King and the Dragonflies

by Kacen Callender

Paper Book, 2020

Status

Available

Call number

PZ7.1.C317 K56 2020

Genres

LGBTQ+

All Topics

Fiction

Collections

People of Color Rep, Men-Loving-Men

Publication

Waterville : Thorndike Press, 2020.

Description

Juvenile Fiction. Juvenile Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML: Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. When Khalid unexpectedly passed away, he shed what was his first skin for another to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family. It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. But just days before he died, Khalid told King to end their friendship, after overhearing a secret about Sandy�??that he thinks he might be gay. "You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?" But when Sandy goes missing, sparking a town-wide search, and King finds his former best friend hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and among the dragonflies. As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Beth.Clarke

Set in the Bayou, King is coping with his brother's death while trying to understand himself and his sexuality. It's a novel of self-discovery and it is appropriate and offers great lessons to middle school students. Everyone will find themselves through one of the characters. One of King's friends

is struggling with abuse, and King has to find a way to help his friend. It's a novel of grief, friendship, racism, and coming-of-age. Navigating adolescence is the heart of this novel. It is a timeless tale.

Show Less

7 more

LibraryThing member lindamamak

King recently lost his brother, his best friend and his parents are so absorbed in their grief he doesn't know how to deal with what life has thrown at him

LibraryThing member ewyatt

King is struggling after the death of his brother. King is convinced Khalid has come back as a dragonfly as a coping mechanism. One of the last things Khalid said to King was to tell him to stay away from his friend Sandy who recently came out to King, saying "what if everyone thinks you're gay

too." King is sad, he's angry, he's confused. Subplots include finding out his best friend Jasmine has a crush on him, helping Sandy hide and survive after he's run away from his abusive home, and dealing with his own sexual identity and how that impacts his relationship with his parents (both of whom are really struggling throughout the book).

Show Less

LibraryThing member acargile

A Lone Star 2021 novel, King and the Dragonflies tells the story of King dealing with grief, race, and his own identity.

King James--his name is actually Kingston--grieves his brother's sudden death. Life at home changes to silence and loss where each person searches for who they are without this

one person. Mom used to cook every night while the "men" stayed in the living room. Now, they order food. Do they sit in the same seats? King feels further empty because he has always shared a room with Khalid. They talked late into the night. King sees a dragonfly land on Khalid's coffin and feels this dragonfly is Khalid, giving him some comfort with his presence.

School changes as well. King "broke up" with his best friend because Khalid implied he should. Because of what Khalid told him, King feels ashamed for being Sandy's friend. King still has a few friends at school, but he misses his best friend. One day Sandy follows him and they strike up their friendship again. Sandy's father is the local sheriff who fails to hide his racist beliefs; Sandy's brother lives under the rumor that he killed a black man. Between being black and best friends with a white kid whose family is racist and the death of his brother, King struggles. The novel revolves around these struggles--what Khalid told him, how one must act to be a "man," being friends with Sandy, being honest with his other friends and his family, living without his brother, and finding who he is.

The novel progresses at a measured pace--it's a realistic story that appeals to emotion so don't expect adventure. It's character-driven. King's growing up will tug at your heart.

Show Less

LibraryThing member JRlibrary

Loved the story. Really dislike the cover and the title. I think the cover looks very primary and the title sounds super simple. I think both the cover and the title will be a turn off to older readers. This is a book dealing with some very mature themes - racism, homophobia and physical abuse but

the book looks like it’s an adventure story for young students.
Story is SO good though. Hopefully it will end up in the hands of the readers who need it most.

Show Less

LibraryThing member ToriC90

Hard hitting young reader book with serious topics handled in a delicate but very real way (no "sugarcoating"). Hopeful message without hiding the trauma; a great book for a child either struggling with identity and coming out, as well as a child handling grief or unexpected loss. Would definitely

hold onto this one and recommend to others.

Show Less

LibraryThing member jennybeast

This is a great book -- not only because it tackles racism, homophobia, identity, abuse and grief really well, but because it manages to do that while keeping a kids' point of view to the forefront. It embraces all the shades of gray that are human thought, the shades of rumor, the shades of

mistakes and of mind-changes and lets the backdrop of the Louisiana environment and boys growing up ground the story. I love that King is so authentically himself, and so fundamentally unsure of what that means. I also really love that his parents don't handle things well at first, but not only does that change, but they manage to articulate in a very human way why they are struggling and how they are working on growing. Powerful. Very well read, also.

Advanced audio book provided by Libro.FM

Show Less

LibraryThing member GRgenius

It definitely has a slow pace, but I think that was to illustrate King's acceptance of what his truth was as well as that of those around him. It was a different topic, during a less than accepting time, but handled in an interesting way. All the contemplation about his brother was finally

understood when King revealed what prompted his "sage advice". There's beauty to be found in this one despite the plethora of hatred and misunderstanding, and it really gives the reader a feel for how different times were then versus now. We've come a long way, but there's still a long way to go.

**copy received for review; opinions are my own
*Read for Cybil's Middle Grade Fiction, Round two

Show Less

Fewer