Massive thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC.

Rainbow Black follows Lacey Bond, a 13-year-old girl hailing from New Hampshire, as she navigates life in the early 90's. When the Satanic Panic hits home, Lacey is ripped from everything she knows and loves. With her parents on trial for unspeakable crimes, Lacey is swept up in the mass hysteria sweeping the nation. It's not until another horrific crime occurs that Lacey must face the truth of her own existence and make a choice that will change the course of her life forever.

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started this book. All I knew about it was satanic panic and queerness, and gosh, did it deliver. Rainbow Black is a stunning adult fiction debut that delivers blow after blow. It's an arrestingly heartbreaking story of childhood innocence ripped and shredded, and how violence is born of both evil and circumstance.

Maggie Thrash has so excellently developed a cast of characters, each voice so painfully poingant and fascinating. They're queer, thrilling, and wrought with so much disaster and hardship that it's hard not to sympathize. To make it even better, they're stuffed inside a narrative that is entirely riveting. Written in the style of a memoir, it's easy to get lost in the poetically monsterous beauty of Lacey's story.

This book moves at near breakneck speed. It's wildly thrilling, with each page offering up a new piece of a very dangerous puzzle. The book does well at cultivating an immensely dark and tense atmosphere that's as captivating as it is horrific, diving deep into the naivety of being a child, and how dangerous it is when that's ripped away. Violence begets violence, and Rainbow Black never shys away from it.

While the second half of the book seemingly slows the pace a little, never once is the story tedious or lacking in excitement. It's darkly funny at times, frighteningly haunting at others. At the end of the day, Rainbow Black is a stunning observation on media outrage and the culture surrounding its obsession, as well as a startling commentary on how society often ostacizes anyone who dares to be different.

I highly recommend checking out this book if you're in the market for an exciting and gut-wrenching thriller about moral panic and the horrors of a kid lost to a failing system.

Thank you author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book!!

Ok, listen, I was totally in a reading slump going into this so it took me a while! Also timeline jumping is honestly pretty annoying because I feel like there’s a point when you don’t really know what going on before it really clicks into place and I kinda hate it every time.

Aside from that I loved this book! The main character was raised by parents who leaned into the New Hampshire “Live Free or Die” type of spirit and this book is feels like a dark joke about that. I mean it’s about how she and her family just fought the system again and again. Not to mention the name of the book also adds to it cause it all is just an oxymoron. I LOVED the connection to the main character, I felt so extremely attached and almost protective of her. Also I’m just going to say the queer representation in the book is flawless and feels effortless. Some books make representation feel so forced and that’s not this. I love reading books about queer people that aren’t romances just for that reason.

I loved this so much! The LGBTQ+ rep and Satanic Panic mix was perfectly done. I think this will have a really passionate audience, I've never read anything quite like it.

I genuinely think that this story was well-written and fulfilled what the author was trying to do, but God, was it a joyless read. Everything just gets darker and even worse as the story goes on, and it doesn't let up. It wasn't a fun read for me, and actually kind of put me in a dark mood. But, as I said, I know this wasn't meant to be a fun read. It was effective and seemed very grounded in reality, but I don't know who I would recommend this to.

I DNFd this one.
I'm so sorry to say it. I really wanted to like it and yet, I'm still thankful to the publisher and the author for granting me advanced digital and physical access to this one before publication day.

RAINBOW BLACK was a bit of a rollercoaster, or maybe two rollercoasters, but you're not necessarily going to like both rollercoasters equally. Maggie Thrash writes queer people so vividly, messily, and alive—Lacey, especially, is about as unreliable of a narrator as you can come by, and honestly she's a thrill to read. I really enjoyed the first half of the book, set during the Satanic Panic, because Lacey is a child who clearly doesn't understand everything that's happening around her. It's compelling, and I think Thrash really demonstrates her chops as a young adult writer.
But the second half represented a pretty major genre shift that I wasn't expecting when I picked up Rainbow Black. I think I probably would have enjoyed it as a separate novel, because Lacey's adult life is also fascinating, but there wasn't the same resonance for me. The ending felt a little rushed, but I did enjoy its ambiguity.

During the Satanic Panic rage, thirteen year old Lacey’s parents are arrested as satanists and pedophiles. The accusations become mass hysteria for America. Lacey makes a decision from the chaos that changes her life forever.

This is one of my favorite reads this year so far. It’s so well written, with beautiful poetic prose at times, but also a deeply moving and emotional story. It is a coming of age during the worse of times, and not only will you fall in love with the many character but also several secondary characters as well. Unfortunately for me, a few of my favorite characters do not continue throughout the book, but they remain a part of the plot. This is one that will deserve a re read.

“What else was there to do but scream and scream until the universe acknowledged your pain, or you died, or you accepted that no one would ever hear you?”

Rainbow Black comes out 3/19.

This novel based on and set amid the Satanic Panic of the 80's and 90's is hilarious and ghoulish—snortingly funny, in a way that made me feel somewhat guilty. It's audacious, uproarious, uncompromisingly queer, and macabre, like an R-rated Addams Family. There are lines I am still snickering at a month later, which somewhat lightens the horrors I can never unread. Rainbow Black's prose is unflinching, in every way, staring down grisly horror, dreadful abuse and negligence, and ghastly, cringeworthy precocious adolescence. Only you can decide which is the most traumatic!

The book is set in New Hampshire during the 90s satanic panic, which is what had me intrigued especially as it’s marketed as a murder mystery. The MC/narrator’s parents are beloved in their community until hysteria of the Satanic panic cause accusations to be thrown against them.

The book had a very slow start and didn’t ever grab my interest. Writing feels disjointed with more telling than showing. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters, they’re all morally grey and the disjointed writing makes them a bit disconnected from us as readers. You never really know what to believe because the narrator is a child for the first part, which I did enjoy that aspect.

So many slurs especially in terms of homophobic slurs and ableist slurs-I get that it was the time period but it felt overwhelmingly icky and unnecessary at times.

More lit fic coming of age than the thriller/mystery like it’s listed as on goodreads and what I was hoping for 😭 I sooo badly wanted to love this!! If it was marked correctly as being lit fic and didn’t say it’s a murder mystery in the synopsis, then maybe I would’ve gone in with different expectations but when I first picked it up I wasn’t in the mood for a coming of age story. I set it aside and came back when I felt ready to read it but the writing style still isn’t working for me so sadly it’s a DNF at about 22%

This book was a crazy ride from beginning to end. I wasn’t alive for the “Satanic Panic” nor around for most of the heavy homophobia and transphobia in this area as I’m from Massachusetts. So this book really hit close to home for me.

The entire time I was reading this book I just kept thinking to myself “holy shit what the fuck” because it seems so insane for the world to be so delusional and in wide spread hysteria.

I felt transported to the era and like I was experiencing all of the events for myself.

I know the year is young, but I have a strong feeling Rainbow Black will be my favorite read of 2024. The story follows Lacey, a teenager whose parents are swept up in the false accusations that ran rampant during the Satanic Panic. From the moment they are arrested, Lacey's life spirals out of control. Rainbow Black follows Lacey and her family from the late 1980s all the way through the mid-2000s with a story that is more relevant than ever. The book's well-developed and complex LGBTQ characters also make this a winner for me. Rainbow Black is a book that defies genre, it is certainly beautiful and heartbreaking literary fiction, but it is also a thriller, a romance, and so much more. Read it, its one of those books you won't be able to stop thinking about. I feel like I know the characters. Even though I've finished the book, I still find myself thinking about what they're up to.

There are two halves to Rainbow Black, both great, but unfortunately they don't really go together. In the first half(ish), Lacey is constantly faced with adversity, raw deals, and aggression. It's a tough life, and you're hoping she gets a break. In the second half she is now Jo, and much less sympathetic. Is that due to her experiences in the first half? The connection isn't successful.

If you pick this up based on the brief description, understand that it's only part of the story.

Thank you, Netgalley and Harper Perennial, for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for an ARC of this book, coming out Tuesday, March 19th, 2024.

When I say I devoured this book, I truly mean it. Part fictional memoir, part queer Bonnie & Clyde, and part coming-of-age story, RAINBOW BLACK is less of a murder mystery/satanic panic thriller and more of a rumination on why our culture is so obsessed with and picks apart at anyone who might be even the slightest bit different to the "norm". I really appreciated just how darkly funny this was and how Jo was often times at odds with herself, which made her an utterly enthralling narrator.

Also loved the use of Queer Time as a means to structure the entire book.

My favorite book of 2024 SO FAR!

As a fan of Maggie Thrash since Honor Girl, I was delighted to hear about her adult debut, Rainbow Black. I've always loved Maggie's sly humor, cutting observations, and sharply drawn characters, and Rainbow Black beyond exceeded my hopes! Like Maggie's YA graphic novels, Rainbow Black is at once an intense character study of a young woman whose life has been torn apart and a scathing look at the way homophobia poisons a society. It's dark, visceral, and gritty. It's also the best thing I've read this year.

Describing Rainbow Black is difficult to say the least, but I'm going to try, because "you need to read this" is definitely not enough: Lacey is the daughter of hippie daycare owners who are a little strange for their conservative town, but still beloved...until the Satanic Panic accusations strike. Now, Lacey's world is turned upside down: her parents are arrested, she's left with her flighty older sister Eclair and her parents' lawyer Aaron, and stuck picking up the pieces. The first part is utterly gripping, from the trial itself to the mess left in the wake of it. But it's the second half where the pieces really come together for me. Set years after the trial, adult Lacey, now called Jo, is living in Canada as a lawyer with her partner Gwen, when their life is upended by the past.

I can't stress enough how amazing this novel is, but I think one of my favorite things is the representation. Even though it's set in the 90s and early 2000s, queerness is central (trigger warning, so is period-typical homophobia). Lacey is a lesbian and her partner Gwen is transfemme. It feels very much like a "we're here, we're queer" book, and, as someone always on the hunt for historical representations of queerness, I am HERE for it. It's everything I've grown to expect from a Maggie Thrash book. I do not know what she'll come out with next, but I can't wait, and I just know this is going to find a place on my shelf.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Perennial, and Maggie Thrash for giving me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I loved this. I actually could not stop reading it is sooooo White Oleander for lesbians. The most awful things happening but still being believable and understandable and written in such an amazing way This is amazing I love it so much

Thank you to Harper Perrenial and NetGalley for the ARC!!!!!

This book takes place during the satanic panic. It's a small town and Lacey, the main character, her life gets turned upside down when her parents are arrested. She is suddenly outcast from her friends at school, she feels alone and doesn't seem to quite understand the severity of the situation. We follow Lacey through this and into adulthood where she suddenly finds herself facing the consequences of her own actions from when she was 14.
I enjoyed the first part of this book. However, Lacey kept giving bits and pieces away of what she did when she was 14. Then, it felt as if it took too long to get to what she did. Then it felt even longer to get to the consequences of her actions. It just felt too drawn out for me.
I did enjoy the writing style and it definitely made me feel like I was back in the 90s. Definitely check your triggers before reading this.

What an intense saga! I've never read such a brutal and moving account of the real victims of Satanic Panic, and the queer-folks-teaming-up-to-do-crimes angle is one of my favorites. I hope this author continues writing novels!

This book had me at Satanic Panic. Set in the 90s in a small New Hamshire town, Lacey’s parents get swept up in accusations and moral panic which leaves Lacey to mostly fend for herself. The book covers Lacey’s life from childhood to adulthood as institutions continue to fail her and she takes justice and her future into her own hands.

This book truly has it all - unreliable narrator (because she’s a child), murder, lesbian fugitives, Canadians. This was a really interesting and engrossing read, but I did enjoy the first two-thirds more than the last.

Take equal parts coming of age story, murder mystery, and international Gay fugitive love story and you have "Rainbow Black" Maggie Thrash.
The story starts out during the 90s Satanic Panic, when Lacy, our lead is just 13 years old. Her world is turned upside down when her hippie parents are faced with alarming accusations based on the hysteria gripping the nation. Thrash keeps the suspense high with many twists in the story, and showing us a horrific breakdown of what happens to a child with the wrong people in charge of "helping" and the many infuriating aspects of our justice system.
That isn't all this story is about however, there is a murder mystery that leads to a decision that further changes the trajectory of Lacy's life and lands her in a different country running from her past. As we all know, you can't run, the past always comes back, and Thrash again, twists and turns the story for us and holds our interest until the very last page to see what the outcome will be.
More realistic than fictional happy endings for all, this was a very satisfying read that I didn't want to end. The standout theme of this book that kept appearing for me was identity and its many many forms.

I loved the premise and was excited to read the book. It was so funny and weird. I loved the main character. The pacing was a bit slow at times. Overall, I enjoyed the story and writing.