Description:
Three kids who don't belong. A room that shouldn't exist. A year that will change everything.
Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead and Meg Medina, this debut middle grade novel from award-winning author Mark Oshiro is a hopeful and heartfelt coming-of-age story for anyone who's ever felt like they didn't fit in.
San Francisco and Orangevale may be in the same state, but for Héctor Muñoz, they might as well be a million miles apart. Back home, being gay didn't mean feeling different. At Héctor's new school, he couldn't feel more alone.
Most days, Héctor just wishes he could disappear. And he does. Right into the janitor's closet. (Yes, he sees the irony.) But one day, when the door closes behind him, Héctor discovers he's stumbled into a room that shouldn't be possible. A room that connects him with two new friends from different corners of the country--and opens the door to a life-changing year full of magic, friendship, and adventure.
Sometimes hilarious, sometimes devastating, but always full of heart, The Insiders carves out a space for us all to be our true selves. --Kwame Mbalia, New York Times bestselling author of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
Brief description: MARK OSHIRO is the Hugo-nominated writer of the online Mark Does Stuff universe (Mark Reads and Mark Watches), where they analyze book and TV series. They are the nonfiction editor of Queers Destroy Science Fiction! and the co-editor of Speculative Fiction 2015, and are the President of the Con or Bust Board of Directors. When not writing/recording reviews or editing, Oshiro engages in social activism online and offline. Their debut novel, Anger Is a Gift, was a recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award.
Review Quotes:
Sometimes hilarious, sometimes devastating, but always full of heart, The Insiders carves out a space for us all to be our true selves.
-- "Kwame Mbalia, New York Times bestselling author"