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5/5
You're only a monster if you choose to be.
I love this world and these characters with all my heart! It was so much fun to return to this series, I would read books and books and books more about all of them! Thank you Aiden Thomas for the perfect queernorm, Latine Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games series of our dreams! This comp perfectly describes the first book, The Sunbearer Trials, so if that sounds even remotely appealing to you, go read it!
Celestial Monsters continues directly after the big reveals at the end of the last book, we're thrust into the action straight away. It follows more of a quest storyline than the trial structure of the first book. Instantly, we have our goal and now we must follow Teo, Niya and Aurelio on their long and arduous path. We also get Xio's perspective as well which adds so much depth to the story.
The characters are truly the life force of this series, they're simply phenomenal. I adore Xio with all my heart, I loved seeing into their mind and all the conflicting motivations at play inside of them. I loved seeing their view of the other characters, their view of the past events. It was fascinating and made for such a fun and dynamic reading experience as we flicked back and forth between their situation and Teo's.
Teo has my entire heart as well, I honestly just adore all these characters. Teo has grown so much from the beginning of the series and it's amazing to watch his confidence soar and to see him embrace the hero's journey. Yet throughout all of this, more than anything, Teo has always had his compassion. He's always looking out for the underdog, always understanding of others in a way sometimes even Niya and Aurelio can't manage. It's Teo and his steady heart that drives the entire story. It's Teo that has the ability to change the world for the better, and the ability to convince others that they can too.
Niya is always a joy to read, she's brilliant and absolutely hilarious. My favourite moments were always the moments of banter between Teo and Niya (and especially the moments where they ganged up to tease Aurelio), they have such a beautiful friendship that Thomas writes phenomenally. He easily captures the pure love that they hold for each other and the lengths that they're always willing to go to for each other, and we get to bask in the beauty of it. It's so refreshing to read about such an unalterable friendship.
Aurelio was an incredible addition to Teo and Niya's merry band, I loved his steadfast energy, but I loved when we were able to see beneath his façade and into his moments of weakness even more. They all played off of each other so well.
I am exactly the type of person who enjoys Fellowship more than any of the other parts of Lord of the Rings and so inevitably I adored the wandering quest aspect of the story the most. I loved the small moments of happiness, the side quests, the heartwarming conversations, the strange and funny situations they somehow found themselves in. It was such a fun read and I enjoyed every minute. Because of this, I sometimes wished the action-heavy second half of the book would sometimes slow down a little, but I think that's just a me thing! I always like the slower moments more, but, for all its action, it still managed a lot of heartfelt moments amongst it all.
I loved how Teo's connection to birds was used all throughout, I always found it so sweet and such a warm and nurturing kind of connection to feature. I adored how the birds played their part as they are such a huge part of Teo's life and it was really nice to see that shown in this book as well. It's the little things that make the difference, that add the heart to a story!
Another thing I loved was the questioning of the world order all throughout. More than anything, I adored getting to see so many of the different cities and landscapes of the world and how every one was so unique not only in structure but also in how they operated. I really appreciated how these differences became such eye-opening events for Teo, I loved how they infused into this overarching question. Now that the world has been turned inside out, can we finally question it? As we fight to rebuild it, can we fight also for a better one? Maybe we don't want things to just go back to the way they were, maybe we need to force it to change instead. I adored this theme running as an undercurrent all throughout the book, influenced this way and that by any number of new sights, conversations and revelations.
I think this is truly such a wonderful series, it's incredibly fun to read and I'd highly recommend it! I think so many people of all ages would really enjoy this, it's so diverse and uplifting and centres trans characters as the heroes of their own stories. I adore reading fantasy set in queernorm worlds, books about queer and trans struggles are so immensely important, but stories where queer and trans characters simply get to exist are immensely important too! We always need more queer joy and I adore, adore, adore how Aiden Thomas has such well-written, but casual representation all throughout their stories. From Teo's jade green top surgery scars, to Xio figuring out who they are, to the easiness of queer love, I adored every moment. (This carries over from the first book where I absolutely sobbed at one of the most gender-affirming and beautiful moments!)
Books like these are so astoundingly important, especially for teens and a YA audience, which this is for. I'm so grateful and so happy that this exists! Thank you Aiden Thomas, I will read everything you ever write!
Thank you Macmillan Children's Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
You're only a monster if you choose to be.
I love this world and these characters with all my heart! It was so much fun to return to this series, I would read books and books and books more about all of them! Thank you Aiden Thomas for the perfect queernorm, Latine Percy Jackson meets The Hunger Games series of our dreams! This comp perfectly describes the first book, The Sunbearer Trials, so if that sounds even remotely appealing to you, go read it!
Celestial Monsters continues directly after the big reveals at the end of the last book, we're thrust into the action straight away. It follows more of a quest storyline than the trial structure of the first book. Instantly, we have our goal and now we must follow Teo, Niya and Aurelio on their long and arduous path. We also get Xio's perspective as well which adds so much depth to the story.
The characters are truly the life force of this series, they're simply phenomenal. I adore Xio with all my heart, I loved seeing into their mind and all the conflicting motivations at play inside of them. I loved seeing their view of the other characters, their view of the past events. It was fascinating and made for such a fun and dynamic reading experience as we flicked back and forth between their situation and Teo's.
Teo has my entire heart as well, I honestly just adore all these characters. Teo has grown so much from the beginning of the series and it's amazing to watch his confidence soar and to see him embrace the hero's journey. Yet throughout all of this, more than anything, Teo has always had his compassion. He's always looking out for the underdog, always understanding of others in a way sometimes even Niya and Aurelio can't manage. It's Teo and his steady heart that drives the entire story. It's Teo that has the ability to change the world for the better, and the ability to convince others that they can too.
Niya is always a joy to read, she's brilliant and absolutely hilarious. My favourite moments were always the moments of banter between Teo and Niya (and especially the moments where they ganged up to tease Aurelio), they have such a beautiful friendship that Thomas writes phenomenally. He easily captures the pure love that they hold for each other and the lengths that they're always willing to go to for each other, and we get to bask in the beauty of it. It's so refreshing to read about such an unalterable friendship.
Aurelio was an incredible addition to Teo and Niya's merry band, I loved his steadfast energy, but I loved when we were able to see beneath his façade and into his moments of weakness even more. They all played off of each other so well.
I am exactly the type of person who enjoys Fellowship more than any of the other parts of Lord of the Rings and so inevitably I adored the wandering quest aspect of the story the most. I loved the small moments of happiness, the side quests, the heartwarming conversations, the strange and funny situations they somehow found themselves in. It was such a fun read and I enjoyed every minute. Because of this, I sometimes wished the action-heavy second half of the book would sometimes slow down a little, but I think that's just a me thing! I always like the slower moments more, but, for all its action, it still managed a lot of heartfelt moments amongst it all.
I loved how Teo's connection to birds was used all throughout, I always found it so sweet and such a warm and nurturing kind of connection to feature. I adored how the birds played their part as they are such a huge part of Teo's life and it was really nice to see that shown in this book as well. It's the little things that make the difference, that add the heart to a story!
Another thing I loved was the questioning of the world order all throughout. More than anything, I adored getting to see so many of the different cities and landscapes of the world and how every one was so unique not only in structure but also in how they operated. I really appreciated how these differences became such eye-opening events for Teo, I loved how they infused into this overarching question. Now that the world has been turned inside out, can we finally question it? As we fight to rebuild it, can we fight also for a better one? Maybe we don't want things to just go back to the way they were, maybe we need to force it to change instead. I adored this theme running as an undercurrent all throughout the book, influenced this way and that by any number of new sights, conversations and revelations.
I think this is truly such a wonderful series, it's incredibly fun to read and I'd highly recommend it! I think so many people of all ages would really enjoy this, it's so diverse and uplifting and centres trans characters as the heroes of their own stories. I adore reading fantasy set in queernorm worlds, books about queer and trans struggles are so immensely important, but stories where queer and trans characters simply get to exist are immensely important too! We always need more queer joy and I adore, adore, adore how Aiden Thomas has such well-written, but casual representation all throughout their stories. From Teo's jade green top surgery scars, to Xio figuring out who they are, to the easiness of queer love, I adored every moment. (This carries over from the first book where I absolutely sobbed at one of the most gender-affirming and beautiful moments!)
Books like these are so astoundingly important, especially for teens and a YA audience, which this is for. I'm so grateful and so happy that this exists! Thank you Aiden Thomas, I will read everything you ever write!
Thank you Macmillan Children's Books for an arc in exchange for an honest review.