Yeah, I can see that. I'm an atheist lesbian, though, and neither aspect got to me.
Re lesbianism, I've avoided reading the Rainbow High books partly because they seem so boy-boy-BOY, but this one didn't hit that particular nerve for me. I think it's partly because Paul's girlfriend and his grandmother are such prominent, important characters. There are no lesbians, though, and YMMV -- I wouldn't expect anyone eles's button-points to match mine.
Re atheism, the religion in this one is prominent (obviously), but I found it a nice balm for the scar tissue I've earned from the Bible-as-cudgel squad. (The scar tissue is still there, of course, but nicely moisturized for the moment. ;-) ) I eyerolled when we got to Sodom-and-Gomorrah (I've had it up to here with Sodom and Gomorrah), but ultimately liked the way Sanchez made it a hinge-point showdown in the interactions between the characters, and had some characters do things that surprised me. Some bits do get very verse-and-response, but that's mostly in the first third of the book, and it's mostly verses I'm unfamiliar with -- and with me, if it's new-to-me, it's interesting. As you get farther on, the religion itself becomes less prominent, and the narrative becomes more about bonds and tensions between the characters. Again, YMMV -- if you're an atheist who has written off all Christians, this won't likely be all that readable; if you're an atheist who hasn't, it may be fine. I know I never felt proselytized at, nor was I having to reach to understand why characters thought they were doing reasonable things, and those are the two places where I normally "stick" when reading books about Christian characters.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-02-24 09:22 pm (UTC)Re lesbianism, I've avoided reading the Rainbow High books partly because they seem so boy-boy-BOY, but this one didn't hit that particular nerve for me. I think it's partly because Paul's girlfriend and his grandmother are such prominent, important characters. There are no lesbians, though, and YMMV -- I wouldn't expect anyone eles's button-points to match mine.
Re atheism, the religion in this one is prominent (obviously), but I found it a nice balm for the scar tissue I've earned from the Bible-as-cudgel squad. (The scar tissue is still there, of course, but nicely moisturized for the moment. ;-) ) I eyerolled when we got to Sodom-and-Gomorrah (I've had it up to here with Sodom and Gomorrah), but ultimately liked the way Sanchez made it a hinge-point showdown in the interactions between the characters, and had some characters do things that surprised me. Some bits do get very verse-and-response, but that's mostly in the first third of the book, and it's mostly verses I'm unfamiliar with -- and with me, if it's new-to-me, it's interesting. As you get farther on, the religion itself becomes less prominent, and the narrative becomes more about bonds and tensions between the characters. Again, YMMV -- if you're an atheist who has written off all Christians, this won't likely be all that readable; if you're an atheist who hasn't, it may be fine. I know I never felt proselytized at, nor was I having to reach to understand why characters thought they were doing reasonable things, and those are the two places where I normally "stick" when reading books about Christian characters.