Rainbow Party

There was a big stir in the ya lit community when this was published. It talked about a group of teens who were planning a party for the purposes of having oral sex. But really, it is very much an teen issues book, and not a great one at that, as it is full of stock characters and situations. And sorry, the party never actually happens.

Okay, it is clearly not the best writing in the world but I think the story is useful and the issue important. A teen who sleeps around, Gin, decides to throw a Rainbow Party, where girls wear different colored lipstick and then give oral sex to all the boys; theoretically the boys should have rainbows on their penises. Gin is carefully choosing the guest list because she believes oral sex is not real sex (“it’s only oral”) and that doing it gives her power. She is hoping to advance socially at school and the entire story takes place in the hours before the party is to begin. Like, Gin, the other girls agree to it for different reasons; to keep a boyfriend interested, to learn how to do it, to finally hook up with a crush. (The show more reasons the boys want to go are not quite so varied). There is a lot of sex in the book, including 2 male “friends with benefits” (benefits for one, anyway), Hunter and Perry. Their uneven relationship mirrors the uneven male/female dynamic inherent in the Rainbow Party concept. The invitees struggle with themselves in the hours before the party and in the end no one shows up.
I like the book because the topic is so important and I think it will get teenage girls talking. The characters ask the kind of questions that teens must have such as “Isn’t it one sided” and “What do I get out of it”. Many of the concerns of the characters are teen concerns… I want to be popular, I want to be good in bed, I want to keep my boyfriend interested. I do not know if Rainbow parties are real, but I do know they are legend. And the attitudes about oral sex expressed in the book are definitely real for some teens. It is especially well suited for high school girl’s groups for discussion. 11/06 show less

Review by: fem

For all the fuss about inappropriate sexual content, this is an amazingly tame book.
good 1