RAINBOW! VOLUME 1

A teen works her way through anxiety, bullying, and her mother’s substance abuse but also experiences love in this coming-of-age series opener.

Boo Meadows, a robustly imaginative fat 17-year-old with pale skin and red hair, wishes she were a fashionable, magical monster fighter. In reality, she’s an ordinary high school senior who works as a waitress and can’t seem to stay focused in class. Her awkwardness isn’t helped by her classmates’ unkindness or the fact that she’s the one keeping her family afloat financially due to her mom’s persistent issues with drugs and alcohol. When Mimi Rosero, a new girl with brown skin, green hair, and an ultra-cool attitude, moves to town, Boo can’t believe they could ever become friends. This budding, possibly romantic, relationship provides the hopeful emotional core of this graphic novel. Despite its pastel color-scape, the story depicts weighty themes such as parental abandonment and mental health issues. The book has some viscerally tragic moments, and this opening volume offers no easy resolution and an ending that feels somewhat arbitrary, but the quick pace, inclusive cast, and inviting illustrations will make it appealing even to reluctant readers. Teens will be curious to see where the next entry of this series, which launched on Tapas Media, will take this intimate, unflinching, and vividly drawn tale.

Realism that doesn’t shy from heavy subjects, portrayed with imagination and heart.