Book description
Nominated for a 34th annual Lambda Literary Award • An essential and revelatory coming-of-age narrative from a thrilling new voice, Rainbow Milk follows nineteen-year-old Jesse McCarthy as he grapples with his racial and sexual identities against the backdrop of his Jehovah's Witness upbringing.
"The kind of novel you never knew…
Why read it?
1 author picked Rainbow Milk as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
This is a coming-of-age story linking three generations of Black men in the Midlands. It starts with an incredibly moving sequence of Norman and his wife moving to the Black Country in the 1950s, but the main action takes place in the 2000s. Mendez and I are of a similar age, and Jesse’s story really took me back to my childhood of flip phones and dancing along to Jamelia’s Superstar. Although the noughties are far from “historical,” Mendez’ precise focus on the details of the era makes it read like the best historical fiction.
I learned a lot about the…
From Rachel's list on queer historical fiction.
If you love Rainbow Milk...
These Blue Mountains
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…
Want books like Rainbow Milk?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Rainbow Milk.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,340
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like Rainbow Milk, you might also like...
Foxfire in the Snow
It's a time of change, between magic and alchemy.
Born the heir of a master woodcutter in a queendom defined by guilds and matrilineal inheritance, nonbinary Sorin can’t quite seem to find their place. At seventeen, an opportunity to attend an alchemical guild fair and secure an apprenticeship with the…
The Main Gate
Dr. Elise Marquette has spent years burying the past—until the past refuses to stay buried.
Hired to join Earth’s first interstellar contact team, she hopes the vastness of space will finally offer distance from the ghosts of war and the wounds left by a mother who never let her be…
