King and the Dragonflies

image: world cat

Callender, Kacen.  King and the Dragonflies.  2020.  Scholastic Press, New York, New York.

King's older brother died suddenly of a heart attack while on the soccer field.  While at the funeral, King sees a Dragonfly land on his brother's casket.  He is convinced that his brother is coming back to visit him in the form of a dragonfly.  The family that has been the center of his world slowly falls to pieces as they struggle to deal with their grief.

King's best friend had been Sandy Sanders.  King cut off his friendship with Sandy after he came out to Sandy and told him that he was Gay.  King didn't want other people to think that he was gay, too.  But when Sandy goes missing, King must re-evaluate his friendships and his way of thinking in order to come to peace with himself and his world.


The publisher recommends this book for children ages 8-12.

Bettina's note: While the publisher recommends the book for children as young as 8, I would shift the ages a little higher.  The main characters are in middle school, so I would suggest that middle school aged audiences.

Author Web Site:
https://www.kacencallender.com/