Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - Under the Rainbow

Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey

10 reviews

seventhswan's review

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I found this book strange, and ultimately not for me, but that's not to say it's badly written. In fact, I thought the writing was really solid and very clearly illustrated a world I have almost no idea about. My big problem with the book was that it tried to fit so much in - it was SO melodramatic, like a soap opera, but with none of the lighthearted vibe that makes soap operas work. Perhaps this really is what small towns in Kansas are like, but I struggled to believe it (though maybe that's just me being naive!). I also found the sexual content to be weirdly... off? I'm not a prude about sex in fiction but something about it really didn't work for me.

I did enjoy the varied cast of characters but I wish we would have got to spend more time with a few of them, rather than a small snapshot of several. So much more could have been done with, for example, Avery

adjusting to life as a wheelchair user

or David and Miguel's relationship. I also thought that the book was falsely advertised - from the blurb I was expecting a lighthearted comedy-drama, but what I got was a lot of graphic descriptions of hate crimes and only a partial HEA. The structure of the book was more like a collection of related/overlapping short stories than one narrative with a cohesive plot.

Laskey is a talented writer and I'd give another of her books a go! It's a shame this story didn't work for me.

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apersonfromflorida's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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abbie_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.0

It’s been ages since I read a book told entirely in different POVs! With the exception of one who we hear from twice, we only get a chapter with each of the characters in Under the Rainbow, a snapshot of life in Big Burr, the most homophobic town in America, told from multiple perspectives. Strangely for me, I found the chapters from the younger characters the most compelling. A few of the adults felt interchangeable, and I also felt like Laskey’s writing excelled more when she was writing from a queer POV. The chapters where she narrates from one of the homophobic residents didn’t feel as effective, though I understand why she wanted to include them.

The concept is this - a taskforce of queer folk from Acceptance Across America is sent to the most homophobic town in the US to try to make change. I appreciated that it wasn’t all twee and everyone became great pals by the end of it, because that’s unfortunately not how life works. The change is incremental, the task force members grow frustrated, come up against countless walls and residents unwilling to change their outdated mindsets. But the last chapter did make me happy - a reminder that even if you feel like you’re getting nowhere, standing up for what’s right can help even one person live the life meant for them.

Engaging - a good one to pick up if you’re feeling slumpy!

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Under the Rainbow is the story of what happens when a group of LGBTIQA+ activists move into the most homophobic town in America and try to bring about change. It unfolds over two years from the perspectives of 11 different characters, some activists, some townsfolk adamantly opposed to their work, and some in the middle . I enjoyed the range of perspectives but this meant the book provided breadth not depth and didn’t really offer anything new or insightful. Entertainment rather than educational unless you are a straight reader just beginning to explore LGBTIQA+ issues via literature.

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stacy_85's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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amandalorianxo's review

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challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Centered around a small town in the middle of nowhere Kansas, we encounter various people's little snippets of their lives as a task force is sent over to assist this town in figuring out why it's been considered the most homophobic and how could a select group be able to establish acceptance? I did like the that we were able to get a peek at not only the members of the task force but also some of the community members well. I do believe that the epilogue that goes with this story could have been fleshed out more and I would have liked Karen and Avery's POV's although seeing them from other's peoples perspectives probably painted a better picture for the audience as a whole.

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amy__'s review against another edition

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4.0

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cwatson1234's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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travelseatsreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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.

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emilyeehaw's review

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emotional hopeful

Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

OPRAHHHHHH THAT WAS SO GOOD. literally read this in less than 12 hours, i enjoyed it so much.

the multiple perspectives, the entire premise of this book….MM! chef’s kiss. i loved getting to read from various people in big burr and how they were impacted by the lgbt taskforce coming to town. i loved how the stories were interwoven together and how characters would make appearances in others’ perspectives.

i would have loved to have gotten updates on all the people whose perspectives we read from, but i was content with ending the book with gabe’s pov. i think it did a nice job of showing how the taskforce was able to make changes on individual levels, which is just as important and necessary as the wide-spread changes that are so often focused on as being the most pressing issues. having more updates on the various perspectives would have given me more of a sense of closure but still..

good stuff!!

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