As King's friendship with Sandy is reignited, he's forced to confront questions about himself and the reality of his brother's death. 'You don't want anyone to think you're gay too, do you?'īut 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. 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. It would be easier if King could talk with his best friend, Sandy Sanders. Khalid still visits in dreams, and King must keep these secrets to himself as he watches grief transform his family. 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. (Feb.Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly. 0:00 / 7:21 King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender Book Review Connor OBrien 18.3K subscribers Subscribe 56 1K views 2 years ago FLORIDA My thoughts on King and the Dragonflies by.

Agent: Beth Phelan, Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency. If some side characters feel underdeveloped, it’s because King himself shines wholly real as a Black child learning to negotiate shifting interpersonal relationships and navigate sociocultural pressures and expectations. 'King and the Dragonflies is a lyrical coming of age tale about grief, friendship, family, belonging, identity, and hope. Callender paints dream sequences in evocative prose notable as well is their exploration of grief’s impact on a family. Finding Sandy hiding in his backyard, King struggles with the memory of Khalid’s warning to stay away from the boy (“You don’t want anyone to think you’re gay, too, do you?”) and their Louisiana town’s homophobia as he decides to help Sandy and explores his own identity. When Charles “Sandy” Sanders-the son of the racist sheriff and King’s former friend- disappears, and King realizes he was the last to see Sandy, he ponders his obligation to tell anyone King knows Sandy is a victim of domestic abuse and suspects Sandy’s father is the perpetrator. Twelve-year-old Kingston “King” Reginald James lost his beloved older brother, Khalid, 16, three months before this book’s start, though King believes Khalid has become a dragonfly and visits nightly in his dreams. Callender ( Hurricane Child) returns to middle grade in this powerful tale of grief, intersectional identity, and love.

King and the dragon flies