BookishEnds Review
Rating: 4 Stars
Review
“What was the point of going to marches, yelling and screaming and crying at the injustice, if I wasn’t going to come back and fight for myself?”
Taylor
I love how social issues were at the forefront of Rainbow and impacted the way that Taylor and Melony operated in the world and with each other. Their Blackness was just as important as their sexuality and Arzu showed the intersectionality of their identities so well. Melony was headstrong and wasn’t afraid to ask for what she wanted. Taylor was more timid and didn’t want to rock boat which made her suppress a part of herself. Taylor was so focused on the wrong things, and I just wanted to shake her sometimes to make her realize that she just as important as her goals. I think her caring about getting into the WNBA was great, but when you start hiding your emotions and feelings until you get to your breaking point, you’re not handling them well.
I also loved the idea that you can have a whole community behind you, but you have
to accept them and want to be open with them. It’s not good to keep parts of yourself hidden to everyone, so finding those people who will love the authentic you is so important, and I thought it was great how that was highlighted in the novella. As someone who has a fear of rejection, I really related to Taylor’s struggles with expressing her identity and feelings towards Melony. I also enjoyed how the novella was divided into quarters and the way basketball was central to the story. I love the film Love & Basketball, so getting to read what feels like a queer companion to that was so cool. Overall, I thought this story contained equally moving and funny parts, and I very much enjoyed Arzu’s writing.