King and the Dragonflies

King and the Dragonflies (2020) is a teen and young adult fiction novel about a Black youth in a small Louisiana town. It is a story of self-realization and the changes that the death of a child can bring to a family. Kingston James copes with the recent death of his older brother Khalid by using his imagination and his late brother’s musings about the universe to embark on a spiritual journey that includes dragonflies and dreams. At the same time, King tries to come to terms with his gay identity and to save a friend from abuse. The book won the 2020 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. It also won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction and Poetry.

The author, Kacen Callender, has written several books for children, teens, and adults, including the Lambda Literary award-winning Hurricane Child. They were born and raised in St. Thomas, USVI, and currently live in Philadelphia.

Plot Summary

Kingston “King” James is 12 years old, Black, and living in a small town in Louisiana. He is mourning the recent death of his older brother, Khalid. He imagines that Khalid has returned as a dragonfly because one of the insects landed on his brother’s casket during the funeral.