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Rainbow Boys
by Alex Sanchez
reviewed by Scott Sherman,
Out in America Reviewer
The day that Rainbow Boys showed
up on my doorstep I had just been contacted
about speaking to a group of gay youth.
I had already begun to agonize over what
I was going to say that would have bearing
on their lives and not make me look like
a complete and total idiot. Technically,
I'm only 10–12 years older than
any of them in the first place, but in
gay years I suppose that can be a lifetime.
A good friend reminded me that when I
was in my early twenties, I referred to
anyone in my current age bracket (very
early thirties thank you) as a troll.
I hardly found any comfort in that thought.
What are these kids facing? I know, as
someone who is still out there in the
dating pool, gay journalism pool, and
quiet activist pool that I could give
them tons of advice on what not to
do. The first step was identifying
what direction I could go with them and
thanks to Rainbow Boys I got the
answer.
In my late teen and college years the
only exposure I had to gay literature
was that of the Kinsey Report and
a copy of Heather Has Two Mommies
that I managed to pick up in Harvard Square
Boston. I cannot imagine what the world
would have been like now had I found a
book like Rainbow Boys during those
years.
Rainbow Boys takes a brief snapshot
of three seniors in a small town getting
ready to move on with their lives but
still trying to get through the day to
day toils of high school. The author Alex
Sanchez seems to have been able to take
three types of people that you would likely
find in a high school and meld them into
to very real and likeable characters.
There is Jason Carrillo, who is the jock.
Motivated by sports and the peer pressure
of his friends, Jason finds that he is
torn between what his idea of life should
be and what he knows is true. At the beginning
of the book, we find that Jason is struggling
with being gay and trying to find his
way out of the closet.
Kyle Meeks, the second character, reminds
himself in the mirror that he doesn't
look gay but he knows he is. A member
of the swim team and a good student, Kyle
is what every mother would want for their
daughter. Kyle has already recognized
that he is gay and has been taking the
first tentative steps of coming out by
attending gay youth meetings with his
out friend Nelson Glassman. Kyle's worst
fear is coming out to his parents and
losing his chances at getting into college.
Kyle's first crush occurs and it happens
to be with the jock of the school Jason
Carrillo.
Last and certainly not least my favorite
character out of this story: Nelson Glassman.
Nelson lives with his mom, and his father
plays a minor role in the story. Nelson
is probably one of the more complicated
people I have encountered in gay literature.
There was just something about him that
made me want to reach into the book and
give him a hug. Perhaps there is more
Nelson in me than I am ready to admit.
Nelson's life is no fairy tale (pardon
the pun), but he faces each day in school
with renewed determination as an out and
proud gay high school student. Tortured
by the jocks, a seemingly indifferent
principal, and students who just don't
understand he tries to make the best of
everything. For all his bravado and sass,
Nelson is an insecure little boy looking
for love and validation from the people
around him. His mom, though supportive,
has gone over the deep end in PFLAG and
is too busy getting him the right to marry
to see some of the pain. Nelson's ideal
mate in his mind would be Kyle Meeks and
Nelson's mission is just to get Kyle to
stop talking about Jason Carrillo just
long enough to recognize what's in front
of him.
These boys, in the course of a little
over two hundred pages, encounter some
of the most pressing problems facing gay
youth today including: internet predators,
HIV scares, gay bashing, school administration
indifference, coming out, and that all
important first love. It wasn't until
after I put the book down that I realized
the author had covered so much ground
in such a short span and done it seemingly
effortlessly. It is obvious that Alex
Sanchez has a tremendous amount of experience
working with gay and lesbian youth. This
talent comes shining through from the
first page until the last. This is a rare
commodity, in my opinion, in gay and lesbian
youth literature.
Get this book! It gives a glance to what
the next generation faces and it's an
amazing set of new challenges that I never
thought about. Things have changed a lot
since I was in high school, and that was
only a few short years ago. I am encouraged
at what the next generation has to offer.
This is Alex Sanchez's first novel and
thankfully not his last. On his web site,
http://www.alexsanchez.com/,
Alex mentions that Simon and Schuster
has already planned the sequel for publishing
in 2003. I, for one, will be at the bookstore
looking for it the day it comes out. This
book has also been nominated for a Lambda
Literary Award this year for the young
adult category and frankly, it has my
vote.
Last Updated: 4/4/02
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