Rainbow! Volume 1
Written by Sunny
Illustrated by Gloomy
Scholastic Graphix
March 5, 2024
Age 12 and up

Pink hair. Vivid imagination. Magical girl, not really. Adolescent Boo Meadows is an ordinary girl who has trouble focusing on the real world. She fights monsters and dances gracefully at glittering balls in her daydreams. In real life, she fights her alcoholic mother, school, and work stress. She has a fiery crush on Mimi, the cool new girl at school. As Boo becomes closer to Mimi, she must decide the path to take in their relationship. Should she linger in her daydreams or follow her heart into the real world?  

The author, Sunny, creates a kindhearted and quirky character in Boo Meadows who teenagers will admire in this character-driven story. Boo lacks confidence but works hard as a waitress to support herself and her single mother. Boo gains faith in herself when the boss gives her more responsibilities at work, and when she observes Mimi defending herself against “a total creep, an A-class jerk” (p. 84) at school. Boo’s newfound confidence allows her to explore her relationship with Mimi and to confront her abusive mother. “Well, when I’m not home in the morning, you can feel what I feel every day when I don’t know where you are” (p. 157). Anime inspired illustrations with a pink, purple, and mint green color scheme and cover art reminiscent of the 1980’s will attract a wide range of young fans to this LGBTQ+ graphic novel.