Description
Jack Pedersen is finding life complicated ever since he came out to his mom. Even though she’s been doing her best to understand, it’s obvious to Jack that his mom still wants to cry every time she says the word gay.
Complications go into overdrive when a new student named Benjamin arrives at his high school, and Jack starts experiencing feelings he’s never allowed himself before. When a near tragedy turns life upside down, Jack realizes that it’s time to stop hiding and to stand up—for Pride, for Benjamin, and for himself.
You can read more of Jack's story in Liane Shaw's previous book Caterpillars Can't Swim.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 13 to 18
- Grade:
- 8 to 12
- Reading age:
- 13 to 18
Awards
- Winner, Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award (MYRCA) Northern Lights Award
Editorial Reviews
This is a story of friendship and community, family and unconditional love. It will pull at your heartstrings and make you cheer out loud...This is a must-read for everyone across the board: teachers, parents and teens. The Stone Rainbow will give you hope.
— Mighty Village
"Stone Rainbow is an engaging and inspiring story about resilience, confronting fear, and overcoming trauma, even when it seems impossible. Shaw’s newest novel is an important addition to any school, classroom, or public library collection...Highly Recommended."
— CM: Canadian Review of Materials
(R)eaders will be drawn in by the compelling story and empathetic characters.
— Booklist
While the story explores the intensity of both first love and vehement discrimination, it also presents joy and hope for its characters, and will likely find fans among YA readers.
— Publishers' Weekly
"A deftly crafted novel with a strong social message, "The Stone Rainbow" is fully endorsed and unreservedly recommended for high school and community library LBGTQ fiction and YA general fiction collections."
— Children's Bookwatch: The LGBT Shelf
This is a perfect book for all high school students, particularly for those who need a protagonist who is wonderfully human. This is a great book for anyone who loves ‘slice of life’ narratives that have diverse and relatable characters. Everyone will find something to relate to in this story and its characters. For young people on the hunt for diversity in literature, this is a triumph.
— Mighty Village
With her diverse cast of characters, Liane Shaw demonstrates that differences make a community richer, though there are the unenlightened who still need to learn this lesson in compassion and tolerance. If The Stone Rainbow teaches us anything it's that it's the blending of all into a spectacular prism of life that makes our world complete and beautiful.
— CanLit for Little Canadians
