Audiobook

A decently crafted "what if" story - almost a collection of stories - that ties up its loose ends a little too neatly. But the characters are decently written and the idea is intriguing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It is set to be published in December 2021.

"Under the Rainbow" by Celia Laskey is not your usual LGBT novel, and I would be hard-pressed to pinpoint a genre for it, but maybe we all need to focus less on what a book's genre might be and more on the book itself.
It's certainly one of the most original novels I've read this year.
I'll admit the first chapter didn't impress me - the interactions between Avery and Jake felt contrived, unnatural: no real high school student speaks that way - but after that, the book improves fast, and quickly makes up for a bit of an awkward beginning. By the end of chapter one, I was intrigued; a handful of pages into chapter 2, I was hooked.
It's a very original idea to have a different protagonist (and narrator) in each chapter, alternating between members of the queer task force and the honest, God-fearing citizens of Big Burr, "the most homophobic place in America".
Not living in America myself, I have to wonder how much of this is true to life and how much of it is just the author going overboard to make her point.
It was certainly a thought-provoking read--sometimes touching, sometimes funny, and consistently thought-provoking.
It reminded me a bit of "Nothing Can Hurt You" by Nicola Maye Goldberg, in that "Nothing Can Hurt You" is also a choral novel told by all different narrators, one for each chapter, and it's also been heavily criticised because of the author's highly unusual narrative choices.
Overall, I really enjoyed "Under the Rainbow"--I think it's a must-read for anybody who is queer or wants to understand queerness and how to support queer people.
I'm definitely going to keep an eye out for the author's next works because her original writing style is very promising.

Really lovely, not at all as contrived as the summary makes it sound. As someone who grew up in a small town but now lives in a big city, it captures well the feeling of going home to what can sometimes feel like another world. Queer characters have enough depth to feel real, even though most don’t get a lot of time due to the narrative structure.

Under the Rainbow reads like a YA novel. Although I found it entertaining, I think it would have been much better with less characters and a deeper look into this premise.