I really liked this book. I've read a lot of coming of age/out books recently and this one did a good job. It was funny and serious without going overboard either way and the drama wasn't drawn out too long. I read it whenever I could, and sometimes when I should have been sleeping.

I read it as an advanced reading copy uncorrected proof. No glaring spelling errors like in some released books which sometimes throws me out of the story. The only thing that I expect the corrected final version will do is the conversations. There wasn't a lot of he/she said or Fred said. Most annoying when what was said was more than a few exchanges. Not even line breaks. It was just "Blah blah blah." "Blah blah blah" "Blah blah blah." "Blah blah blah." Had to guess who was saying what sometimes or count back to figure it out.

The Stone Rainbow explores small town narrow mindedness and ignorance as it pertains to youth trying to find their place in the world.

This book explores the thoughts of a young gay man, who is still struggling with his identity and has yet to tell his mom that he is gay. Enter a transfer student who comes from the city sharing his outward gay self. The two young men become friends, tragedy strikes, and in the wake of the tragedy, the town rallies to show support at a Pride parade.

Very smooth introduction to gay and disabled characters. A book every teen should read To
Understand no matter gender or sexuality everyone is unsure of themselves. Provides hope that there are many supporters of diversity.

I realised - at about 45% - that I probably should have read Caterpillars Can't Swim first before launching into this one. You can read this without any background knowledge to the first book (as I did) but I think I would appreciate the relationships more if I had the background knowledge that explains why Ryan and Jack relate to each other the way they do. 

Because this book did feel more about their relationship than Jack's budding relationship with Benjamin. And I actually really liked that aspect of the book, that it was about coming out and finding your first crush and learning to stand up for yourself and people like you, but it's also about a fragile but also very sturdy friendship. 

Reading the first book would have also given me a look inside Ryan's head (as it's his book). He's really hard to read in this book - which I think is just how his character is - but I'll have to go back and read his story. 

But regardless, it doesn't impact on the reading of this story - Shaw recaps enough of the first book (in relation to Jack) enough that you get what happened and you understand where Jack's mental state was at before coming into his own book.

What I liked about this book was it wasn't a straightforward romance. I'll be honest I wasn't even all that interested in the romance. Benjamin is a lovely character, very strong and brave and good for helping Jack find his footing, but it felt like he was more of a launchpad for Jack's personal growth than anything else. 

Like I said, Ryan felt like he played a far more important role in the book - but I suppose that's because he was always there. Benjamin was lovely, but I didn't really get the chemistry.

What I really liked was Jack's growth though. How he finds his backbone and his comfort-zones and how he goes from a bit of a quaking mess who says 'no' to kind of everything, to deciding he's going to go through with something HUGE and that's the end of it. 

His character growth felt natural and smooth and I just liked him as a character.

What I didn't particularly like was the ending. 

As in I feel like it could have benefitted from an epilogue. Could we not have seen the school dance - which was such a big deal for Jack for obvious reasons. How is his and Benjamin's relationship going to progress? How did his mother feel about the way he was dressed in that final scene? 

There were just lots of little questions that could have nicely wrapped things up if they'd been talked about in one extra chapter. The way it ended just felt a little too abrupt. Jack saw through his mission and that's the end of it - which it's totally not.

That's really the only problem I had with the book though. Other than that, it was a good, nice read that felt very real, and it was about Jack growing as an individual - not about Jack growing as one half of a couple and only within the confines of a couple... if that makes sense. 



Published 17 Sep 2019

ARC received via NetGalley from Second Story Press in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @netgalley and @_secondstory for providing me with this advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review. ⁣

Pub Date - 9/17/19
⁣
Review!

The Stone Rainbow by Liane Shaw is a captivating read. The reading style was great! But honestly i struggled with this one and my emotions were a bit all over the place. ⁣⁣
I had trouble connecting with Jack and some of the other characters, yet there were times i felt their demeanor and i was in tears.
Though i struggled with it something new happened (and i hope this is not confusing) For the first time ever i didn't connect with a story yet it left me mesmerized and pushed down walls/broke down barriers i didn't even know were up! It was definitely a character driven book and everyone had their own personalities and traits. ⁣⁣It was a powerful read. ⁣⁣
The authors message was very clear thought-out this entire book (read below) and i really appreciated that!⁣⁣
⁣⁣
"I don't live in a fantasy land where being gay is easy. It should be. I don't know why it isn't. Why would anyone care who I decide to spend time with?" and "I'll always have a different heaven from hers. In her heaven, everyone starts fresh, reborn into something better than before. Blind men can see, and the lame can walk...and I would guess the gays become "straight" if they make it that far." [Powerful in the declaration that some see "straight" people as better than "gay" people, that "straight" is something to aspire to.] And the more obvious parade rally cry, "Kindness rules": "If everyone just decides to treat everyone else with kindness, it all goes away. Intolerance,, disrespect, racism, homophobia, misogyny, bullying...all wiped out with one simple command. Be kind."⁣⁣
⁣⁣
I could see this being a big hit and for others to connect way better than i did. I would have rated this 3 stars BUT for how emotional it got me when no other book has when not connecting with characters i rate this ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5⁣⁣

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


“Pride is about acceptance. Accepting yourself and everyone around you. Pride parades celebrate everything that makes us different and everything that makes us the same.”

This is a really cute story with a great message for young readers. It highlights some of the struggles that people in the LGBTQ+ community go through, especially in a small town with little diversity. It also demonstrates to young readers that differences should be embraced and celebrated, which is encapsulated in the discussions and scenes involving Pride.

Though I felt that the plot and message of this book were strong, I had a few issues with the writing style. In my opinion, there was a little too much dialogue and not enough character development or descriptive imagery. I felt at times that we were constantly being told what was happening through conversations or the main character’s thoughts, rather than being shown through emotion and imagery.

Overall, I thought this was a nice, hopeful story that could serve as an introduction for young readers to pride and gay teenage characters in fiction. The writing style wasn’t for me, but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless!

The story of high school student Jack who is gay but has only come out to a few people including his mom and a few friends. He is really unsure of himself and what he wants to be and has had a crisis in the not too recent past; Jack also lives in a small town full of people with strong opinions against gay people. Not an easy place to be a gay teen. Jack meets Benjamin at school and falls for him immediately and they become friends. Benjamin is sweet, friendly and really colorful and really open about who he is. He has moved from a bigger town where people are more accepting. Benjamin suffers an attack by someone who is anti-gay and it is obvious. Jack is the only witness and help Benjamin to safety. After this terrible incident, Jack finds the inner strength to be more open and accepting of himself. He plans a pride parade in his little town and is amazed by the support and love he gets from his family, friends and other people in his town. He and Benjamin become closer and ultimately end up together. This is a great story about finding strength in the face of hardship because that is what Jack does. Kind of lengthy as far as dialogue and writing but a nice story in general.

I received an arc of The Stone Rainbow from Second Story Press via NetGalley but all opinions are honest and my own. (Thank you so much)

I absolutely loved this story. Liane Shaw’s writing style is gorgeous and I felt like I read the book in no time at all. The book is rather a character-driven but there are smaller plot points that weave together beautifully and enhances the overall plot.

Not only the character growth but the growth within relationships with family and friends was really great to see. There wasn’t a moment while I was reading where I wanted to put it down.

I’d highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartbreaking yet heartwarming coming-out story.

This was not for me. The writing style was not what I'm used to which is a darker, more serious tone.
Nevertheless, I am confident that there are people who will enjoy this book.

I wanted to like it, but I just couldn't. I couldn't connect to the characters. I am a huge huge sucker for world building, I don't want pages and pages of detail, but it is very much needed. This author loves dialouge, which is great, but entire pages of dialouge with nothing else, no mention of who is speaking, what they are doing while they are speaking, what is going on what they are thinking.. here is an example this is an entire kindle page on my phone:

“But liking him and dreaming about him is the fun part. Watching him in the halls. Looking forward to talking to him.”
“I’m already doing that, but I’m not so sure it’s fun. It’s pretty terrifying.”
“That’s okay. I was scared Ryan wasn’t going to like me.”
“Seriously? The guy is crazy about you. I’m pretty sure he was more scared that you wouldn’t like him. The way I’m scared Benjamin could never like me.”
“How can he not? You’re smart, talented, and gorgeous ! Those big brown eyes and that curly hair. Any guy would be lucky to have you!” I can see why Ryan’s obsessed with her. She’s beautiful and observant. Ha, ha. “Yeah, well, if I liked girls, I’d be giving Ryan a run for his money.”
“Listen to you all flirty. Try some of that with Benjamin and he’ll be all over you.”
“Yeah, right. I have no idea if he’s interested in me at all.”
“He told you he wants to be friends.”
“I guess. Listen, I’ll let you go. But I really appreciate that you’re talking to me about this stuff.”
“No problem. I’m sure Lucas would weigh in on things if you’re interested in his…unique perspective.”
“You mean the gay perspective ? Do you think that would help?”

the main character and a girl friend were facetiming on computer, this entire conversation got all muddled in my head, I was tired, i had to read it 3-4 times to figure out who was saying what, it's just SO easy to add little details, things like "Yeah, right. I have no idea if he's interested in me at all." he fiddled with his pencil nervously tapping it against the table, looking off to the side embarassed. or some crap like that. little details to break up the quotes of speech. That's all I'm saying.

and pages and pages of that made it hard to read, so I really had a very hard time getting into it, and unfortunately, I DNF it, I just couldn't get into it.

This is a love story, sort of.

It is a coming out story, more so, and it is about a pride parade.

Mostly it is the story of Jack, who is so far in the closet he has his back against the wall. He fears letting anyone know, and so keeps it to himself, and is miserable.

And then, there is Benjamin. The most beautiful man he has ever seen, and he is in love, and now he doesn't know what to do. Should he say something. Or should he suffer in silence.

What is interesting is, this could have been a "straight" forward love story, but the author chose to take it in a slightly different direction that would bring Jack kicking and screaming out of the closet, so to speak. But it all works, and I like how it was done.

This is actually the continuation of the story that started in the first book in the series <em><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1985874471" target="_blank">Caterpillars can't swim</a></em>. That is where we meet Ryan, who is disabled, and Jack's best friend. This first book focuses on what happened to Jack before the events in the current book, but it isn't necessary to read the first book first.

This is a good take on what life in a small town is like for a lot of LGBTQ people, and hopefully if others can read about the courage that Jack has, they too can find hope and courage.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

17 year old Jack is having a hard time in life at the moment. He recently came out to his mum and even though she's been trying to understand, she's having trouble with this unexpected news. His life becomes even more complicated when a new student arrives at school and sets off a spark in jack's emotions and feelings he had denied himself before.

I really enjoyed this story. I was first intrigued by the cover and the title. I didn't even read the description before I requested it; I just thought it looked beautiful and entertaining. The main focus of this novel is its characters; it is very character driven and we see a lot of development from them as well, which I think it important for this kind of story.

I think the author did a great job of addressing certain issues in this book, such as masculinity and mental health. I am enjoying reading a lot more books which upend the stigma of mental health issues and this was one of them. I also liked that the character of Cody could have been very stereotypical but instead was multilayered and multidimensional. I wanted to follow the characters even further, but I also wanted the side characters to be fleshed out even more so i could have understood them further.

The only negative I have to say about this book is that there have been a lot more LGBTQ novels written in recent years - I would have loved to read this kind of thing as a teenager, but unfortunately it wasn't available to me at the time. But with the growing trend of understanding and acceptance and tolerance towards LGBTQ, this book lacked slightly in being groundbreaking. When faced with books by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera, it can be hard to compete. I wish books like this had been available when I was younger; I feel I would have got a lot more out of it as a teenager. I think that younger readers who are just starting out with LGBTQ books would also find it more helpful and positive than I did.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and are in no way influenced.

A beautiful coming out story that will have you in tears, for the pain and the genuine heartfelt moments. The small town claustrophobia and bigotry is well done, the characters so relatable and real. A well written story and I really encourage everyone to read this.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Beautifully written and a real page-turner. I fell in love with this story and the characters. Couldn't put it down and was so invested into it. Hope it gets the hype it deserves upon release.

The Stone Rainbow
by Liane Shaw
Pub Date: 17 Sep 2019
Read courtesy of NetGalley.com

My first note to myself early in the book was, "As a straight person, I've been curious about this. Maybe I'll find out," in reaction to Jack wondering how to find out if someone he might be interested in is gay or not. It ends up that I don't explicitly "find out," due mainly to the fact that there's nothing to "find out." One simply asks someone, no different than a straight person finds out if a straight person is interested in return -- and sometimes the person isn't straight! People are people! (I also didn't find out because Jack's crush, Benjamin, isn't shy about liking other guys.)

The author's message is clear throughout the book. "I don't live in a fantasy land where being gay is easy. It should be. I don't know why it isn't. Why would anyone care who I decide to spend time with?" and "I'll always have a different heaven from hers. In her heaven, everyone starts fresh, reborn into something better than before. Blind men can see, and the lame can walk...and I would guess the gays become "straight" if they make it that far." [Powerful in the declaration that some see "straight" people as better than "gay" people, that "straight" is something to aspire to.] And the more obvious parade rally cry, "Kindness rules": "If everyone just decides to treat everyone else with kindness, it all goes away. Intolerance,, disrespect, racism, homophobia, misogyny, bullying...all wiped out with one simple command. Be kind."

At first I thought this was just a romance novel, which felt a little light and fluffy and not holding my attention, but it took a more serious turn. I found myself immediately drawn into things that happen in real life... and I cannot believe people do this to others. But they do, and the author offered a way to counteract violence with grace. This story didn't need to be written in great literary prose in order for a clear message and interesting story to come through.

This book was a sweet, fierce take on an LGBT+ coming out story.

I really enjoyed plot of the story, however the writing was a little lackluster in my opinion. A lot of the details were blatantly told to readers, not leaving a ton of room for reader interpretation. I think this made it hard for me to connect with Jack, as it was hard to see myself in him. The perspective of being so "in his head" made it pretty straightforward to interpret his thoughts and feelings.

Still a super great, emotional read and I think it's important to have on YA shelves.

Pros:

Jack and Benjamin’s relationship is enjoyable and well developed. I enjoyed Ryan, Jack’s closest friend, and Jack’s friendship, which was strengthened by the end of the novel. However, I would have liked more insight into the comic they were creating, because it seemed meaningful to both characters. Ryan and Cody’s friendship is also interesting. Several scenes are poignant. Jack is a decent protagonist.

Cons:

The writing style is bland; telling and filter words are frequent. In regards to characterization, Cody’s character weakened the novel for me. He never truly learns from his mistakes, despite the novel and characters insisting he changed. Another characterization issue is Jack’s lack of backstory. A particular incident occurred about a year ago, but none of Jack’s life before the event is revealed. Finally, a set of characters appear once at the beginning then show support for Jack at the end. Their support would have been more narratively rewarding if they were more significant characters.

While I wouldn’t read this novel a second time, it’s an entertaining book.

So I received this book for review from Netgalley, and all my opinions are my own.

First off, the writing style of this book is really great. I found it highly enjoyable. The characters were well rounded and believable.
However I ended up DNFing this novel about 70% of the way though, simply because I wasn't really connecting with the story itself. I am not a gay, male, teenager. Also this book was kinda sporty and I'm not exactly in that demographic either.
In conclusion: This book wasn't my thing, but I believe it has the potential to be a 5 star read.

That cover is beautiful, and so is this book. The small town bigotry felt grossly real, and it made my heart hurt for them. Not gonna lie, I got a little emo with a few of those scenes (the hospital!...).

Jack has had a tough year that included struggling with his sexuality. It's tough to be gay in his small town, with a mother who wasn't exactly thrilled when he came out. It's nice to see the character development as Jack and others realize how important it is to be open and inclusive.

Thank you to NetGalley and Second Story Press for the ARC.

Jack is a gay boy living in a small town. Although there are rumors circulating about his sexuality, he is in the closet to everyone but a few friends and his mother. Even though his friends and mom try to understand and accept him, things are awkward and uncomfortable and Jack feels alienated. Then, a boy named Benjamin moves to town and Jack finds himself intensely attracted. After a brush with near tragedy, Jack decides he can’t hide who he is anymore and decides to make a statement to himself, his friends, and his own.

I really liked this book a lot. Jack and his struggles felt very real to me. I totally understand what it feels like to come out and not be understood, or to declare who you are and not be accepted. I also loved his relationship with Benjamin. They were very high school, but it felt natural and real the way they interacted. The whole book was very authentic and full of real feelings.

I liked, too, that Jack was gay in a way I haven’t seen very much in YA recently. He wants to be fabulous and wear pretty clothes. Part of his coming out is gaining the courage to dress the way he wants and sparkle and shine.

I also really liked that the characters were very complex. There were characters who were kind homophobic when they talked but then took a stand for what was right and actually followed through and made choices that for them was tough. They were nuanced and, while not very likable, very real and ultimately admirable in their way.

This was an charming, realistic, and uplifting book about a boy coming of age and growing. It’s about a family who comes to not only love him but accept him and about a community coming together in pride