Reviews tagging 'Death'

King and the Dragonflies by Kacen Callender

38 reviews

kaitidid's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing

Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Child death, and Grief

Minor: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, and Toxic friendship

rockythefreak's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Hate crime, Outing, Racism, Physical abuse, Death, Murder, Child abuse, Bullying, Homophobia, and Child death

jmass's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Outing, Homophobia, and Death

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

5.0

This was beautifully done. A story about loss, identity, family. I teared up multiple times towards the end. A quick read that I chose to fill time with while I waited in line for a concert and so glad I read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Homophobia, Child death, and Child abuse

viertelvorvier's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Grief

siriface's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Death, Grief, and Child abuse

nytephoenyx's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was fine. It’s a good character story. I’m all for there being more diverse representation in books, and so having a Black gay character questioning his sexual identity (no sexual and barely any romantic content!) is a good, intersectional book to have available.

If I’m being honest, I was mostly just bored. That’s more of a genre issue, though, and a me issue. It’s important to have these kinds of books available, particularly in schools where students may be facing situations similar to King.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Racism, Death, Homophobia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Bullying

Kacen Callender is Black, trans, queer, and non-binary. They use the pronouns they/them. The protagonist of this book is Black and gay/questioning. There is another gay character and several other Black characters in this novel.

greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Outing, Police brutality, Racism, Abandonment, Death, Homophobia, Grief, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

melissaisreading's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Grief, Death, Child death, Outing, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism

welllovedspines's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

TL;DR: A middle-grade that can delight a reader of any age. Magical, lyrical, and capable of discussing difficult topics with strength and grace. Honestly one of the best books I've read in a really, really long time. 
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The reason I read this book was simply due to it being an audiobook on Spotify. But I'm so glad that I did because I absolutely fell in love with it. I highly recommend the audiobook (narrator was incredible), and I will eventually be getting a physical copy to add to my shelves. 

Kingston "King" James discovers that his brother transformed into a dragonfly in the bayou after his unexpected death, and his brother often visits him in his dreams to help him deal with the grief the family is experiencing. King grow so much from the start of the book, and even his mis-steps along the way provided opportunity for stepping into his real self. 

Heavy topics like death, child abuse, racism, and homophobia are themes throughout this book, so please heed the trigger warnings. However, I think these topics are discussed with such honesty and showed strength in persevering. I think young readers dealing with similar things in their own lives would gain so much from how it was handled. 

The atmosphere and voice in this book was incredible and made everything feel so real to me. I don't always read middle grade, but when I do I'm usually pleasantly surprised. Perhaps I should incorporate some into my reading schedules more often! My first experience reading Kacen Callendar's work was so utterly enjoyable. I will definitely be reading the other books they have written!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Death