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Rainbow Boys

by Alex Sanchez

Three different paths toward being out

Regular price $13.38 USD
Regular price $22.30 USD Sale price $13.38 USD
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AlbakiReads Editorial

Three different paths toward being out

Set in the early 2000s, *Rainbow Boys* brings together Jason, Kyle, and Nelson, whose very different relationships to being gay shape their experiences of school, family, friendship, and belonging. Jason is still trying to understand his desires; Kyle is privately gay and wary of telling his parents; Nelson is openly proud, but faces bullying and distance from his best friend. The novel’s coming-of-age focus links self-acceptance with the pressures of an intolerant environment, while its three characters offer contrasting perspectives on coming out. This reissue includes a note from Alex Sanchez and an introduction by Maia Kobabe.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Teens and young adults interested in LGBTQ+ coming-of-age fiction.
  • Readers seeking a story with three perspectives on coming out and self-acceptance.
  • Readers interested in fiction about friendship, family pressures, and bullying in a high school setting.

Themes

Coming out and self-acceptanceFriendship and unspoken feelingsBullying and intoleranceFamily relationships

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

For the first printing only! This paperback features sprayed stenciled edges while the special edition supply lasts. This reissue has a brand-new look, a note from the author, and an introduction by Maia Kobabe, author of Gender Queer.

A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021)

Navigating through the intolerant world of the early aughts and their own insecurities, three teenage boys find each other and the confidence to come out of the closet in this seminal queer coming-of-age novel.

Jason Carillo is a jock with a steady girlfriend. He's on track to play ball, marry his high school sweetheart, and get as far away from his abusive dad as possible--but that's if he can get into college with his shaky math grades...and if he can stop dreaming about having sex with guys.

Kyle Meeks is definitely gay, but he's not planning on telling anyone, least of all his parents. All he wants is to keep his head down and get through high school without incident--until Jason asks him for help in math and all of a sudden, Kyle is spending long hours with a boy he's always found cute and it's getting harder and harder to keep his feelings under wraps.

Nelson Glassman is out and loud about it, but being proud of who you are doesn't mean things don't get lonely. He's got a target on his back for the school bullies to kick, and while his mom supports him, she doesn't entirely understand him. To make things worse, he and his best friend--and longtime crush--Kyle have been spending more and more time apart, and he doesn't know how to deal.

Messy, honest, and raw, Rainbow Boys follows these three boys as they come of age and come out of the closet in the early aughts in one of the most revolutionary young adult novels in the last quarter century.
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