Rainbow boys
Record details
- ISBN: 0689857705
-
Physical Description:
print
233 p. ; 24 cm. - Edition: 1st Simon Pulse ed.
- Publisher: New York : Simon Pulse, c2003.
Content descriptions
Summary, etc.: | Three high school seniors, a jock with a girlfriend and an alcoholic father, a closeted gay, and a flamboyant gay rights advocate, struggle with family issues, gay bashers, first sex, and conflicting feelings about each other. |
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Available copies
- 2 of 3 copies available at Bibliomation. (Show)
- 0 of 0 copies available at Southbury Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 3 total copies.
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Electronic resources
BookList Review
Rainbow Boys
Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Gr. 9-12. Three gay high school seniors, Jason, Kyle, and Nelson, deal with the difficulties of coming out and with all of the other problems that plague and perplex homosexual teens. First-novelist Sanchez writes with passion and understanding as well as some welcome humor, but it's issues, not characters that drive this novel. Homophobia, body image, gay stereotyping, AIDS, support groups, gay/straight alliances--all are shoehorned into an overcrowded plot that sometimes comes dangerously close to the didactic. What saves the story from problem-novel limbo are its realistic, right-on dialogue; its sympathetic characters who rise above the stereotypical; and--most important--its focus on love as the heart of homosexuality. Ultimately, the author demonstrates, coming out is really coming in--entering a circle of support and self-acceptance that may lead to a more universal community of acceptance and tolerance. --Michael Cart
Kirkus Review
Rainbow Boys
Kirkus Reviews
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
The lives of three suburban high school students become dramatically entangled in a manner familiar mostly to high-schoolers and soap-opera fans. Jason has a girlfriend (with whom he has sex), but he thinks a lot about male bodies and increasingly questions his sexuality. Kyle is the star of the swimming team who has known for a long time that he's gay, but he's still in the closet. Nelson is openly-and flamboyantly-gay. Jason is going steady with Debra; Kyle has a crush on Jason; Nelson has a crush on Kyle. Two of the boys have loving, concerned parents. One comes from a troubled family with an alcoholic father. And those are not nearly all the plots and subplots, all of which more or less get tied up by the end. The chapters rotate among the viewpoints of the three boys, a narrative technique that provides a crystal picture of each character. It also drives home the homophobia at school and the abuse the guys suffer and provides a lot of information about gay sexuality in the same way that Judy Blume's Forever did for the heterosexual experience. Unlike some earlier novels about homosexuality, the persecution of the three boys is named plainly for what it is-homophobia-and not the hand of a punishing fate. Although marred by occasional melodramatic turns and some contrivance in the ending, this is a fine first effort, thought-provoking and informative for all young adults. The use of profanity and explicit descriptions of sexual activities call for a mature reader. There is a list of advocacy groups at the end, unusual in a novel, but understandable, perhaps necessary, in this one. (Fiction. YA)
The Horn Book Review
Rainbow Boys
The Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
As if high school wasnĆĀt tough enough, homophobic jock Jason fears heĆĀs bisexual; Kyle loves Jason but hasnĆĀt come out to his parents; and out-and-proud Nelson, whoĆĀs smitten with Kyle and much harassed, copes by binge eating. Cardboard villains and clichĆĀ©d writing weaken the novel, but itĆĀs a well-observed, witty, and sexually honest look at the process of coming out both publicly and to oneself. From HORN BOOK Spring 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
School Library Journal Review
Rainbow Boys
School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Gr 9 Up-Nelson, "out" to the world, is secretly in love with his best friend Kyle. Kyle doesn't look gay or advertise it, but since he hangs out with Nelson, he's subject to the same harassment at school. Kyle is secretly in love with Jason, a popular jock who has a popular girlfriend but who can't stop dreaming of sex with boys. When Jason, trying to sort out his confusion, shows up at a Rainbow Youth meeting, he is greeted by both "Nelly" and Kyle, who are as shocked to see him as he is to be seen. This uncomfortable confrontation starts the ball rolling down a path of deception, denial, revelation, and acceptance not only for the three young men, but also for their friends, family, and all concerned. This gutsy, in-your-face debut novel speaks the language of real life for gay teens, that of the ecstasy, heartache, and humor of first love (and sex), that of daily harassment and fear, that of having what it takes to stand up and be proud of who you are. There will no doubt be challenges to Rainbow Boys, much like the challenges of Judy Blume's Forever (Turtleback, 1975) when it was published in the 1970s. But please, have the courage to make it available to those who need it-it can open eyes and change lives.-Betty S. Evans, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly Review
Rainbow Boys
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
PW called this story about the senior year of three gay teens struggling with issues ranging from coming out to first love to an HIV scare "believable and touching." Ages 12-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved