Reviews with content warning for Lesbophobia - The Insiders

Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro

8 reviews

robinks's review against another edition

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

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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

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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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nia_readsalot's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
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

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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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foreverinastory'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? Yes

4.5

Thank you to Harper Collins & Harper Kids for sending me a finished copy in exchange for an honest review and promotion. All opinions are my own.

This was a delightful middle grade! The Insiders is a middle grade contemporary about young Héctor Muñoz, who is moving to a new school when his mom gets a new job. Héctor wants to fit in and find where he belongs, but a school bully and doubtful authority figure make that task feel almost impossible. Then Héctor stumbles on a janitor's closet one day. No one can find him in there, and it becomes his own refuge. One early morning Héctor enters it, only to find someone else in the room! And they don't even go to his school. And with that a long distance friendship and a year of adventures starts.

Mark Oshiro is definitely one of my fave authors. I will read anything written by them, whatever the genre. This was a really heartwarming book that also dealt with some hard topics. The bullying Héctor goes through is not light and it triggers a lot of trauma for him. I liked how he processes what he goes through and does the best he can with his options.

The friendships that Héctor makes in this book were so sweet. Especially his friendship with Juliana and Sal, the other kids he meets through the Janitor's room. I really loved seeing these three bond and grow closer. They all are dealing with something at school and I loved how they could rely on each other.

I really loved Héctor's family too. He has such a sweet and supportive network and I'm so glad we get to see that in this novel. This book is great, I highly recommend it.

Rep: Mexican gay male MC with anxiety, biracial Black-Chinese sapphic female side character, biracial Filipinx-white nonbinary side character, BIPOC queer Hijabi female side character, Black gay male side character.

CWs: Bullying, homophobia/homomisia, lesbophobia/lesbomisia, racism. Moderate: xenophobia, islamophobia, outing, mental illness (anxiety). Minor: injury of side character.

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