Under the Rainbow by Celia Laskey

This book came out recently. I read it and it was amazing!!! It had come out at my local library as part of LGBTQ Awareness Month. For those who don't know, this stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. Lately, the letter Q has been added, which refers to Questioning, which means you don't really know where you fall, whether it be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Overall, great book. But not alot of people are interested in a book where it centers heavily around the LGBTQ communities. But, I can safely say that anyone who is part of the LGBTQ communities are awesome with me!

Summary

Big Burr, Kansas. Modern day. Labeled as "The Most Homophobic Town in America", a nonprofit organization called Acceptance Across America, whose sole goal is trying to gain acceptance between those in the LGBTQ communities and straight communities, sends in a queer task force to live and work among the locals for two years. As time goes by, the townsfolk and the task force members come to accept one another as they are. Told from the point of view of both townsfolk and task force members, they come to eventually accept the newcomers and see things in a new light. Some of the townsfolk include Avery, a teenager from Los Angeles whose mother Karen, an open lesbian, is the head of the task force. Or Gabe, a big game hunter who is macho on the outside, but is secretly fighting his closeted homosexuality. Some of the task force members include Harley, a black transgender fighting with identity, whether she is actually a he or he is actually a she. Or David, an openly gay man whose Hispanic partner Miguel uprooted them from New Mexico to Big Burr, Kansas to help care for his elderly father Arturro.