Kacen Callender's middle-grade National Book Award-winning King and the Dragonflies deftly treads challenging territory in a sensitive and age-appropriate manner.
Kingston Reginald James hates his name. His parents' choice was deliberate, "so I'd remember... that I've got ancestors who used to rule their own empires." King doesn't feel like royalty--these days, he's mostly just scared. Older brother Khalid is dead at 16 and, even though King is sure that Khalid has just swapped his human form for that of a dragonfly, the family is struggling to move on. King is also afraid to admit how much he misses his friend Sandy, with whom he severed his relationship after Sandy told King he was gay; Khalid overheard and warned King to stay away because "Black people aren't allowed to be gay."
Beyond the robust roster of crucial issues (race, sexual identity, death), Callender (Hurricane Child) ultimately tells a resonating family story of tragic loss, shattering consequences and finding "a new normal" enabled by unconditional love. --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon