Product Description

NELSON GLASSMAN may have been exposed to the HIV virus and is terrified of testing positive...but what if being positive is the only way to keep the guy of his dreams?

KYLE MEEKS finally has the guy of his dreams and is ready to do anything to stay by his side...but will "anything" include sabotaging his own future?

JASON CARRILLO knows he has to face his future and is prepared to face it out and gay...but is he prepared to let go of the dream that has sustained him all of his life?

As their high school days draw to a close and these three friends move toward one of life's most defining crossroads, each will be compelled to choose his own direction -- and prepare for the consequences.

Bold new voice Alex Sanchez continues the story begun in his critically acclaimed debut Rainbow Boys with this captivating and straightforward depiction of living, loving, and losing that goes straight to the heart of what it means to be young and gay.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #302789 in Books
• Published on: 2003-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 272 pages

From School Library Journal
Grade 10 Up-Nelson Glassman and Kyle Meeks, best friends for many years, are gay teens at Walt Whitman High School. Kyle becomes romantically involved with basketball jock Jason Carrillo, while Nelson embarks on a strained relationship with Jeremy, who has tested positive for HIV. Jason comes out to his teammates and endures public scrutiny on television, eventually losing his athletic scholarship. On the homefront, Kyle's parents desperately want him to attend Princeton, although this would mean leaving Jason behind, and Nelson's mother insists that he end his relationship with Jeremy. Throughout these vicissitudes, the young men provide support for one another as graduation approaches. Sanchez has written a respectable sequel to the noteworthy Rainbow Boys (S & S, 2001). He has a definite feel for the thoughts, feelings, and speech patterns of contemporary high school students, and his characters are believable, although perhaps not as fully developed as one would like. The narrative flows smoothly, with plenty of soap-opera dramatics to keep readers interested and a steamy scene or two to boot. Mature YAs will identify with the problems and decisions these individuals must face.
Robert Gray, East Central Regional Library, Cambridge, MN
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A forthright portrayal of growing up gay."

About the Author
Alex Sanchez received his master's in guidance and counseling from Old Dominion University, and for many years he worked as a counselor of youth and families both in the United States and abroad. He received a "Flying Start" from Publishers Weekly for his work on Rainbow Boys, which was a Lambda Literary Award finalist as well as an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults. When not writing, Alex tours the country, talking with teens, librarians, and educators about the importance of teaching tolerance and self-acceptance. He lives in Rosslyn, Virginia.

Customer Reviews

Don't Pass Go, Buy This Book!
A worthy follow up to Rainbow Boys, Alex Sanchez's new book, Rainbow High, picks up mere weeks after the first story left off, continuing to chronicle the lives of three gay teens in their senior year of high school.

The boys, Nelson, Kyle, and Jason, all come from fairly different backgrounds, but share a common thread as they come to terms with the sexual orientation. Nelson, who is (if you'll pardon the pun) a drama queen, awaits results from his HIV test after an unprotected encounter in the previous book. His lifelong best friend, Kyle, has finally nabbed the "boy of his dreams," but faces an uncertain future as college looms. Jason, the jock basketball star, must face the slow realization of his own feelings and the reality of them becoming public. Set in suburban Alexandria, Virginia, Rainbow High invites the reader to become a part of the story, as though the next real phone call could be one of the boys calling for advice.

Sanchez's writing style has only continued to blossom and grow with this latest writing effort as he brings to bear his professional experience as a trained counselor and combines it with a strong emotional awareness and thoughtful presentation of his characters and their lives. Though the story is clearly written to be accessible to young readers, it is equally enjoyable for a more mature audience, with a fresh, light perspective so often lacking in gay fiction.

Lastly, and a true testament to Sanchez's skill as a writer, this sequel stands equally well on its own as an independent story. Though Rainbow Boys provides the back-story, it is not necessary to read the stories sequentially to enjoy them. Rainbow High is a great read and I highly recommend it. -- Andrew Barriger, author of Finding Faith.

Excellent Sequel
Alex Sanchez deserves a tremendous amount of praise for writing such an excellent sequel to his immensely popular Rainbow Boys. Two of Alex's signature writing methods shown through this time, too. Those being his succinct writing style and the rotation of the chapters where we get the point of view from Jason, Kyle, then Nelson.

By writing about three distinct personalities, Mr. Sanchez gave us a perfect way to easily follow their lives. And, whereas I felt the most for Jason in the first novel, this time I seemed to focus more on what Kyle was going thru. Perhaps this is what Alex wanted us to experience, I'm not sure. Regardless, his writing method worked.

Despite giving this story 5 stars, I felt that the interruptions that kept the boys from being intimate with others was a bit contrived. I believe that his boys should have been given more moments to be together (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) than the single instance between Kyle and Jason that was depicted (which was very tastefully done, BTW). Otherwise, the various interactions amongst the characters (boys and girls) was spot on.

Speaking as a writer and not as a reader, I have to say that one of the best parts of the construction of this story is how Mr. Sanchez builds the tension and conflict level as it progresses. Alex, you know what you're doing! It kept me turning the pages to find out how the different situations would be resolved.

And it's the end that leads me to think that this will be a trilogy at some point. Since one of the characters doesn't get his due yet, and Alex's stories are always upbeat, I hope he will continue the series to a positive conclusion.

Thanks, Alex, for your new contribution to our literature.

There Are No Surprises Here
Nelson, Kyle and Jason whom we met in RAINBOW BOYS are back again, pretty much as we knew them. Well, Nelson has gone from dying his hair lemon-lime to "flame-blue," an appropriate color since he is certainly the flamer of these three. He is the outrageous one who never had a chance of being in anybody's closet, even if he had wanted to. Kyle is still the shy one on the swim team who can "pass" if left alone. Jason, of course, is the high school jock equally attractive to both young men and women.

There are no surprises here. We pretty much know where Mr. Sanchez is going with his plot. Will Nelson break up with his new boyfriend Jason because he is HIV positive? Will Kyle go to Princeton rather than to a lesser university even though it means he will be separated from Jason? Will Jason come out to the other members of the basketball team? If he does, will he lose his college scholarship? Will they all attend the senior prom?

What this novel does extremely well is provide a story that gay teenagers can read and know that they are not alone, particularly those who live in out-of-the-way towns and attend small high schools. It is comforting to learn that RAINBOW BOYS was an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults.

As in the previous novel, there is information about all kinds of organizations and help for gay teenagers at the end of this novel.