Loud and Proud

This week’s reading efforts have been entirely frustrated by the fact that my life suddenly got very busy. Who knew? It’s not like I am formally employed, bustling through each day with a gaggle of kiddies or a pile of paperwork. Nope. I am currently very unemployed and have but one child in tow, albeit a brilliantly spirited one. Yet, somehow, my world became demanding, my time short and as a result my reading time almost non-existent.

Now, I’m not complaining, because honestly I live in a relatively relaxed world, so a little busy is a good thing, but I am giving you is a heads up. A warning, if you will. Today’s entry will be short. Just one book read, and a short one at that. However, this one comes with a headline! So, sit back and enjoy.

Gay author no longer welcome to address N.B. students.

A couple of weeks back I came across this headline while surfing my online paper. Posted on CBC News, the article told of how a presentation by the award winning author Alex Sanchez was being cancelled due to parental pressure. Why, you ask? Well, aside from being a successful author with several well received young adult books to his credit, Alex Sanchez is also gay – openly and proudly gay. His presentation was on the topic of tolerance with a mission to bring together the community in a movement towards acceptance thus helping gay youth feel less isolated. Apparently, a few parents objected to such a racy topic being discussed with their children in school. A morally challenged area by some, the topic of gay youth was too overwhelming for these adults and sent them into a frenzy of opposition. It was unfortunate and pitiful. Thankfully, however, Mr. Sanchez was allowed to give his presentation in a local church (oh, the irony!) where many of the students and residents of the school district were allowed to finally hear his message.

I came away from these articles (‘cause there was a second article in the following week’s paper – did I mention that?) having made two discoveries. First, we are a tolerant people after all because, despite the small amount of opposition, there was an overwhelming amount of support for Alex Sanchez and his message, not only from the local student body but from people all across Canada. What pride I have in both – tolerance and acceptance is apparently very much alive in our country.

Then another discover, not quite as pleasant and certainly embarrassing. I had absolutely no clue who Alex Sanchez was! I had never heard of him, never read anything by him and was now biting at the book covers to read anything he had published. So, with a ‘hats off’ to the old adage, “all publicity is good publicity”, I quickly ran out to get his first book, Rainbow Boys and was fully rewarded for my efforts.


Rainbow Boys
Author: Alex Sanchez
Edition published by Simon Pulse, 2003

Alex Sanchez has clearly embraced the Judy Blume way!

Written with sincere honesty and absolute devotion to all that is awkward about being a teenager, Rainbow Boys is a wonderfully sensitive account of what that life is like for a gay teen. While respecting audience naïveté, Alex Sanchez never avoids the possible discomfort of revealing truthful facts and in doing so he introduces his readers to the realities of adolescent self-discovery.

Rainbow Boys focuses on three high school seniors, Jason, Kyle and Nelson. Each boy has reached an individual point of sexual awareness. Jason, the highschool jock, has just begun to realize his true sexual orientation and is trying to acclimate to all that this knowledge brings forth. Kyle knows he is gay but is struggling to reveal his secret to those closest to him while is best friend Nelson is flamboyantly gay, hiding from no one but forced to face daily the ignorance and intolerance his openness provokes. Albeit dipped in cliché stereotypes, these characters inspire their audience towards courage, self-worth and acceptance. In reading the book, we learn with them how affecting their self-realizations are and Alex Sanchez does not stop there. Taking it further than his main characters, he extends the story telling to include the emotional and social impact on their friends and family thus giving us a glimpse of what challenges society presents to all.

Much like Judy Blume, Alex Sanchez maintains a light atmosphere in his story-telling way. With intent I am sure, he balances the seriousness of the topic with the not-always-so-serious adventures of a teenager’s life thus allowing his readers to naturally absorb all that he was sharing. With recognition that adolescence is an incredibly awkward stage for any, Alex Sanchez’s Rainbow Boys is anything but self-conscious. Instead, he has written a beautifully revealing book that eases his readers through the life and challenges of gay teens, parting with the secrets and shedding the shadow of ignorance as he moved his pen across the page. Very simply put, he tells the story of Jason, Kyle and Nelson; three young men trying to find out who they are and where they belong, ultimately a quest we all share.

Favourite line from the book…

Jason took a deep breath, opened the door and stepped inside. Page 233