King and the Dragonflies
Ratings18
Average rating4.3
powerful exploration of toxic masculinity, stereotypes, and grieving family dynamics. cried at least twice
This was a lovely and important read. The issue of runaway LGBTQ kids is something that is talked about in older YA books but not so much tween books, so I found that essential but also heartbreaking.
If you know me at all, you'll know that I cried. No. I BAWLED... more than once.
Yes, this was beautifully written. But there was more to it! When King grieved, I grieved. When he was angry, I was angry. King's love for Khalid and Khalid's love for King was marvellously done.
His thoughts and feelings–his confusion about the kind of world we live in, our lives and the people we love are questions I find myself asking from time to time.
It was wonderful. I don't think I'll stop thinking about this one for a while.
A beautiful and vivid middle grade story about prejudice, grief, acceptance, and familial love.
wow, wow, wow, this books was really beautiful. it was such a wonderful journey about grief and self-acceptance. and it wasn't tragic. sure, it didn't necessarily have a “happy ending”, but like the main character says, “We'll be all right.” i really enjoyed the writing as a whole–lots of great sensory imagery, personification, similes, and repetition. the author really created a particular tone with the specific types of literary devices they used. this was a small portion of it, but i loved that kacen callender took time to talk about forgiveness and what that looks like–and how hard it is to say sorry and how hard it is to accept apologies. king's journey to his own truth was so well done. it wasn't done hastily; it took the majority of the book. but, when he arrived to the end, it was, like he said, scary, he did it with courage. king was a really well-written character. his grief caused him to be blind to a lot, but throughout the book, he recognized that he wasn't the only one who was grieving. i just appreciated his own willingness to accept, not only himself, but those around him. and one monumental moment was when king's dad told him it was okay to cry–it may have seemed small, but it spoke volumes. and of course, i cried each time king told his dad he loved him, and finally, when his dad said he learn because, “[there] isn't really anything to struggle with, when you love someone as much as I love you.” and although i didn't cry, it was certainly a hard pill to swallow when king came to the realization that his brother wasn't a dragonfly, but i definitely cried when he realized that his brother, “[would] stay with [him] until the end of time.”