Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

The 25th Anniversary Edition of this seminal Young Adult novel underscores how far American society has come in these past twenty-five years, and how important it is that we never go back to more repressive times.

Rainbow Boys is the story of three turn-of-the-century high school seniors (in Virginia!), Nelson, Kyle and Jason. Nelson is out and proud despite the bullying he faces for embracing his differences. Nelson is a little in love with Kyle, his best friend, who’s also gay but not out like Nelson is. Kyle, however, has a crush on Jason, the basketball star who’s in a loving and sexually active relationship with Debra, the pretty girl who’s probably going to be homecoming queen.

But when Jason needs help getting his math grade up in order to graduate, he starts hanging out with Kyle, who’s both smart and a champion swimmer. Soon, Jason is questioning just how straight he really is, even as he and Kyle start getting closer. Nelson is jealous, but doesn’t want to lose his best friend either. As the three of them navigate love, friendship and fraught family lives, they’ll have to grapple with what it means to be true to yourself as well as the worth of self-esteem.

The answer to that last, of course, is everything. Being able to believe in yourself and in a world where you’re loved and accepted for who you are is truly a wealth beyond measure. You can’t make everyone love you, ofc, but the fundamental ability to live and love without being coerced or coercing others is a big deal, and frankly the singular ideal that this country was founded on. The implementation may have been far less than perfect over the ensuing centuries, but the promise of America is of a mutually tolerant society that continually strives to do better for all its people.

Even so, it’s easy for some in the year 2026 to forget how hard it used to be for anyone who was different in any way from the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant (and heterosexual) norm. A lot of minority folks have allowed themselves to be so subsumed into the dominant culture that they think it’s normal to spew abuse at those even less privileged than themselves, then are surprised when they become the recipients in turn of hateful words and actions from people they (mistakenly) thought viewed them as equals. Whether it’s tradwives complaining about feminists, right-wing minorities rallying against immigrants, or gays and lesbians campaigning against our trans brethren, these people seem to have blanked out decades of recent history in order to cede power to those who openly wish to discriminate against them and worse. Persecuting other minorities in order to ingratiate yourself with fascists only means that you’ve joined the line to be oppressed: it’s just a matter of time before you’re victimized too.

Fortunately, books like RB exist, and serve as a potent reminder of how even the recent past was way worse than life is now. It used to be so much more acceptable to be awful to minorities, and especially to gay people, whether through word or deed. This novel chronicles the lives of its three protagonists with a clear-eyed honesty that puts modern nostalgia to the sword. It can be tough to read, and not just because of the appalling homophobia that our main characters have to endure because it was so normalized back then. Nelson, Kyle and Jason feel like genuine seventeen year-olds making sometimes dumb yet always age-appropriate choices, especially given a sociopolitical climate that was just beginning to accept diverse sexualities. As a parent, I rolled my eyes at some of their more childish behavior while also acknowledging that these boys really are kids, at least for another year before they start taking on adult responsibilities. I also sighed in exasperation at their parents at times, who admittedly didn’t have the benefit of seeing as many healthy relationships modeled in the media as we do now.

And that is, frankly, another reason this book is so important, because it shows readers how to be a good parent (like Nelson’s mom) but also shows gay kids that good parents exist. The main issue between Kyle and his dad is poor communication, and this novel shows readers how to at least try to fix that. Ofc there are some relationships that are beyond fixing, barring huge personal reflection by the parent, but this book underscores the fact that children do not have to tolerate being disrespected or abused by the people who are supposed to love them the most. Being gay doesn’t make you a bad or unworthy person. That’s probably a “duh” to most people nowadays, but was definitely a revolutionary message when RB was first published. I also know that I’m super privileged to be able to say all this openly, living where I do just outside of Washington DC. Hopefully, I’m joining my voice to a wave that will sweep the world, so that one day in the not too distant future, no one gives a shit about who’s getting it on with whom as long as it’s all consensual and honest.

I can see why Alex Sanchez was initially resistant to having RB be published as YA, and why his agent felt just as strongly that it should. As someone who’s been reading the genre since the 80s, I can confidently say that this novel fits a very small subcategory of books that speak honestly about complicated adolescent feelings without making its characters feel unrealistically mature. Those were books that were important for me to read as a teenager. As an adult and especially a parent, I can see how the message of RB is important for adults to understand as well. The fact that this book is now being reissued is a testament not only to its longevity but to the importance of its voice and perspective to multiple segments of society.

This 25th Anniversary Edition features a spoiler-free foreword by Maia Kobabe, a 2026 Author’s Note and an interior plate of the original cover featuring Matt Bomer. The paperback also has the loveliest sprayed edges. As someone coming to it for the first time as an adult, RB may not have been the easiest read, but it was definitely one of the year’s most worthwhile.

Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez will be reissued tomorrow October 20 2026 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers and is available from all good booksellers, including