Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez Review

R a i n b o w  B o y s    b y   A l e x  S a n c h e z

Plot Summary:

The story follows the overlapping lives of three high school seniors, with the chapters alternating between their different points of view. Jason Carrillo, the popular jock, finds himself questioning his sexuality and decides to attend a meeting for gay youth. He does not expect to see his classmates Kyle Meeks and Nelson Glassman at the meeting. Afterwards, Kyle, the mostly-closeted swimmer, decides to help tutor Jason in math. It is revealed that Kyle has had a crush on Jason for the past three years of high school. They bond over their shared feelings towards coming out and their families, which leads them to become more than friends. Nelson, the flamboyant class clown, has conflicting feelings towards Kyle and their relationship. He's very close to his mother who claims to have always known about his homosexuality, but rarely sees his father. After getting into an argument with Kyle, he decides to hook up with an online stranger named Brick. He has sex for the first time, and fears he has contracted HIV since Brick didn't use a condom. He becomes friends with HIV-positive Jeremy, and they begin a relationship.

Review:

The plot is well-paced and very well written by Alex Sanchez. I feel like I'm actually seeing each of the scenes in real life while I was reading it. It gives me a lot of feelings and emotions throughout the story, because I can relate my life to each of the boys’ situation.  It is its uniqueness, sweet, authenticity and honesty that makes the book so appealing. The characters are also very well-developed and the overall plot isn't dull. It's one of those book that I couldn't stop holding and reading in a day. I think Alex Sanchez does an excellent job of balancing his personal life and random thoughts in writing this book. This book also depicts some of the heavily debated societal issues that occur among the LGBT community that still exists until now, even if this book was written in 2001.

I personally think that this book is so powerful in its own way. I really admire how Alex Sanchez made himself one with his literary piece. He just gave this book its own life by providing it with continuous emotions that depicts the reality of most gay relationships. This book changed my whole perception of homosexuality and the LGBT community. It also taught me a lesson that 'Life is technicolored'. One of the important lessons that I've learned from this book is that parental acceptance and continuous support towards gay teens is really important and that parents should be the first people gay teens should lean on, because even if the acceptance of gay, lesbian and bisexual teens continues to grow in today's society — albeit gradually — study after study consistently shows that many of these adolescents still experience considerable rejection from the very source they crave acceptance most: their families.