Alex Sanchez is the author of the young adult novel Rainbow Boys, now available in a 25th anniversary edition. He lives in Thailand and in Florida.
Q: How did this new 25th anniversary edition of your classic novel Rainbow Boys come about?
A: Twenty-five years ago, Simon & Schuster was the only major publisher willing to take a chance on the manuscript. They saw it as groundbreaking for its upbeat portrayal of queer teens.
Now, at a moment when LGBTQ+ themed books are being challenged and banned like never before, I’m thrilled that S&S continues to champion inclusive literature for young people. Hooray!
Our country has come so far in advancing equal rights, and yet we need to constantly defend those rights—including the right to read. The anniversary edition celebrates the book’s part in the cultural change of the past 25 years, introduces the story to new readers, and reminds us of our need to keep striving for social justice.
Q: How did you create your characters Jason, Kyle, and Nelson, and how have readers reacted to them over the years?
A: The trio evolved out of facets of myself. Jason embodies my teenage-angsty insecurities. Kyle is my shy observer self. Nelson personifies my defiant rebellious streak. Together, the boys reflect my lifelong challenge to reconcile those three aspects of myself, much like the characters struggle in the three Rainbow novels.
Q: In an author’s note you wrote for the 25th anniversary edition, you said that the book's biggest audience has been straight teenage girls. Can you say more about that?
A: Cute boys on the original cover definitely helped! Beyond that, there’s the fact that girls comprise the biggest teen readership, and most of those girls are straight. Girls in general tend to be more open to finding out about people who are different from themselves.
There’s also the reality that so many young people now have LGBTQ+ friends, relatives, and parents. Combined with that, so many girls are huge social justice champions. Straight girls are the initiators and leaders of many, if not most, Gender and Sexuality Alliances in schools.
And lastly, straight teen girls love to read about something they’re endlessly curious about—teen boys. The fact that the rainbow boys are gay brings all those factors together!
Q: In the introduction to this new edition of the book, author Maia Kobabe writes about the attempts to target books like Rainbow Boys. What do you see looking ahead when it comes to censorship and banning of books with LGBTQ+ themes?
A: Surveys show that the vast majority of Americans oppose censorship and book-banning, so I’m frustrated that we have let things get to this point, but here we are. We need to uphold our democracy and stop allowing a small vocal minority to undermine our rights.
Although the future seems crazy-unpredictable, I trust that we’ll restore our freedoms of speech and expression, including the freedom to read.
Q: What are you working on now?
A: A memoir about growing up gay and a Mexican immigrant.
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Only that this anniversary edition celebrates not just Rainbow Boys, but its role in helping to open the door for the many other LGBTQ+ books and authors that have followed. I’m grateful to all the young (and older) readers, parents, teachers, and librarians who have made that reality possible. Thank you!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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