Name: Alex Sanchez: Rainbow Boys (25th Anniversary)
Start: 2026-09-30
End: 2026-09-30

Rochester, NY, is the third-largest metropolitan area in New York State, nestled along the southern shore of Lake Ontario. With a proud sports tradition, Rochester is home to iconic teams like the Rochester Red Wings (MiLB), Rochester Americans (AHL), Rochester Knighthawks (NLL), and Flower City Union (NPSL). Our vibrant sports culture thrives across all levels, from youth clubs and high schools to elite collegiate programs, creating a strong, year-round foundation for athletic excellence.

The Rochester NY Sports Commission champions Monroe County through the power of sports tourism. By attracting championships, invitationals, and tournaments across a wide range of disciplines, we help fuel the region’s economy and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. Each year, Rochester welcomes a growing roster of sporting events, showcasing our top-tier facilities, supportive community, and dedication to teamwork on and off the field.

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Visit Rochester

**Doors: 6:30 PM | Reading: 7 PM**

This is a hybrid event, taking place in person at Writers & Books and online via Zoom. **All registrants will receive a Zoom link in the registration confirmation email that is automatically sent after checkout.**

***The author will be in conversation with author Linda Sue Park.***

Join us for the 25th anniversary celebration of Alex Sanchez’s debut novel *Rainbow Boys*, a NY Times “Best YA Book of All Time.” Sanchez will read briefly from the book and then be in conversation with award-winning author and friend, Linda Sue Park. Our indie bookstore, Ampersand Books, will sell brand new reissue copies of the novel, featuring a new cover and limited-edition sprayed stencil edges.

**Navigating through the intolerant world of the early aughts and their own insecurities, three teenage boys find each other and the confidence to come out of the closet in this seminal queer coming-of-age novel.**

Jason Carillo is a jock with a steady girlfriend. He’s on track to play ball, marry his high school sweetheart, and get as far away from his abusive dad as possible—but that’s if he can get into college with his shaky math grades…and if he can stop dreaming about having sex with guys.

Kyle Meeks is definitely gay, but he’s not planning on telling anyone, least of all his parents. All he wants is to keep his head down and get through high school without incident—until Jason asks him for help in math and all of a sudden, Kyle is spending long hours with a boy he’s always found cute and it’s getting harder and harder to keep his feelings under wraps.

Nelson Glassman is out and loud about it, but being proud of who you are doesn’t mean things don’t get lonely. He’s got a target on his back for the school bullies to kick, and while his mom supports him, she doesn’t entirely understand him. To make things worse, he and his best friend—and longtime crush—Kyle have been spending more and more time apart, and he doesn’t know how to deal.

Messy, honest, and raw, *Rainbow Boys* follows these three boys as they come of age and come out of the closet in the early aughts in one of the most revolutionary young adult novels in the last quarter century.

**Alex Sanchez** spent almost fifteen years working with youth. He is the author of the teen novels *Boyfriends with Girlfriends*, *Bait*, *The God Box*, *Getting It*, *Rainbow Boys*, *Rainbow High*, and *Rainbow Road*, as well as the Lambda Award–winning middle grade novel *So Hard to Say*. Lambda Literary honored Alex with a Jim Duggins, PhD Outstanding Mid-Career Novelists’ Prize. He lives in Thailand and Hollywood, Florida. Visit him at AlexSanchez.com.

  
**Linda Sue Park** is the author of many books for young readers, including the 2002 Newbery Medal winner *A Single Shard* and the NY Times bestseller *A Long Walk to Water*. Her most recent titles are: *Just One Gift*, a novel in verse illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng, sharing students’ answers to a question about a gift they would give someone special in their lives; *Gracie Under the Waves*, a contemporary middle-grade novel about a girl who loves snorkeling, illustrated by Maxine Vee; *Smiling Eyes*, a lively rhyming text picture book illustrated by Lenny Wen, a joyous celebration of eyes, featuring a variety of Asian eye shapes and hues, for a little boy whose ordinary day is filled with the joys and surprises of seeing and being seen. Linda Sue is the founder and curator of Allida Books, an imprint of HarperCollins. She serves on the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books and created the kiBooka website, [www.kibooka.com](https://www.kibooka.com/), to highlight children’s books created by the Korean diaspora. Visit her website at [www.lindasuepark.com](https://www.lindasuepark.com/); follow her on [Instagram @parklindasue](https://www.instagram.com/parklindasue/).

**Buy your books at Ampersand and join the conversation!**

Alex Sanchez: Rainbow Boys (25th Anniversary)

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Alex Sanchez: Rainbow Boys (25th Anniversary)

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