Rainbow by Verde Arzu
A Review By: AT
Taylor has room for exactly two things in her life: improving her performance as a college basketball player and maintaining the grades she needs to stay on the team and someday play in the WNBA.
But when she meets the beautiful and confident Melony, Taylor's whole way of life is called into question.
Rainbow is a coming-of-age queer love story with a Love Jones kind of vibe. It's the first of many queer black novellas by the author Verde Arzu.
Review Notes:
Audio Book Publication Year: 2020
An installment in a Series? No
Narrator (s): Distinctly Unique
Love and basketball and angst.
With a backdrop of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the Millions More March, Verde Arzu gives a glimpse into the inner turmoil of a closeted queer female college student. This was a nice, quick journey to love and self-acceptance. These characters were young but surprisingly self aware and I would’ve loved a full novel depicting their journey.
The narrator’s voice fit the youthfulness of the main character, but lacked distinction when other characters were voiced. She also lacked emotion in certain instances. In addition, I felt the narrative pacing dragged which took away from the story.
A nice touch was the poetry that opened each chapter. With better narration and a little more depth, this could’ve easily been a five-star listen.
Reading Recommendation? Yes
Rating: 3 (It's aight)
Content Warnings? Physical abuse/violence
