Rainbow Boys

Rating:
Summary: I Wish I Were 16 Again
Review: I wish I were 16 again so I could read this book as part of my coming out process. However, I'm sure there are many kids out there today who are just like I was -- living in isolated areas with no openly gay, positive role models. "Rainbow Boys" is just in time for them: It offers a realistic portrayal of normal kids (who happen to be gay) facing the joys and heartaches of adolescence. It says to gay teens, "You're not a freak, and you're not alone."

For those of us old enough to be these characters' fathers, the book offers an inspiring view of youth. These are kids we'd like to meet, endearing characters who find the courage to be themselves and take responsibility for their own lives. There's a lesson here that we can all learn from, whatever our ages.

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Young Adults - Gay or Straight
Review: I have to admit that I am VERY skeptical when it comes to gay literature. It seems that in most gay literature someone has to die, or the lovers get torn apart, or that the hero must suffer some terrible wrong to be redeemed. It can be depressing. In Rainbow Boys, Alex Sanchez, gives us a glimpse into the lives of three high school students, Jason, Kyle, and Nelson in an entertaining, dramatic, and yet uplifting way. The three youths are each dealing with coming out in completely different ways. They have their own strengths and insecurities regarding their sexual identity, their approaches toward meeting other guys, their parents attitudes, and their attitudes toward sex. Each chapter starts with name of the boys whose perspective is shared in that chapter...Jason, then Kyle, then Nelson. This repeats throughout the book. This creative style allows Mr. Sanchez to share the inner most thoughts of each of the boys while moving the story forward. I found this book delightful as well as insightful. Dramatic as well as romantic. This book should be on the shelf of every high school library.

Rating:
Summary: So Very Real. Eye-Opening.
Review: Sanchez's novel chronicles three gay high school boys. One is out, proud, and totally a flamer. One, his best friend, has not. Another, with a steady girlfriend, has just come to the realization and is trying his best to understand - and hide, in a way, this new discovery.

Nelson is the flamer. With a trillion earrings, crazy hair, and a love for fashion, he sees no need to keep his secret. He's been out and has many friends and people who like him despite this. And why isn't he likeable? He's a loyal friend, a wonderful listener, and can provide his best friend, Kyle, with good advice and a shoulder to cry on.

Kyle is gay but has yet to announce it to the world. Nonetheless, he's known the truth since an early age. People do expect he is a homosexual because he always hangs around with Nelson. Their friendship is incredibly strong. Kyle's parents are loving and supportive - at first only his mother seems to be, but his father does eventually come around once Kyle gives them the news. Nelson wants to be more than just friends but Kyle only has eyes for Jason.

Jason is a jock with a beautiful girlfriend named Debra. They've been going steady for two years and even have had sex. So he can't be gay, can he? Well...he tries, like some may, to deny and supress the thought, tries to dismiss it from his mind. But when he makes love to Debra, he pictures men. He dreams of naked men. He thinks of Kyle. With an alcoholic father who constantly calls him weak, home life is sometimes an obstacle. It is difficult for Jason to muster the courage to tell Debra but when he does, her reaction is normal. After all, she does love him.

Sanchez's novel is real. When the two boys finally come out of the closet, family and friend reactions are totally understandable and real, apt to happen in those situations. Sanchez's ability to convey character depth and meaning are incredible and make this novel what it is. You'll enjoy this book whether you happen to be straight, gay, or bisexual. And, to be frank, it really opened my eyes. Although I choose to be straight, it helped me realize that love between same sexes can be just as real, just as true. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Hardships and hurdles of homosexuality
Review: Sanchez's novel chronicles three gay high school boys. One is out, proud, and totally a flamer. One, his best friend, is still in the closet. Another, with a steady girlfriend, has just come to the realization and is trying his best to understand - and hide, in a way, this new discovery.

Nelson is the flamer. With a trillion earrings, crazy hair, and a love for fashion, he sees no need to keep his secret. He's been out and has many friends and people who like him despite this. And why isn't he likeable? He's a loyal friend, a wonderful listener, and can provide his best friend, Kyle, with good advice and a shoulder to cry on.

Kyle is gay but has yet to announce it to the world. Nonetheless, he's known the truth since an early age. People do expect he is a homosexual because he always hangs around with Nelson. Their friendship is incredibly strong. Kyle's parents are loving and supportive - at first only his mother seems to be, but his father does eventually come around once Kyle gives them the news. Nelson wants to be more than just friends but Kyle only has eyes for Jason.

Jason is a jock with a beautiful girlfriend named Debra. They've been going steady for two years and even have had sex. So he can't be gay, can he? Well...he tries, like some may, to deny and supress the thought, tries to dismiss it from his mind. But when he makes love to Debra, he pictures men. He dreams of naked men. He thinks of Kyle. With an alcoholic father who constantly calls him weak, home life is sometimes an obstacle. It is difficult for Jason to muster the courage to tell Debra but when he does, her reaction is normal. After all, she does love him.

Sanchez's novel is real. When the two boys finally come out of the closet, family and friend reactions are totally understandable, apt to happen in those situations. Sanchez's ability to convey character depth and meaning are incredible and make this novel what it is. You'll enjoy this book whether you happen to be straight, gay, or bisexual. And, to be frank, it really opened my eyes. Although I choose to be straight, it helped me realize that love between same sexes can be just as real, just as true. I'm looking forward to reading the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: What a gr8 book for struggling gays
Review: I had never read anything about gays before this book, and I have always been so secretive about my sexuality. This book was a good comfort to me, in knowing that I really am not alone. It also addresses the hostile viewpoints of homophobic individuals which is all too true in my life. I look forward to Rainbow High... Thanks A. Sanchez.

Rating:
Summary: Starting point
Review: Rainbow Boys has its flaws, but the honesty and sincerity of the characters and the way they're written distract the reader from the novel's weaker points. Jason, Kyle, and Nelson are all very realistic and human characters who are easy to relate to.

One of the strengths of this book is that Sanchez certainly acknowledges gay stereotypes, but also acknowledges that sometimes there is truth behind them; Nelson is sometimes stereotypically feminine, but he acts this way due to both nature and defiance of what other people think. Jason and Kyle are really quite adorable, and their romance makes the reader cringe and smile in at all the right places.

One of the flaws exists in the fact that Sanchez seems determined to tie in just about every single queer issue - I think the only one that goes without a mention is crystal meth. For a beginning young reader of queer fiction, however, that flaw will serve as a good introduction to the genre.

Oh, and for any Queer as Folk fans; once you get to Brick, keep the first episode in mind. There's a definite QaF influence in his character and relationship to Nelson.

Rating:
Summary: I learned a lot about what gay/lesbians go through...wow!
Review: i read this book 2 summers ago, and its a great book. It talks about some guys from differently areas of school (jock, nerd..etc) and how they come together because they are in the Gay-Straight Alliance Club at school. The book bounces from one guy to the other, while they write about whats happening. (1st person view).It was great to learn about how hard and tough it is to come out to the world. For example one of the guys in the book has a girlfriend but relieves that he is actually gay. Thats a challenge! Well i diffently recommend this book to ppl that are interested in what this book is about, of course, and also for ppl that are not open-minded about gay and lesbian teens. I can't wait to read the next book! (rainbow high)

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Representation of Gay Issues
Review: This book was great. I felt that overall anyone could relate to the book, whether, gay, straight, bi, confused, or whatever. I felt that Sanchez brought out numerous issues that anyone can relate to whether it be a small town, or a megalopolis. I reccommend anyone to read it, especially if you are interested in the struggles associated with coming out!

Rating:
Summary: A Stand-out in the Genre
Review: I first heard about this novel, after reading the novel "boy meets boy." While "Boy Meets Boy" will probably be my favorite book in the genre, "Rainbow Boys" will definatly a close second.

The Book centers around 3 boys who are seniors in their local high school and happen to be gay. Nelson and Kyle have been best friends for years. Nelson has a crush on Kyle, but Kyle has his eye on Jason the star athlet in school. And one day when Jason shows up at a local Gay Teen Support group (regularly attending by Kyle and Nelson) none of them really know how much their lives are really going to change.

This novel is a realistic view on being gay in highschool and the problems they face: rejection, bashing, first loves, crushes, HIV scars, and age discrimination.

For a debut novel, this book is really good. My only complaint in that the character of Nelson really should have taken a backseat to teh storyline between the two other boys.

Rating:
Summary: Wow...but
Review: As someone who reads young-adult fiction for my job, I found this book insanely engrossing...Read it in about 4 hours, and it made me miss an important deadline. Had there been such a book when I was a teenager back in the 70s/80s, maybe I'd have had an easier time being gay. (And I know I would have read it to shreds.)

Sanchez really conjures the unbearable tension of hanging out with another guy who might or might not be gay. The "holding hands" scene at the movie was suspenseful, refreshing, SEXY. For me, it cut through all the cynicism about sex that older gay men perpetuate, and restored my sense of how brutally nervewracking but *exhilirating* those very first moves were.

My complaint about the book is its obvious educational agenda. Sanchez seems compelled to shove pamphlet-y info into the plot. How to set up a GSA in your school, How *not* to have sex.

The book gets very alarmist about HIV, and while I'm not suggesting that unsafe sex is anything to be taken lightly, everyone in the book reacts with Greek-Tragedy-level hysteria that seems really polemical and forced, and compromises the bittersweet "reality" of the rest of the book.