The Insiders

Gr 4-6– Oshiro’s middle grade debut follows a young Latinx boy, Héctor Muños, as he starts a new school in an unfamiliar town. Back in San Francisco, Héctor’s personality, style, and sexuality weren’t an issue with his classmates. In Orangevale, however, Héctor, who is gay, quickly becomes the victim of a particularly aggressive bully. Luckily for Héctor, a magical door appears exactly when he needs it most. Héctor discovers a secret room that caters to his needs and comfort. On subsequent visits to the room he discovers that two other tweens are also there: Juliana, who is Black and Chinese, and Sal, who is white and Filipino and uses they/them pronouns. Héctor, Juliana, and Sal all have deeply personal problems to solve, and while the mysterious room is never fully explained, it’s clear that it exists to bring the tweens together—across time and space—to learn from and help one another. Oshiro uses a diverse cast to demonstrate many positive ideals regarding race, family, friendship, gender, and sexuality. While the ending is a bit pat, the overall themes of love and acceptance are bright and encouraging—readers will wish they had a mystical door to spirit them away from their troubles.