Rainbow Reviews

BOOK BLURB:
Fifteen years after his mother left town in disgrace, Malachi "Mally" Jacobs returns to Croy, Oklahoma to take care of his ailing grandfather. Outcast and abandoned, he knows nothing about his father, or why he and his mother left Croy shortly after he was born. Mally is taunted by the older boys and shunned by his classmates. But after a few false starts, he forms an unlikely alliance with Randy, a football player with dysfunctional parents, and Joanie, an intellectually curious and courageous girl who cannot face the truth about her own family. The three kids find a haven in each other that takes the place of their fractured families. But it's a refuge that has its costs. Randy's best friend, Red, harbors a jealousy that goes deeper than the loss of a football buddy, leading to ever more violent bullying of Mally. Randy's abrasive run-ins with Joanie blossom into romance, even as he uncovers the betrayals that underlie her seemingly perfect family, and Joanie's efforts to bring Mally out of his shell seem on a collision course with her hopes for a steady boyfriend. Ultimately, Joanie, Mally, and Randy must face the truth about themselves and each other, and take comfort in the bonds of true friendship.

BOOK REVIEW:
This is a complex and moving story about three friends and their struggles with family, friends, maturity and sexuality as they grow up. Over the course of a year, these three unlikely friends discover the bonds of friendship can be deeper than family and more lasting than blood. There are a lot of issues and themes dealt with in this book and it’s not a romance or a fantasy. It’s an honest and utterly raw look at small town life with its prejudices and benefits told through the eyes of three young adults as they come to terms with themselves and their lives.

Mally Jacobs has been an outsider all his life. Foisted onto an aging, judgmental aunt with a deeply religious background, Mally struggled to fit in amongst a catholic school where his absent mother’s refusal to let him partake in common activities and religious practices branded him as different from the start. When Mally’s neighbor and only friend is exposed as a homosexual, he is quickly shipped off to help his aging grandfather to “keep him out of trouble”. Yet a new school and different set of people only confirm Mally’s social ineptitude and further expose him to high school pranks and torments. His deeply intellectual mind and charming goofiness are well hidden against a tough exterior honed to survive the rigors of growing up as different. His struggle to understand and accept himself is heart warming.

Randy is a high school jock, excelling at football and track and keeping with a small group of friends who typify the sports attitude of semi-popular high school kids while picking on those less talented and outgoing. Randy however is far from a stereotype and is as complicated and thoroughly developed as Mally. Randy suffers from an unhappy home life with a disaffected and withdrawn mother and absentee father. He lives next door to Mally in what’s known as the “white trash” part of town, yet the moniker doesn’t come close to describing either young man. Randy has hidden depth with his slow growing love of poetry and unwitting kinship with the shy and awkward Mally. His attachment to the unlikely object of his affection rather than the popular pretty girl is a lovely look at first love.

Joanie is the daughter of a well to do pharmacist with a quirky and mostly well-adjusted family. She’s highly intelligent and curious with a fiery personality willing to stand up for what she believes in but has her own doubts and blind spots as well. Her insistence on a friendship with Mally brings the two boys together, just as her romantic feelings for Randy cement their relationship. Joanie is not without her own problems as she struggles with town gossip about her father’s affair with a high school cheerleader and her anger towards her friends and her family. Her sensitivity and compassion shine through in her actions just like her quick wit and fiercely loyal personality.

A well-rounded cast of secondary characters shows an amazing depth and complexity where each one is neither wholly good nor wholly evil but shows shades of gray throughout. From Randy’s mother and Mrs. Oldfield all the way to Joanie’s delightful and scene stealing younger brother, the author has imbued life and vitality to every character that graces the pages of the story. Difficult choices and human error are evidenced in each person as they all struggle with the reality of their life, the dreams of what can be or might have been, and the affects their actions and non-actions have on others.

The friendship between these three is the real cornerstone of the story as it evolves and changes with the problems and struggles each character has to go through. Randy and Joanie’s acceptance of Mally and his feelings for Randy is a truly poignant moment and typifies the core of their complex and intertwining relationships with each other. This was but one of many scenes within the book showing the hope for progress amidst common attitudes and prejudices without preaching or introducing an unbelievable utopia. With a raw honesty, the author shows how everyone is affected by the actions of others and nothing in life is ever easy. With equal attention paid to the positive aspects of the characters and their personalities and the negative behaviors they indulge in, this story is a powerful and genuine glimpse into the life of everyday people. The power of the book comes not only from the tight writing but also from the commonplace tale. Nothing happens to anyone that is out of the ordinary from any small town in the country.

The only negative aspect I found in the book is the formatting, which unfortunately was enough that I almost didn’t read the book – to my detriment. The poor formatting and/or editing is distracting from the solid story as sentences are occasionally confusing, point of view changes are abrupt and jarring, and there is a complete lack of punctuation. The lack of apostrophes and quotations marks confuses dialogue with inner monologue in combination with misplaced sentences. Once I understood the flow of the book and overlooked the grammar problems, the story gripped me from the opening scene to the last. But it did take no little effort to get beyond it.

The truly complex and three-dimensional characters make this a fabulous book and when combined with a moving, poignant, and well-written plot, this book is a must reads for fans of literature. The entire cast of characters is relatable and likable, even for their faults, and the topics presented timeless. The lack of proper editing is an unfortunate aspect for a book that is worthwhile reading. For those that can get past such issues, I highly recommend this story.

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