Under the Rainbow tells the story of small minded small town Big Bur and the events that unfold when the LGBTQ+ activist task force, Acceptance Across America (AAA), arrive in an attempt to broaden the minds of those around them. 

The book is based on a collection of interconnected stories told from a series of points of views of the residents of Big Bur and the members of AAA. As each story unfolds it is clear to see that the AAA have a huge uphill battle on their hands as there is a large amount of deep rooted bigotry in parochial Big Bur. Slowly, one by one we are left into the minds and lives of those who call Big Bur home, both existing and new residents and we begin to see they all have a lot more in common than they would like to think.

I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the staunch Big Bur heads against the free thinking taskforce and found it showed a lot of the harmful stereotypes that exist. The book is full of a multitude of flippant comments such as "too pretty to be lesbians", "at least it's not two men" and "but you look like a nice girl" and I think they're thrown about deliberately to make the reader realise just how easily these type of comments are thrown about in everyday society. 

The book isn't without flaws there's one particular chapter which is literally your stereotypical male fantasy of two lesbians detailed which seemed pretty gratuitous.

Books like these I think are a great starting point for conversations and to get different groups of people talking, especially those who are a little bit more reluctant to read books on the topic of the LGBTQ+ community.

I switched between the book and the audiobook and both worked perfectly. The audiobook is absolutely fantastic with a full cast for each of the characters and it really brings the flaws of some of the characters to life.

A really enjoyable look at small town views and how sometimes with work they can be changed for the better.

Is it too early to call my favorite book of 2021? Yes. But, I have a feeling this will be at the tippy top of my favorites for this year. So hopeful and inspiring, I loved every minute of this charming story. It balances hard hitting and cozy really well. Brilliant!