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Rainbow Boys (Rainbow Trilogy #1)

by Alex Sanchez (Goodreads Author)

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 6,343 ratings · 310 reviews

Jason Carrillo is a jock with a steady girlfriend, but he can't stop dreaming about sex...with other guys.

Kyle Meeks doesn't look gay, but he is. And he hopes he never has to tell anyone -- especially his parents.

Nelson Glassman is "out" to the entire world, but he can't tell the boy he loves that he wants to be more than just friends.

Three teenage boys, coming of ag

...more

Paperback, 247 pages

Published May 1st 2003 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (first published October 1st 2001)

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Lists with This Book

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green

Best YA Fiction with GLBTQQI themes / characters

9th out of 378 books — 1,081 voters

Keeping You a Secret by Julie Anne Peters

LGBT for YA

6th out of 156 books — 221 voters

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Community Reviews

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Jan 24, 2008 Lily King rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 11-07-11-08

This read like an exceedingly bland public service announcement. At some point in time Rainbow Boys would have been groundbreaking in its positive portrayal of gay teenagers, but by 2003 the characters and scenarios are -- at least within queer pop culture -- common at best. A progressive illustration doesn't quite cut it as an excuse for banality.

8 likes · like · see review

Aug 31, 2007 Bethany Andrews rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, youngadult

A friend of mine handed me this book this evening and told me I should read it...I sat down and read it all in one sitting. I adored it, and now I'll need to borrow the next two from him as well.

Rainbow Boys is a coming of age story told from the alternating perspectives of three teenage boys, all in different stages of understanding their sexuality.

Jason is the school jock, a key member of the basketball team. He is dating one of the most popular girls in school, and he even has sex with her......more

7 likes · like · see review

Apr 14, 2007 Steven rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

Shelves: read-recently, eng-619-seminar, eng-619-ya-lit

This is a great book, a wonderful resource for teens who are gay, questioning or are simply interested in the perspectives of gay teens and how they can be supportive of their gay peers.

I was recently warned that I may be in danger of hell-fire for promoting books such as these because students may "turn gay" after reading this material. This is ridiculous. A student does not "turn gay" simply by reading a book. There are many factors that contribute to an individual's sexual orientation. There...more

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Oct 08, 2007 Evan rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who is gay or questioning, especially guys

Shelves: youngadultfiction

The book is told through 3 boys eyes with alternating chapters of each of their perspectives. Kyle, a nice boy, whose a swimmer. He hangs out with Nelson a gay boy who's obviously gay. Also, Kyle is in love with Jason, a basketball player. Through the course of the book Kyle comes out to his parents. So does Jason and they become boyfriends? There relationship is kind of not official at the end of the book. They definitely like each other though. Kyle and Nelson have to deal with violence from a...more

2 likes · like · see review

May 10, 2010 Despina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: qaf, book-series

Чудесно утро, което започва с чаша кафе и Rainbow Boys. Не знам какъв точно им е проблема на хората, та освен да плюят по "различните" от тях, друго не им се отдава...

1 like · like · see review

Jan 24, 2010 Kristina rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone who likes homosexuality, inspiration, and Alex Sanchez.

Recommended to Kristina by: One of my friends.

This book was really good, I couldn't put it down for one minute! It was inspirational, and it really made me realize how being yourself is the important thing and not trying to be someone else.

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 19, 2007 Kimberly rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is the first in a small series of Rainbow books. Another great work of YA lit, this book explores how love comes in all forms and is often painful, sometimes dangerous, but also rewarding. If schools are serious about teaching acceptance then this should be required reading. Often what makes adolescent lit so reachable for students is that the protagonists are just like them--confused, sometimes angst-filled teens who are trying to make sense of their identities and their world. This genre...more

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Mar 30, 2009 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: coming-of-age, romance, young-adult-books

I'm kind of divided about this book. It's about these three gay boys in high school -- one is out and proud, one is gay but not out, and one is just beginning to explore his sexuality, concluding that he's at least bisexual, if not gay.

The book sends great messages about the importance of safe sex regardless of your sexual orientation, relationships without sex and sex without a relationship, HIV and AIDS, and the prejudice and abuse many young gay men experience from their peers and their comm...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 22, 2012 Sasquatch rated it 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars. I read this book for the second time and really enjoyed it. The characters and situations were very realistic, making this book easy to connect with. Although dealing with deep subject matter, the writing style is light and enjoyable. It wasn't suspenceful but I still couldn't put it down. It touched all dynamics of what a queer teenager experieces: questioning, "coming out", difficulty with parents,bullying, internalized homophobia, social standings, assertiveness. As you can see man...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Dana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: youngadult

Having previously read "So Much to Say" by Alex Sanchez, I was looking forward to another of his books. This one was too much, and unsatisfying.
It seems as if the author started brainstorming a list of all the types of people a gay teen might come across in his life, then decided to throw them all into the book rather than only choosing some.
Two-dimensional bully? Check. Dad in denial who pushes his son towards football and hockey? Check. PFLAG mom you can "talk to about anything"? Check. Angry...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Kc rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: glbt, read-long-ago

First off, I read this book when I was a kid. It was probably my first exposure to GLBT literature. I haven't really reread it since then, so I can't really remember all the details. However, what I do remember is the impression it made on me as a pubescent teen, so this review is based on what I felt back then.

The setting was pretty simple: three boys from three different aspects of life. Cliche? Maybe, but from a kid's perspective it fit very well in to the world I was living in. Everything i...more

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Dec 03, 2011 Keri Payton added it

Shelves: lgbtqiap, young-adult, romance

Could Nelson be in love with his best friend, Kyle? All Kyle ever talks about is Jason, the basketball jock. When Jason shows up to their Rainbow Youth group, everything changes.

All three boys must face their fears, whether it’s being rejected by their family, taking a chance on love or standing up for who they are…once they figure all that out, of course…and none of it is easy.

Along with ‘Hero’, ‘Rainbow Boys’ was one of the first LGBTQIAP books I came across online. Regardless, it took me ages...more Could Nelson be in love with his best friend, Kyle? All Kyle ever talks about is Jason, the basketball jock. When Jason shows up to their Rainbow Youth group, everything changes.

All three boys must face their fears, whether it’s being rejected by their family, taking a chance on love or standing up for who they are…once they figure all that out, of course…and none of it is easy.

Along with ‘Hero’, ‘Rainbow Boys’ was one of the first LGBTQIAP books I came across online. Regardless, it took me ages to finally pick up and purchase the book. I’d seen plenty of Alex Sanchez’s books in stores and libraries before but not remembering which of the Rainbow series books came first, all I could think was, Uhh…which one do I read first?

Love triangles have always tested my scepticism and the “in love with the best friend” and “in love with the high school jock” might have seemed a bit generic but once I opened the book and started reading, I was hooked. The chapters alternate between the perspectives of the three boys. It starts with Jason the jock, the character who could have been the least sympathetic but whom I found was the most sympathetic.

All three characters are very well portrayed. They aren’t just caricatures but real teenage boys. Sanchez takes a story that in the wrong hands could have been cliché and tedious and turns it into something real and powerful.

The characters (and not just the protagonists but their friends and families) had their own flaws and made mistakes but they are all so well written. I was pulled into the story of ‘Rainbow Boys’ and devoured it.

One thing that I must note – if you are going to read Rainbow Boys, you should have the sequel on hand. There are two sequels to the novel, ‘Rainbow High’ and ‘Rainbow Road’, neither of which I have. I look forward to getting my mitts on and reading them as soon as possible, along with more of Sanchez’s novels.

(Note: I discovered that this book was actually adapted into a film in Thailand, alternately titled ‘Right By Me’. That is so awesome. I must find and watch it.)

(From my blog: Quill Café)(less)

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Nov 16, 2011 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although I was a bit apprehensive before beginning Alex Sanchez’s novel Rainbow Boys, I soon found the subject matter was more insightful than anything. Sanchez, skilled in his writing, is able to expertly portray the thoughts and emotions of: Kyle, a confused teen developing differently than his peers, Jason, an unlikely closet homosexual with a girlfriend, and the proud, but love-struck, Nelson. The teens embark on a confusing school year at Whitman High School, where the Gay-Straight Alliance...more Although I was a bit apprehensive before beginning Alex Sanchez’s novel Rainbow Boys, I soon found the subject matter was more insightful than anything. Sanchez, skilled in his writing, is able to expertly portray the thoughts and emotions of: Kyle, a confused teen developing differently than his peers, Jason, an unlikely closet homosexual with a girlfriend, and the proud, but love-struck, Nelson. The teens embark on a confusing school year at Whitman High School, where the Gay-Straight Alliance club is not fully accepted by students, or even all the teachers, and the students are discovering an alternate lifestyle that’s as exciting as it is confusing.

In itself, the book doesn’t come entirely recommended by this reviewer for the sake of teaching in the classroom. It contains some explicit scenes and plenty of vulgar language. It would be terrible to say it’s not at least recommendable to a young adult, however. The book addresses many thoughts and feelings a young man or woman may feel when first “coming out,” along with some of the dangers that accompany this orientation (when Kyle meets the attractive yet mysterious Brick online, for instance). I think the novel would be invaluable for a student in a community that doesn’t nurture or condone such minorities. Having characters to relate with may be difficult for gay young adults to have in their media, even in today’s world.

Sanchez’s novel is highly detailed and, at some points, risque-- and sets the scene for a confusing, invigorating, and sometimes tense, tale. His composition is unique, as each chapter alternates from the perspective between the three main characters. When a chapter is set on Jason’s perspective, for instance, Kyle and Nelson may weave in and out of the story, but it takes place entirely in Jason’s head. Sanchez’s implementation of this really touches on all the issues a questioning young man or woman may confront. It’s a unique addition in the world of Young Adult novels and one I believe most will grow to enjoy.
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Nov 15, 2011 Melody Lien rated it 4 of 5 stars

This novel is the first in a trilogy that focuses on three boys who are all gay and the problems or questions they face as the come of age. Three high school boys, Jason, Kyle, and Nelson are all extremely different but by the end of Rainbow Boys discover that they have much in common and become good friends. The novel begins by introducing Jason, who is a jock but is trying to figure out whether or not he is gay or not. He has a girlfriend in the beginning but soon realizes that this doesn’t fe...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Eyre rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, gay-glbt-mm-mmf

I sometimes have trouble enjoying young adult literature because the teens characterized in the books of ten lack verisimilitude. Sometimes all the characters in a story will come across as too naive; other times, they appear too jaded. In reality, teens, like adults, run the gamut of experience and maturity levels.

Alex Sanchez has done a spectacular job of creating three believable main characters. Jason is the jock who is just trying to understand himself. Kyle is the "typical" teen who simpl...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jun 22, 2011 Claire rated it 3 of 5 stars

[And yes, this version with Neal-from-White-Collar is the cover I have. :D]

I picked this up from Borders on a gigantic sale, mostly because hooray queer YA! Realised partway into chapter 1 that I had in fact read it before, and unfortunately I don't think it stood up nearly as well to the reread as I would have hoped. My (terribly useless to other people; sorry) reviews once again fall down at the 3 star level, because this certainly wasn't BAD, but it also wasn't all that great, and definitely...more

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May 15, 2011 Jamie Fessenden rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: gay, ya, drama

Very entertaining and realistic account of what it's like to come out and experience your first romance. I have a minor complaint about the weird way in which the boys always omitted descriptions of sex. They would be talking naturally, and occasionally swearing, but whenever they tried to talk to each other about sexual experiences, they would say code words, such as "Well, we didn't S or F." or just say, "Did you...you know?" That was very tiresome and clearly a cop out, though it's hard to sa...more

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Jul 08, 2010 Heather rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Rainbow Boys tells the story of Nelson, Kyle and Jason. Nelson is the stereotypical gay male-a little swishy, with multiple piercings and multi-colored hair. Kyle is a quiet, sweet boy, a swimmer on the high school swim team. Jason is a popular jock, deeply in the closet. When the novel begins, Nelson is completely out to everyone, including his very liberal mother who is the chairperson of the local chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). Kyle is out to Nelson and the other...more Rainbow Boys tells the story of Nelson, Kyle and Jason. Nelson is the stereotypical gay male-a little swishy, with multiple piercings and multi-colored hair. Kyle is a quiet, sweet boy, a swimmer on the high school swim team. Jason is a popular jock, deeply in the closet. When the novel begins, Nelson is completely out to everyone, including his very liberal mother who is the chairperson of the local chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG). Kyle is out to Nelson and the other teens in their GLBT support group, but not to his family. He also is deeply infatuated with Jason, looking at his picture in the yearbook so often the page is fading. Jason is dating Debra, and trying with all of his might to pretend that he is not having feelings for other boys. When the other guys make gay jokes, or harass Nelson (whom they call Nelly), he laughs or turns away. Finally he gets up the courage to go to a meeting of the support group, and is horrified to find Kyle and Nelson there. When he runs, Kyle follows him. The two boys strike up a friendship when Kyle agrees to help him with his math. Slowly, as Jason spend more time with Kyle, he breaks up with his girlfriend and comes to terms with his true orientation. Nelson, meanwhile, has decided that he is in love with Kyle, and tries to put the moves on him. When that doesn't work, he descends into depression, binging and purging and having unprotected sex with an older man he met on the internet. Afraid he may have contracted HIV, he sinks even lower, refusing to go to school. Turns out that Nelson, who is so open about his sexual orientation, doesn't really know any more about how to go about this whole dating business than anyone else. An act of gay bashing makes Jason realize that it is too dangerous not to stand up for himself and his friends, and leads to him finally coming out to his family.

If the above summary reminds you of a soap opera, you are not far wrong. There are a lot of issues tackled in this book, from sexual orientation to gay bashing to bulimia to alcoholism. Despite the somewhat soapish nature of the plot, the subjects are all handled in an honest way, without any sensationalism or gratuitous detail.

Each of the boys comes from a very different family. Nelson lives with his mother, and has almost no contact with his father. Nelson's mother is the epitome of what gay-accepting parents should be. She stands up for her son and his right to be who he is, and is actively involved in working for gay rights. Kyle's parents are well-meaning, though his dad is constantly pushing him into sports. That's the only reason Kyle joined the swim team, though he finds that swimming is something that helps him clear his head. When he comes out to his parents, they are taken aback, and both of them struggle to understand how he became the way he is. When push comes to shove, however, and they find out that he is being harassed at school, they stand up for him. Jason's dad is an alcoholic-a violent one at that. He found Jason and another boy experimenting when they were 10, and ever since he has called him pansy or faggot. It is only after Jason brings Nelson and Kyle back to his house after they were jumped on the street, and his dad starts in on them, that he is able to stand up to him and tell him his deepest secret. There's no storybook ending here-Dad does not suddenyl decide to go to AA and become a PFLAG member. He leaves the family and disowns Jason.

It is this authenticity and honesty that makes the book so appealing. Each of the boys could represent someone I know, or should I say that I know someone who went through what each of these boys did. The characters are well-developed, and you feel sympathy for each of them. The plot is well-paced, and the events feel real. When Kyle's mom finds his gay porno mag, you wince right along with him. When Nelson gets so depressed he can't get out of bed, you remember what being 17 was like yourself, how intensely teens feel everything. Sadly, the boys harassing Kyle and Nelson are also completely believable. The book was written in 2001, but even with all of the advances in gay rights and awareness that have happened in our country since there are still too many boys like them in our schools.

Sanchez does an excellent job of balancing the personal stories of the boys and some heavily debated societal issues. When the boys want to start a Gay Straight Alliance at their school, there is the expected opposition from religious groups. The teachers ignoring the harassment the boys are getting, and in fact blaming them for it because they can't act more "normal", is something that is still true. Parental acceptance of gay youth differs, though I like to think that more parents are supportive than there used to be. Overall, this novel brings home the issues that gay teens face every day in a very accessible, personal way(less)

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Jan 12, 2010 Alex rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, queer, fiction

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this novel. I was pleasantly surprised.

The copy looks like something from the 1980s, and I'm not sure why. No one is wearing anything dated and the copyright date is 2001. I think it just reminds me of some of the girly books I saw that were from the '80s. Or maybe it's the front right guy's hair. Anyways, the cover in combination with the descrip made me think it was going to be cliche.

I picked it up anyway, because it was one of the few queer lit books at my local l...more

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Apr 20, 2009 Mk rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: queer, young-adult

My "booktalk" for school:

“Jason glanced around the theatre. His pulse quickened. The longer his hand stayed there, the more significant the fact became, the more difficult it would be to explain away. He should remove his hand now. Do it. Now. But Kyle’s hand beneath his own excited him too much.” (p. 99)

Honesty. We all want to be able to share with our friends. We all want to know our parents would accept us… even though we may not want to talk to them. And we all want to know ourselves. This b...more

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Jan 29, 2011 Tancredi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbt, statunitensi, teens

Eccolo lì, in quel sabato di settembre dopo aver tenuto per sei mesi il numero del gruppo ad ingiallire nel portafogli. Attraversò la strada verso l'edificio e si fermò a guardarsi nel finestrino di una macchina. Cercò di sistemarsi i capelli, ma i suoi ricci non collaboravano. Merda. Che gli importava? In fondo era solo un gruppo di finocchi."

Primo capitolo di una trilogia, è uno dei pochi decenti libri di narrativa gay arrivati in Italia. L'ho letto aspettandomi molto e come da copione mi sono

...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading a LGBT book. First off, that is totally Matt Bomer on the cover of this book (you might know him as Neal Caffrey from the TV show White Collar)!

So, I was looking through the school library in hopes of finding a really good LGBT book. Unfortunately, the library didn't have much of a selection in this area, so I settled for Rainbow Boys (I was a little skeptical from the start for the mere reason that the title seemed so cliche). This book definitely informed me about...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Nicole Mohr rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rainbow Boys is a young adult novel told from the perspective of three different teenage boys all in various stages of discovering their sexual orientation.

If this book was a movie, it would most certainly be rated PG-13, so parents, be aware. While it does not have graphic descriptions of homosexual intercourse, there are some detailed inferences of the boys’ sexual encounters, so I would recommend this book only for mature teenagers, approximately high school age and up.

If you are a parent o...more Rainbow Boys is a young adult novel told from the perspective of three different teenage boys all in various stages of discovering their sexual orientation.

If this book was a movie, it would most certainly be rated PG-13, so parents, be aware. While it does not have graphic descriptions of homosexual intercourse, there are some detailed inferences of the boys’ sexual encounters, so I would recommend this book only for mature teenagers, approximately high school age and up.

If you are a parent of a homosexual teen, I highly recommend reading this book. The book deals frankly and realistically with the parent-teen relationship and the struggles of coming to terms with a teen’s “coming out.” In chapter nine, right after Kyle has just come out to his parents, there is an encouraging exchange between Kyle, his mom, and his best friend Nelson, in which Kyle’s mom expresses how grateful she is that they are at least finally talking about “it,” and Nelson encourages her to attend PFLAG, a group for parents of gay teens, which his mother is the president of, which shows that it possible to talk openly and healthily about homosexuality, even if it makes you uncomfortable.

Overall, I think that this book is one of the most accurate stories I have read for showing the trials an tribulations of being a homosexual teen. As a heterosexual woman, it is obviously hard for me to imagine what it must be like to be in that situation, but reading this book made it possible for me to understand what it would be like to walk a mile in their shoes.

This book is well written and flows naturally. I sat down to “start” the book one night around nine o’clock. By one in the morning, I had finished it. It’s just a page-turner. Love a book that can do that! What makes is so unique is that each chapter leaves you wanting to continue in the journey, but as the following chapter shifts to another boy’s perspective, it still manages to keep an engaging flow. Sanchez’ talent for excellent story-telling makes this a quick and enjoyable read.
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Jan 31, 2011 Doc Holliday rated it 5 of 5 stars

SPOILER ALERT

As much as I loved this book, I couldn't put the darn thing down. I have picked a favorite character and I see myself liking Kyle more than anyone else. I laughed, I cried, and I felt like punching Nelson in the gut. If that boy complained about being fat one more time, I woulda helped him throw up! >.< I can't help myslef, but I blushed every time the boys kissed or became intimate. I received this book from swap on Friday and I just couldn't put it down. I finished it today...more

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Sep 16, 2009 Carly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Rainbow Boys follows the lives of three gay (read as two gay and one sorely confused about his sexual identity) boys on their journey through their Junior year of High School. There’s love (some returned, some unrequited), sex and bashings abound.

Most reviews want to know “What have you learned while reading this book?” Well, nothing, really. It just showed the facts more clearly - a lot of people dislike the homosexual community and, because of this, go out of their way to make them uncomforta...more

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Feb 11, 2010 Mirjam rated it 4 of 5 stars

So this book was really cute - the author does a nice job making you care about the characters. Two of the characters - Kyle and Jason - are really well-developed, although Nelson is a bit of a hokey stereotype (the self-hating queeny gay kid with an eating disorder and daddy issues who goes off on an ill-considered blind date with some dude he met on the internet? Really?). Some of the language is off (you can tell at times that this is how an adult thinks teenagers talk) and the sex scenes are...more

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Dec 09, 2008 Josh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-young-adult, gay-lesbian, read-in-2008

I would have loved to have had a book like this around when I was in high school. It follows three high school seniors who are dealing with being gay. Each is at different level of acceptance and being out to their families. Kyle, Nelson, and Jason each come from very different families and social groups, but what they each deal with is what draws them together. The book follows the trio through the first half of their senior year as they come out to families, fall in love, create a Gay-Straight...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Emily Neier rated it 4 of 5 stars

When this book was published over a decade ago, I feel like it was much more rebellious or groundbreaking than it is now. Not that losing that edge on this book is a bad thing because that means the GLBT community is more accepted.
At some point in the book, I stopped thinking about how the author was trying to push for acceptance of gay teens and started thinking that probably every teenager faced hard times similar to these young men. By the end, I saw the book more as a general statement on th...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Queenelle Gazmen rated it 2 of 5 stars

For each protagonist, each story had a soap opera storyline.

Jason Carillo, the stereotypical confused jock, challenges his taught beliefs with his emotions. Compared to the other characters, his story was given the most attention to. He lives in shame, even addressing others like him with derogatory nicknames that he can’t admit to himself. He adds the sympathetic touch to a straight man who is questioning his sexuality. In one chapter he rants to himself. His mind argues that “He needed to talk...more For each protagonist, each story had a soap opera storyline.

Jason Carillo, the stereotypical confused jock, challenges his taught beliefs with his emotions. Compared to the other characters, his story was given the most attention to. He lives in shame, even addressing others like him with derogatory nicknames that he can’t admit to himself. He adds the sympathetic touch to a straight man who is questioning his sexuality. In one chapter he rants to himself. His mind argues that “He needed to talk to someone about his queer confusion-but who? He couldn’t go back to the meeting, not with Nelson-or Debra-there. His dad? He shuddered His dad would kill him. And his mom had enough to deal with,” (33).

He starts out as the least confident to growing into one that isn’t very confident, but not as hesitant. His rants become less scattered and condemned to having structure. In chapter 22 his mental talk includes him saying “the moment had arrived, and he wasn’t dead or in prison, but alive and free,” (227). As his storyline progresses to being lost in sexual confusion to being more aware of himself, his thoughts also grew in optimism.

Kyle Meeks, with the same “closet” status as Jason, except not as self-loathing as the jock, struggles the most with the reactions from the people around him. He attends a high school with an intolerant bully atmosphere and a home with conservative parents. Kyle’s thoughts always go back to society’s views on homosexuality. During a basketball game for instance he dozes off thinking “the game was over and there was no way he could fight against the outpouring throng,” (104). The way he talks to himself is much more mature than Jason and that is mainly due to the fact that he has accepted himself more than Jason has. But he still has his insecurities as he watches his words carefully each time he talks to someone that isn’t Jason or Nelson.

Nelson Glassman, the most flamboyant of the three teenage boys, that is comfortable expressing himself in bright colors. He follows the stereotype of a flaming homosexual and it gets a bit overwhelming. Though he plays off as this good friend, supportive to Kyle and sometimes Jason, Nelson’s comfort has made him the most selfish of the three characters. He involves himself in shenanigans you’d typically see on TV or read in teen fiction novels.

His language is the most abrasive of the three. His quotes mostly involve profanities, a few “screw yous,” and very sassy “anybody in there’s,” His character can make him easily a crowd hatred but his heart lies in a better place than the three boys even though his words betray his morals. He can say things that offend others easily but Nelson is a lot more aggressive in getting what he wants than the three boys. During the turning point in Nelson’s life, he speaks in front of the school board and says “we wouldn’t need a GSA if everyone accepted and respected-or at least tolerated-people who were different,” (182).

What makes this book unique is that each boy represents a different aspect of teenage sexuality. There is one who is trying to figure out what he’s attracted to, one who is striving for approval in his community, and the other who is fighting for acceptance because he knows who he is. As the three boys attend the same high school, the three stories easily go together but through the book is about love, it also bonds the three boys and their common trait through friendship.(less)

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May 15, 2012 Holyfool rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: secretly-thinking

picked up the book because of the photographer who did the cover and ended up reading it.
i don't regret it but i don't recommend it either. mr. sanchez's first novel ( written 12 years ago )
treated the subject like an abc family after school special to be watched by junior high schoolers in the
1980's.
times have changed so much that the book can not sustain the reality of the facts and the mental level of
nowadays teens' issues.
mr.sanchez really generalized, stereotyped and [ i am sure ] f...more

1 like · like · see review

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About Alex Sanchez

Alex Sanchez is the author of the Rainbow Boys trilogy of teen novels, along with The God Box, Getting It, and the Lambda Award-winning middle-grade novel So Hard to Say. His novel, Bait, won the 2009 Florida Book Award Gold Medal for YA fiction. Alex received his master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Old Dominion University and for many years worked as a youth and family counselor. His...more

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Trivia About Rainbow Boys

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Quotes from Rainbow Boys

“I know! It means when two boys are really happy ‘cause they love each other.” She laughed. He wasn’t certain whether to laugh along with her—or cry.” — 6 people liked it

“Sometimes I look in the mirror and think I'm really good looking. Then other times I think my body's all wrong.” — 2 people liked it

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title link	preview: Rainbow Boys
avg rating	preview: Rainbow Boys Goodreads rating: 3.85 (6343 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94064.Rainbow_Boys?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348727172l/94064.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/94064.Rainbow_Boys?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez[/url]

Rainbow Boys (Rainbow Trilogy #1)

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