Day 30: Tuesday, April 28

Assignment

 Welcome to Quarantini: Day 30.

Our assignment this week is to read chapters 10-12 (the final chapters) of UNDER THE RAINBOW, available from Bookshop.org, Kindle, or as an Audiobook. If you haven’t already started, it’s not too late to join!

This week’s discussion question is: was the AAA task force a success? What does their story teach us? Use the below comment form to add your own responses and reply to others!

And some exciting news: our MAY QUARANTINI BOOK SELECTION IS:

It’s a stunning novel about family, same-sex love, and the redemptive power of storytelling. Consider supporting independent bookstores by ordering it from bookshop.org, but it’s also available on Kindle and audiobook.

I’ll announce our first chapter assignment early next week, but feel free to get a head start!

See you on Thursday.

-Eric

Join the Discussion

1 Comment

  1. This was a great book club book because each chapter can stand by itself. I only have a fogged memory of what happened to Avery in those early chapters. I thought there was great character development.

    This book was not for me, though. Each chapter took time to get a character and a conflict going. Then it left me invested to find out what was going to happen next. But then the chapter ends, and we never hear from that character again. I know we hear a little bit about the characters in passing, but I would’ve liked more than that. I wanted so badly to be invested in these characters. They were relatable. What she did with Gabe in that last chapter? I wish she did that with each character. The way it was, though, I felt that I was unsatisfied and wanted more. And I wanted more because she did such a good job laying down the groundwork. I hope she writes again. I’m rooting for her.

    This week’s topic is was AAA a success? The book explicitly states progress the town made. So I guess technically the answer is yes. But I’m going to say no. I think AAA was most beneficial to Zach. And at best Zach ended up trying to flee the town. His Instagram persona gave him hope for a better life in L.A., and he didn’t need AAA to do that.

    We got the best look into Gabe’s life several (ten?) years later. Even in a post-AAA Big Burr, he didn’t feel comfortable enough to come out of the closet. He essentially had to be given an ultimatum from the first person he loves to come out of the closet or lose his first true love.

    In summary, AAA took a shitty situation and made it less shitty. At the end of the day, though, it was still shitty. I think Zach and Avery had it right to run away and start a new life back in the earlier chapters.

    Reply

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