Summary:
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.
My take: 5 looksÂ
Wow. This is an extraordinary book. There are some very difficult themes woven throughout the story, but author Kacen Callender handles them gently, deftly, honestly, and respectfully.
King is a black 12-year-old boy who has just lost his older brother to a heart attack on the soccer field. The devastation that the family feels, and the way each one handles the aftermath (King, with his mother and father) feels so real and accurate. King is convinced that his brother has been reborn as a dragonfly because one lands on the casket at the funeral. Every day after school, he goes to the bayou to see the dragonflies and hope that he somehow recognizes his brother in one of them.
There is no way for me to adequately describe the issues presented in this book. King fears the school bully, who is racist, as well as being the sheriff’s son. He bows to peer pressure and his brother’s warnings to stay away from his good friend Charles, who has just confessed to King that he is gay (“You don’t want people to think that you’re gay, too,” his brother tells him.). His best friend Jasmine wants to be his girlfriend, at a time when boys and girls are starting to look at one another as more than “just friends”. At home, his parents are still dealing the grief of losing their eldest, along with the defined gender roles in African American culture (men don’t cry or help in the kitchen).
Then, Charles goes missing.
This is such a beautiful story of all of the intricacies that today’s youth may face, and how they get through it. While King is the main character, he is surrounded by very real supporting characters. The author gives the reader insight into their struggles, confusions, and emotional growth. The struggle King’s father has communicating with him, the guilt King feels over his friendship with Charles, his mother’s deep and loving desire to help her son navigate difficult times. It is all so beautifully handled.
And the vital role of representation on the page of all people. Male, female, black, white, gay, straight, scared, bold, sad, happy … it’s all here and without stereotyping or overplaying. Not only will reading this book give encouragement to tweens and teens who may be experiencing feelings they don’t understand, it will also serve up a healthy dose of empathy for those readers who will run across diverse sections of the human race.
This is must-reading for middle grade to adult. There is something for everyone to learn from this wonderful book.
Highly recommended.
