Reviews with content warning for Bullying - The Insiders

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

clockworkstars's review

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Absolutely adorable and wholesome, I just love queer middle grade books, they are so important

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bibliomania_express's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro is a middle grade magical realism novel about three kids looking for friendship and belonging and find it through a magical door. Héctor Nuñez is new to Orangevale Middle School, and he is determined to be his fabulous, drama-loving self. But when the school bully Mike targets him, Héctor finds himself hiding in a janitor's closet. But this isn't any closet - it's a magical Room that leads him to Juliana and Sal, two kids from different schools miles away from Héctor. Together, they help each other face their problems and discover true friendship along the way.

Oshiro always manages to write charming and lovely middle grade books that have whimsy but also deal with some heavy topics. Héctor experiences a wide range of bullying from shoving and food throwing to racism and homophobia. Juliana also faces homophobia from her principal, and Sal faces transphobia from their classmates.

Something I really appreciated about this book is how it explores the deep psychological effects of bullying. Héctor has a very supportive and loving family, and a great art teacher he could turn to, but he's afraid of disappointing his family and not being believed by his teacher. He starts to feel like the bullying is his own fault.

This book also explores the failings of bad faith teachers who can foster a space for bullies. The teacher who refuses to hear when victims of bullying tell the truth, or the teacher who is the bully themselves.

I loved how much true friendship is in this book, not just Héctor, Sal, and Juliana, but the other friends Héctor makes at his school. Héctor has to find confidence in himself and in their friendship to stand up to his bullies and call out bystanders.

Overall, this is a great, fast-paced and heartfelt story about friendship and belonging that's so worth the read.

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vreadsalot's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

CAWPILE: 8.96/4.5*

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keeganrb's review against another edition

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5.0

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robinks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

It must have been a while since I’ve read middle grade, but the adults and Hector really frustrated me at times. That being said, Oshiro accurately depicted some real life situations for young folks. I also appreciated how colorful and detailed Oshiro’s descriptions were.

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pey333's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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dlrosebyh's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Despite being in the same state, Héctor Muoz believes San Francisco and Orangevale to be a million miles distant. Being gay didn't make one feel different at home. Héctor couldn't feel more alone at his new school.

Héctor simply wishes he could vanish most of the time. And he complies. The janitor's closet, of course. Héctor finds himself in a chamber that shouldn't be feasible one day when the door closes behind him. The door to a life-altering year full of friendship, adventure, and just a touch of magic is opened by a room that brings him together with two new friends from different regions of the nation.

I truly appreciated this book as a POC queer person. I wish I had read something similar when I was younger to reassure me that being gay is acceptable. Although it does use certain clichés, the writing style, tone, and relatability more than make up for it. I've read one book by Mark Oshiro and didn't enjoy it, so I didn't anticipate enjoying this one as much. It's outrageous how little is known about this book because it was like a warm hug.

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