I liked a lot of things about “Rainbow Black,” though I struggled at times with the author’s writing style. It’s the story of the fascinating and colorful life of Lacey Bond, the child of two hippie parents who ran a daycare called Rainbow Kids that got swept up in the Satanic panic mania dominating the U.S. at the time.

The story follows her life from childhood to a tangled adulthood, in which Lacey becomes Jo Scottish, a law clerk to an esteemed judge and a fugitive for fourteen in Quebec, Canada, from a murder she committed to protect Gwen, a transgender woman and now her girlfriend, who was being bullied by her half brother. In Quebec she rose from the streets to make for herself a glamorous life, and is an activist for separatism. The relationship with Gwen is complicated, unraveling at times under the weight of the secrets that drew them together.

The book is at its most interesting when it gets into the nitty gritty of manipulating the memory of witnesses and the fallout, often violent, of the victims who were wrongfully accused as they attempt to resurrect their lives in some semblance of normal. It reminded me very much of witch hunts or the McCarthy era. Anyone who was different got subsumed by the hysteria, and Lacey, aka the media’s infamous Satan Daughter, an out lesbian at a dangerous time to be queer, was a prime target.

I loved the complicated relationship between Jo/Lacey and Gwen, though they didn’t really act much like fugitives given the careers they chose. I liked the queer Bonnie and Clyde angle, and how they were imperfect, messy and toxic, but grew with each other through it all. I loved how they showed the homophobia of the time, Jo’s anger issues and recklessness, and the frank, sensitive handling of her first lesbian experience, with a former social worker who raped her. I also was fascinated with the evolution of her relationship with her parents.

I could tell the author got her start in memoirs because this read very much like a memoir, but Jo’s life was way more interesting than the plot itself. The pacing dragged a ton when Jo as narrator did way more telling than showing in much of the book. I could see this book working way better as a movie.

All in all this was a fascinating book, a story of love, redemption and courage, and a telling condemnation of mob mentality, with lots of relevance to current times.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

A quick read! It started off fast paced and interesting, but I thought it lagged in the second half unfortunately. A decent end however.

"rainbow black" is a wild queer thriller about a young girl at the center of her parents' trial and her life afterwards in canada. when lacey's parents are accused of child sexual assault, thirteen-year-old lacey believes they are innocent and fights viciously for them to be found not guilty. when the case goes sour, she runs away with her trans best friend to canada and they begin a life of their own there.

the queer themes in this novel are very strong. lesbian and trans identity is never questioned by thrash, but embraced. it's great to see a queer author write queer stories.

the first half of this novel was the strongest and most interesting. the second half is less engrossing and feels a bit out of place. we never truly get the answers we want; what did lacey's parents really do? what really happened to èclair? i enjoyed this novel, but the ending did not feel satisfying to me at all. if anything, it shows how disgusting the legal system is and how the wrong people get charged with the wrong crimes. yet, when it comes to lacey's parents, one must wonder if satanic panic caused the allegations, or if her father truly did hurt children.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.