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The Insiders
Secrets. Lies. Promises. Sometimes keeping things inside is dangerous.
Callie, Ted, Zara, and Nico are best friends. More than friends – they’re like family to each other. But since being embarrassed at school in a practical joke gone wrong, Ted has stopped talking to the rest of the gang.
And when Callie, Zara and Nico discover that someone has been living in their school, and sleeping in the building at night, they decide to investigate – without Ted.
A wise, heartwarming story of friendship and family, from the highly-acclaimed author of Ella on the Outside, Not My Fault, and How to be Me.
Callie, Ted, Zara, and Nico are best friends. More than friends – they’re like family to each other. But since being embarrassed at school in a practical joke gone wrong, Ted has stopped talking to the rest of the gang.
And when Callie, Zara and Nico discover that someone has been living in their school, and sleeping in the building at night, they decide to investigate – without Ted.
A wise, heartwarming story of friendship and family, from the highly-acclaimed author of Ella on the Outside, Not My Fault, and How to be Me.
- GenresMiddle GradeFamily
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 5, 2022
About the author
Cath Howe
28 books28 followersCath Howe is an author and teacher working in South West London writing for, and working with, Key Stage 2 primary age children.
Her first two books were published in 2012 by Pearson in their Bug Club, “The Curse of the Highwayman” and “The Highwayman’s Revenge”. She has won prizes for stories, poems and monologues and even written a musical. Over the past seven years, she has also led children to victory in local festivals performing her work.
Cath Howe runs workshops in schools on everything to do with writing and performing, teaches gifted writers, coaches children for auditions, develops plays and scripts for festivals; everything about being inspired and creative.
Member of SCWBI (Society of Children's Writers of the British Isles), NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education), The Society of Authors and Writer in Residence at Kingston University Writing School.
Her first two books were published in 2012 by Pearson in their Bug Club, “The Curse of the Highwayman” and “The Highwayman’s Revenge”. She has won prizes for stories, poems and monologues and even written a musical. Over the past seven years, she has also led children to victory in local festivals performing her work.
Cath Howe runs workshops in schools on everything to do with writing and performing, teaches gifted writers, coaches children for auditions, develops plays and scripts for festivals; everything about being inspired and creative.
Member of SCWBI (Society of Children's Writers of the British Isles), NAWE (National Association of Writers in Education), The Society of Authors and Writer in Residence at Kingston University Writing School.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 27, 2022
I haven't read any Cath Howe but have Ella on teh Outside and Not my Fault sitting on the TBR pile! So I went for this, and I don't regret it.
Callie and her friends, Ted (who lives next door) and Nico and Zara are a tight bunch of friends. Callie's mum is childminder for the three friends until Ted's mum is looking to cut back on expenses and Ted suggests he doesn't need a childminder - without thinking about how much he'll miss his friends.
At school thy are in the same class, and the same class as Billy. Billy is a pain, he's loud and fidgety and is generally annoying! One day he squirts Ted with orange juice it's just no one notices until he goes on stage, then it causes much laughter and Ted is embarrassed as everyone, including the teacher, thinks he's wet himself. Ted holds this humiliation by Billy in his head as a torment too far.
Billy though has other problems, one day his Dad just moved out - he had a new girlfriend and a baby. His mum is a nurse and when she is due to go away with her friend Billy has to stay at his Dad's - but Dad gets some work so goes away - Billy doesn't feel safe with his new big step-sister. He decided to find somewhere else to stay and ends up - at school...
Callie finds out and tries to help him. One night Ted is very mean and it just gets worse...
I loved this book, the children's friendship is tested to the limit. How far will tormented feelings go? The fact that it would have been so easily sorted just by talking. I will definitely be looking to get one for our school.
Callie and her friends, Ted (who lives next door) and Nico and Zara are a tight bunch of friends. Callie's mum is childminder for the three friends until Ted's mum is looking to cut back on expenses and Ted suggests he doesn't need a childminder - without thinking about how much he'll miss his friends.
At school thy are in the same class, and the same class as Billy. Billy is a pain, he's loud and fidgety and is generally annoying! One day he squirts Ted with orange juice it's just no one notices until he goes on stage, then it causes much laughter and Ted is embarrassed as everyone, including the teacher, thinks he's wet himself. Ted holds this humiliation by Billy in his head as a torment too far.
Billy though has other problems, one day his Dad just moved out - he had a new girlfriend and a baby. His mum is a nurse and when she is due to go away with her friend Billy has to stay at his Dad's - but Dad gets some work so goes away - Billy doesn't feel safe with his new big step-sister. He decided to find somewhere else to stay and ends up - at school...
Callie finds out and tries to help him. One night Ted is very mean and it just gets worse...
I loved this book, the children's friendship is tested to the limit. How far will tormented feelings go? The fact that it would have been so easily sorted just by talking. I will definitely be looking to get one for our school.
March 9, 2024
This young Middle Grade novella explores the web of relationships between a small group of school children who are dealing with growing up, family changes and bullying.
As the cover says, "Secrets. Lies. Promises. Sometimes keeping things inside is dangerous." The main drama in this one is an escalation of bullying. Billy squirts orange juice on a shy boy Ted's crotch before he has to speak in front of the group and says he's peed. Billy in turn is being bullied at home by the older girl in their blended family. She terrorizes him at bedtime making him unwelcome in the room she's forced to share. Billy tries sleeping in the school library during a week when his mom is on holiday but his dad has flaked out about his custody responsibilities. Callie lives near their school and her mom does childcare. Ted tries to save his family money by saying he doesn't need to be minded, but in doing so loses his connection to his closest friends. A badger digs a hole under the fence from Callie's yard and she and her friends start sneaking onto the school playground after hours then later through a window into the school. Ted watches from a tree and gets ever angrier as Callie and Billy keeping each other's secrets brings them closer together. It culminates in Ted stealing Billy's special sweatshirt, a gift from his dad, and using it to create an effigy which he burns - also lighting construction materials at the school on fire. Callie burns her hands trying to minimize fire damage. Billy breaks his arm falling from scaffolding. Ted falls too and gets hospitalized for a concussion, but the experience reveals what they were keeping secret and brings them all together.
The publisher does this author no favors by padding out the book with 51 chapter introduction pages with the 'feelings' graphics from the cover and a reminder of which child's point of view the chapter is told from. The graphics are like a screamed reminder that it's for young readers and may be juvenile enough to turn off the target reader (Scholastic says age 11-12) The POV tag would work better slotted in more directly at the top of each chapter. The writing is good enough that each child actually has a fairly distinctive voice, so context clues would be enough for some readers without it.
cw: pretty mild stuff in the grand scheme despite including lies, theft, bullying, trespass and accidental-ish arson. The teacher portrayed is a minor character but is arguably also bullying kids. Parents are too busy or clueless, but not maliciously so. It's set in a raceless verion of England. There are no love interests between kids.
TESOL comment: Uses UK English slang but seems pretty well suited to ELLs.
As the cover says, "Secrets. Lies. Promises. Sometimes keeping things inside is dangerous." The main drama in this one is an escalation of bullying. Billy squirts orange juice on a shy boy Ted's crotch before he has to speak in front of the group and says he's peed. Billy in turn is being bullied at home by the older girl in their blended family. She terrorizes him at bedtime making him unwelcome in the room she's forced to share. Billy tries sleeping in the school library during a week when his mom is on holiday but his dad has flaked out about his custody responsibilities. Callie lives near their school and her mom does childcare. Ted tries to save his family money by saying he doesn't need to be minded, but in doing so loses his connection to his closest friends. A badger digs a hole under the fence from Callie's yard and she and her friends start sneaking onto the school playground after hours then later through a window into the school. Ted watches from a tree and gets ever angrier as Callie and Billy keeping each other's secrets brings them closer together. It culminates in Ted stealing Billy's special sweatshirt, a gift from his dad, and using it to create an effigy which he burns - also lighting construction materials at the school on fire. Callie burns her hands trying to minimize fire damage. Billy breaks his arm falling from scaffolding. Ted falls too and gets hospitalized for a concussion, but the experience reveals what they were keeping secret and brings them all together.
The publisher does this author no favors by padding out the book with 51 chapter introduction pages with the 'feelings' graphics from the cover and a reminder of which child's point of view the chapter is told from. The graphics are like a screamed reminder that it's for young readers and may be juvenile enough to turn off the target reader (Scholastic says age 11-12) The POV tag would work better slotted in more directly at the top of each chapter. The writing is good enough that each child actually has a fairly distinctive voice, so context clues would be enough for some readers without it.
cw: pretty mild stuff in the grand scheme despite including lies, theft, bullying, trespass and accidental-ish arson. The teacher portrayed is a minor character but is arguably also bullying kids. Parents are too busy or clueless, but not maliciously so. It's set in a raceless verion of England. There are no love interests between kids.
TESOL comment: Uses UK English slang but seems pretty well suited to ELLs.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2022
Another fantastic book by Cath Howe. 'The Insiders' features five children from the same class: four are friends, and the fifth character is the class bully, Billy. Callie, Nico, Zara and Ted have been close friends for a long time but recent changes in their lives have affected their friendship. The children are finding the changes difficult and all have things they don't share. Callie, keen to keep everyone happy, is also trying to help Billy who is having a difficult time at home. Both make choices which have big impact on Ted. Ted is no longer able to go to Callie's house after school and realises their friendship ties are weakening - he lives next door to Callie and is able to see her, Zara and Nico having fun from over the fence. He also realises Callie is becoming friends with Billy and when she lies to Ted about this, his feelings of jealousy take over with some serious consequences. This would make a great KS2 class read with lots to discuss and would be a good addition to a school library.
June 26, 2022
Was a enjoyable read but some parts of this didn’t ring true. Ted seemed full of anger and rage for a very minor reason. I got the impression that Ted had always been on the outside of the group and not really part of it yet he’s regarded as being like a ‘ nearly brother’ and a very close friend. The ending also seemed very extreme. Ted seemed to just slot back into the friendship group and return to school. In reality I’m sure there would be some sort of exclusion for Ted and some help. He seems to have some kind of borderline personality disorder but his actions and behaviour seem to get glossed over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2022
The Insiders follows a group of friends from school who have always been together. However, when one friend falls foul of a practical joke and then has to take a back seat from the rest of the group, he finds himself becoming slightly obsessed with what they are doing and wanting revenge on the practical joker. For another child at school, a change in family circumstances means that he has to find a way of fending for himself.
An interesting read which shows consequences of actions and how the repercussions can spread widely.
An interesting read which shows consequences of actions and how the repercussions can spread widely.
April 14, 2022
The Insiders by develops each character sensitively when they narrate their own chapters. From the outside it seems their problems could be easily solved but Callie, Ted and Billy each have their own reasons for keeping things inside. As the story unfolds, it highlights the value of friendship and how misunderstandings can happen when we bottle things up and how communication and forgiveness is so important. A lovely read.
April 24, 2022
Another brilliant book from Cath Howe that touches on the difficult parts of life for young people.
The story follows the experiences of a group of school children - told through the voices of Callie, Ted and Billy.
Each has their own challenges to face and the book explores the complexity of family life and bullying.
The book is split in to small chapters making it a manageable read. Suitable for children 8+.
The story follows the experiences of a group of school children - told through the voices of Callie, Ted and Billy.
Each has their own challenges to face and the book explores the complexity of family life and bullying.
The book is split in to small chapters making it a manageable read. Suitable for children 8+.
April 14, 2022
The Insiders was a good read but I expected more from it. The themes were great and so was the writing but I wasn't feeling the characters or the plot. The plot felt slow and dragged out and it really wasn"t my cup of tea. Compared to other Cath Howe books I've read this one just want up to the mark. It was still fun reading it however.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc!
November 17, 2023
Cath Howe's books deal with so many issues that affect children and young people, the great thing is she does it in a way that leaves you with a sense of empathy and hope. I think all schools should have her books in their library. The Insiders, deals with bullying, family issues and finding friendships. 😍📖😍
May 19, 2022
Ted, Callie, Zara and Nico are best friends, but when Ted stops going to Callie's house after school, the other three discover a secret hole in the fence that leads to their school playground and they investigate without him, their friendship group is split apart. And there's something strange going on in the school at night...
Another compelling and empathetic story about friendship from the author of 'Ella on the Outside' and 'Not My Fault'.
Another compelling and empathetic story about friendship from the author of 'Ella on the Outside' and 'Not My Fault'.
May 12, 2025
Omg! I loved this book soo much! Got it as a recommendation from a friend who loved it and I haven't stopped thinking about the themes and plot of the story. It really was an amazing book and I would recommend this book to anyone. Well done Cath Howe
May 8, 2022
Yet another amazing book by Cath Howe. I am a huge fan of the way she writes and the messages she’s get across!!
June 2, 2022
Nuanced exploration of bullying and friendship.
Consequences are real.
Consequences are real.
September 18, 2023
Loved this book very interesting
February 28, 2024
Read this book now!
March 1, 2024
A really good book about friendship even when it doesn’t work out 💗
June 5, 2024
I loved this book for its drama, short chapters, and storyline.
August 11, 2024
3.5 stars
i read it it one siting however i found it quit boring in the middle
but the ending was better
it wouldve been a higher rating if i realised ted and billy were diffrent people
i read it it one siting however i found it quit boring in the middle
but the ending was better
it wouldve been a higher rating if i realised ted and billy were diffrent people
January 6, 2025
The story of Callie, Billy, Ted, Zara, and Nico is BRILLIANT with a capital B!🤩This is a heart warming story of friendship,mystery, trust and feeling but some bits can be a little bit uncomfortable but other than that it’s OKAY!
June 15, 2025
I read this with my 8 yo daughter. We really enjoyed it and I liked the story was told from various points of view, each chapter stating who was the story teller.
It was a good book that brought up some very interesting conversations about bullying and what the right thing to do is. The affirmation that my child knows that breaking and entering into a building, stealing, bullying and arson are all things we should not do means I have smashed parenting!
Seriously though, it raised some important points about how children are all coming from different backgrounds and we don’t know what is happening at home. We also talked about peep pressure and how doing something just because you are asked to, is not necessarily the right thing to do.
It was a good book that brought up some very interesting conversations about bullying and what the right thing to do is. The affirmation that my child knows that breaking and entering into a building, stealing, bullying and arson are all things we should not do means I have smashed parenting!
Seriously though, it raised some important points about how children are all coming from different backgrounds and we don’t know what is happening at home. We also talked about peep pressure and how doing something just because you are asked to, is not necessarily the right thing to do.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 20, 2022
The insiders
By Cath Howe
Published by Nosy Crow
Another fabulous book by the author of Ella on the outside, Not my fault & How to be me.
Cath Howe writes honestly from a child’s perspective, touching on all those tricky things kids face throughput school & whilst growing up: secrets, friendships, lies, being included, being excluded.
But each character holds their own chapter and this depicts their innocence, their strength and their determination. And thankfully whilst mistakes are made, friendship saves the day.
It is a great, easy to read chapter book that (sadly) pupils will be able to recognise their own or other’s behaviour within their friendship groups. But if we as adults can get our youngsters to open their eyes and empathise with these feelings, we can only be on the right track.
Joanne B - Year 3 teacher of littlies, lover of books.
#Netgallery
#NosyCrow
By Cath Howe
Published by Nosy Crow
Another fabulous book by the author of Ella on the outside, Not my fault & How to be me.
Cath Howe writes honestly from a child’s perspective, touching on all those tricky things kids face throughput school & whilst growing up: secrets, friendships, lies, being included, being excluded.
But each character holds their own chapter and this depicts their innocence, their strength and their determination. And thankfully whilst mistakes are made, friendship saves the day.
It is a great, easy to read chapter book that (sadly) pupils will be able to recognise their own or other’s behaviour within their friendship groups. But if we as adults can get our youngsters to open their eyes and empathise with these feelings, we can only be on the right track.
Joanne B - Year 3 teacher of littlies, lover of books.
#Netgallery
#NosyCrow
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews