The Insiders

Hector is a loud and proud gay boy who loves theatre and lives his life dramatically. This is fine when his family lives in San Francisco, but when they move to Orangevale, and Hector goes to school wearing purple pants with glitter on his face, things don’t go well. He ends up at lunch with The Misfits, a group of kids who have been bullied by Mike. All the teachers love Mike and are completely blind to his bullying. Hector is Mike’s new target. Hector hides in the janitor’s closet, and there finds a safe place. It’s a magic room that is exactly what he needs. He meets two other kids from across the country in the room who are also LBGTQ+ and are having similar problems. It is in the magic room that all three find what they need.

Mark Oshiro has written an important book for middle graders to help them stand up to bullies, get the help they need from adults around them, and learn ways to get along with other kids. It’s exciting and well written. The only problem is that almost everyone in the story is LBGTQ+, which makes it somewhat unbelievable, but it’s still worth the time.