Jason is a star athlete and has a promising future ahead of him. He’s not above making or laughing at the occasional gay joke or slur with his friends. But why is he having intense dreams about guys? He has a girlfriend and they have sex, so he can’t be gay.
Nelson is openly gay and he’s lucky to have such a supportive mother. It’s tough being out in school, though, facing taunts and bullying and even threats of physical violence, and even the school administration doesn’t care. Luckily he has his best friend, Kyle, to commiserate with.
Kyle has always known he was gay but he’s been afraid to tell his parents. He knows that by associating with Nelson everyone assumes it anyway, but there’s something to actually saying the words out loud. Of course, he has a huge crush on Jason, but Jason is straight. Right?
Rainbow Boys, the first in a three-book series, so perfectly captures the feelings associated with coming to terms with your sexuality. How do you tell your parents? Will it jeopardize your future? Does having sex mean you’ll get HIV? What do you do when you’re in love with your best friend and they don't seem to feel the same way about you?
This book came out in 2003 and I totally missed it then, but it sure did bring back memories for me! I really enjoyed this story and the characters were all pretty authentic for the time period. Even though you pretty much knew what would happen, I was totally hooked, and the emotions it generated were very familiar.
Once again, I’m so glad this generation has books like these to help them feel better about themselves. This was another great selection for Pride Reads!!
(Yes, that’s a before-he-was-famous Matthew Bomer on the cover!)
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