Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro

13 reviews

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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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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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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imstephtacular's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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? Yes

5.0


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karcitis's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Feel like the ending was a little bit confused theme-wise about the asking for help/needing to do it yourself dynamic.

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greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.0


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kaylaphaneuf's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

2.75


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anna_23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

4.0


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betweentheshelves'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

4.5

Oshiro definitely hit it out of the park in their middle grade debut! In this book, we follow the story of Héctor, who has just moved to a new school and is nervous about starting. When he starts getting bullied for being gay, a magical room starts to appear that helps him hide. It's there where he meets two students who also need a safe space: Juliana and Sal. The only catch? They all go to schools all across the country.

What I love about Oshiro's writing is that it feels so realistic. A lot of the problems that Héctor encounters are ones that many middle schoolers are going to relate to. And not being believed after getting bullied? I feel like that happens way more often than we'd like to admit. You can't help but get angry at the adults in this book because they all act so powerless to help Héctor. Or they act like they don't know what's going on. Héctor's story will definitely pull on your heartstrings.

The little friend group Héctor finds is also fantastic. Juliana and Sal were fully fleshed out characters, and they all were in each other's lives at the right time. They all help each other in different ways, and it's just so great to see. Plus, Héctor makes some new friends at his new school, and they become the support that he needs. Oh, and Héctor's Abuela is great, especially the way she lets Héctor figure out what he needs and when he needs it.

All in all, this middle grade novel is about finding your voice, about the ways that friendships can change in middle school, and about learning how to ask for help when you need it. Definitely a great addition to any middle grade collection!

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