Rainbow Boys
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| Rainbow Boys | |
 Front cover of Rainbow Boys |
|
| Author | Alex Sánchez |
|---|---|
| Country |  USA |
| Language | English |
| Series | Rainbow trilogy |
| Genre(s) | Young adult |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing |
| Publication date | October 2001 |
| Media type | print (hardback, paperback) |
| Pages | 256 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 9780689841002 |
| OCLC | 82005538 |
| Followed by | Rainbow High |
Rainbow Boys is the first novel in a trilogy by Alex Sanchez, focusing on the issues gay and questioning youth face as they come of age. This book is followed by Rainbow High and Rainbow Road.
[edit] 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 jock, finds himself questioning his heterosexuality 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. Meanwhile, Kyle Meeks crushes on Jason and through a number of run-ins the two become more than 'just friends.' Nelson, the flamboyant class clown, finds himself jealous of Kyle and Jason and decides to hook up with an online stranger named Brick. He engages in sexual intercourse with Brick and fears he has contracted HIV. He becomes friends with HIV-positive Jeremy and finds himself in love.
[edit] Characters
Jason, the first character introduced, is a jock struggling to accept his suspected homosexuality. At the beginning, he insists to himself that he is in love with his girlfriend, Debra, but later begins to question this and his overall sexuality. Not only is he afraid of consequences for being gay at school, but at home as well. His father is an abusive alcoholic and extremely homophobic, and has beaten and taunted Jason throughout his life.
Kyle is a shy senior, already beginning to accept his sexuality. He’s best friends with Nelson, a stereotypical homosexual, whose sexuality is well known. As the book progresses, he eventually admits his orientation to his parents, and is more open about being gay. At one point in the book, he even spray paints the words "and proud!" following the graffiti on his locker which reads "queer". He’d been crushing on Jason since freshman year, but finally befriends him after he asks for help in math. As their friendship grows, Jason realizes he returns Kyle's feelings, and they start a relationship.
Nelson is the most "flamboyant" or stereotypically gay of the three main characters, referring to himself as a "queen" and dying his hair weird colours. He is brutally bullied at school for being different. He befriends Kyle in ninth grade, and they become best friends. Once Kyle and Jason get together, Nelson gets jealous and tries to find a boy for himself. Eventually he meets a guy named Brick who he meets over the internet and meets up with him in real life. They end up having unprotected sex and Nelson is now worried that he might have contracted an STD. Later on, still without a test result, he meets an HIV-positive boy named Jeremy, and they start a relationship.
